Who are you, what do you do, and where are you from?
My name is Inanna, I’m a singer, songwriter, producer and belly dancer. I’m originally from a small town near Venice (Italy), I lived and worked in Spain for a long time and moved to Los Angeles about 3 years ago. After moving to LA, I wanted to find a way to integrate my love for alternative music, belly dance and nature: so Inanna was born, an eco-ethno-music project aiming to promote environmentalism and speak up for nature and animal rights through song and performance.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability to me means living in a way that helps nature and animals to thrive together with us, and not exploit territories and other beings for us, for profit. Sustainability means thinking long-term, and doing our best to be good ancestors for those who will come next. Anything that damages lands and animals cannot be sustainable, eternal growth and endless consumption is not sustainable. Realizing how important every single being and ecosystem is, re-educating ourselves to the awe and wonder, will help us to make sustainable choices and become the generation who managed to save the world, instead of carelessly continuing to be stuck in our ways and do nothing. How can we all thrive together on Earth in a regenerative balance? I hope that sustainability theories will address this question.
How do you incorporate sustainability into daily life as an artist?
I am currently one of the few musicians who’s dedicating all her music to environmental and animal topics. I believe in the emotional power of music, in how the arts can contribute to change people’s perceptions and behaviors, in how music plays a key role in spreading awareness, educating, influencing and inviting people to make better choices. In a more practical sense, as an artist, I only partner up with eco and sustainable brands, my merchandise is and will always be vegan, sustainable and ethical, and as soon as concerts will be possible again, no single-use plastic or animal products will be sold or allowed at my gigs. On a personal level, I chose to be vegan for the animals and for the planet, as avoiding animal products is one of the most powerful tools in everyone’s hands to help animals and cut down carbon emissions. I also try to avoid buying new clothes or other products all the time, I use and re-use, I recycle and in my house we try to limit the use of plastic and polluting/unethical products as much as we can.
What impact can artists have on sustainability?
I think that music, figurative arts, poetry, theater, through history, always captured tendencies, feelings and behaviors much earlier and faster than the general culture, or governments. The power of the arts lies in their immediate connection with the subconscious and collectivity, with our historical moment and the meaning of our existence at that particular time. I believe artists always had an incredible impact on cultural change, and now, more than ever, we need to come together to take care of the place where we all belong, planet Earth. One artist alone can create amazing art, but many artists together can create change. If we speak up altogether, if we take action, if we let our art speak from our heart, this time we can literally save the world.
