Performing Change: The Role of Creative Practices in Cultivating Interspecies Empathy and Action

Performing Change: The Role of Creative Practices in Cultivating Interspecies Empathy and Action In times of ecological and ethical crises, fostering just human-animal relationships requires strategies that move beyond theory into action. This paper explored how performative practices, particularly within the context of animal rights advocacy, act as powerful tools for cultivating empathy, raising awareness, and inspiring societal shifts. Drawing on examples such as Duck Lake (Watt, 2016) and Soya the Cow (Hellmann, 2018), as well as creative activist interventions such as vigils and performance installations, the paper examined how embodied and artistic methods bridge the gap between education and action. Using a theoretical foundation informed by Duggan (2017) on trauma in performance and Cull Ó Maoilearca’s (2019) critique of anthropocentrism, the paper argued that performance enables participants and audiences to engage emotionally and viscerally with the hidden realities of animal exploitation. It demonstrated how performative methods not only challenge passive spectatorship but also reframe species hierarchies, encouraging behavioural and cultural transformation. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the paper highlighted the potential of live and digital performance to promote public education about animal justice, cultivate empathy, and address systemic barriers to ethical coexistence with nonhuman animals. By situating performance as a form of action-based education, it demonstrated how art can operate as a vital medium for transforming human-animal relationships and driving change. Finally, the paper reflected on practical strategies for integrating performance art into public education and policy advocacy, offering a roadmap for leveraging creative methodologies to advance interspecies justice. In this way, it contributed to demonstrating how creative education can play a transformative role in building ethical, sustainable, and compassionate relationships with the more-than-human world. About the Speaker Dr. Ben Hunt is a performance artist, activist, and academic whose research intersects performance studies, trauma theory, and animal rights. Having recently completed a PhD in Performance Studies at De Montfort University, his practice-based work explores how performative methods can amplify advocacy strategies, particularly in fostering empathy and challenging speciesism. Dr. Hunt has created performance art projects like Box of Shadows and Anti-Hunt and maintains a digital archive documenting animal rights performances worldwide. His research combines embodied methodologies, activist ethnography, and interspecies perspectives to reimagine human-animal relations and advance ethical, actionable solutions in the fight for nonhuman justice.