Embracing the third mission through art: Pathways to address climate change

Addressing wicked problems of our society demands fundamental changes in the way we live. Universities play a pivotal role in this process through the creation and dissemination of knowledge, engaging broad sectors of society to improve understanding and to inspire action. However, universities face barriers in fulfilling their role in addressing complex societal challenges such as climate change. This contribution explores the potential of the arts to foster public engagement and stimulate responsible pathways of research at universities within this context. Using an integrative literature review, the paper provides an overview of conceptual contributions aimed at understanding different modes of the interplay between the arts, science, and society, or, more specifically, of integrating the arts into the university's third mission. The overview is organized around three pillars: (i) arts in knowledge creation, (ii) arts in the communication of scientific research, and (iii) arts in the alignment of research with societal needs. Within each pillar, specific modes of interplay between the arts, science, and society are identified and exemplified with selected climate-related artworks: i) artistic research, arts-based research, arts-science collaboration, ii) arts-based science communication and iii) arts-based responsible research and innovation. The examples hihlight resources, processes and activities enabling different modes of interplay between arts, science and society. The value of defining such modes of interplay is their use as conceptual tools for deriving arts-based strategies for university's third mission. They can help understanding the integrative potential of arts in third mission activities around diverse pillars and relevant conditions for impact assessment. • Integrative literature review on how the arts can contribute to university's third mission in addressing climate change. • Synthesis of various modes of interplay between the arts, science, and society within the context of university's third mission. • Illustration of modes of interplay between arts, science, and society through climate change–related artworks. • Discussion of challenges and conditions for assessing the impact of arts in university's third mission.