Claire Barnes
Claire Barnes on Food, Protest, and the Sacred Power of Art
Claire Barnes
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2025
What does it mean to love the Earth with your hands, your politics, and your imagination? In this interview, Claire Barnes—Yale Divinity alum and publishing professional—reflects on the intersections of faith, food, art, and activism. From community gardens in Los Angeles to archives and publishing at Yale, Claire weaves a sacred thread between memory, resistance, and ecological care.
She speaks about the influence of Corita Kent, Pope Francis, and Douglas Gayeton, and how personal rituals—like gathering around a vegetarian meal or painting —become expressions of spiritual ecology. This conversation offers a grounded and inspiring look at embodied environmentalism and what it means to live your values in both public and private life.
Claire Barnes on the Many Forms of Protest
Claire Barnes
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2025
Claire Barnes challenges narrow definitions of protest, offering a broader view of how resistance shows up in everyday life. From street marches to planting seeds to helping publish banned books, she reflects on the revolutionary power of care, creativity, and knowledge.
This clip invites a deeper reflection on what it means to act politically and spiritually in a time of ecological crisis. Protest, Claire says, can be loud or quiet—but it always starts with showing up.
Claire Barnes on Love as a Political Force
Claire Barnes
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2025
Love isn’t just an emotion—it’s a tool. In this clip, Claire Barnes unpacks the danger of reducing love to sentimentality and offers a vision of love rooted in accountability, community, and political courage.
Drawing on her interdisciplinary background, Claire shows how love becomes a force for action and justice when it’s grounded in integrity and risk. This is a timely reflection for anyone wondering how to stay rooted in values while working for change.
Claire Barnes on Art as Spiritual and Political Practice
Claire Barnes
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2025
Art is not a luxury—it’s a language of resistance. In this clip, Claire Barnes explores how art can become a sacred act of protest, healing, and visioning. Influenced by figures like Corita Kent and Douglas Gayeton, she reflects on how creativity anchors her work in both spiritual and political spaces.
Whether through painting or pottery or food-based art, at home or creating visual campaigns, Claire reminds us that art-making can be a political force and spiritual practice.