As a child, Deborah Hart recalls her father describing the stench of a major oil refinery as "the smell of money".

He was an engineer with expertise in the energy sector, so she grew up immersed in the culture of the global fossil fuel industry.

Today, both father and daughter have chosen different paths.

He lobbies for the closure of the power stations he helped build, while she runs the world's first gallery devoted to art that responds to the climate emergency.

In a powerful online article, ABC Top 5 Arts resident, Lara Stevens, profiles Hart and two other Australian artists using art as climate activism.

Listen back to The Stage Show to hear Lara's fascinating conversation with Adelaide-born artist, Hartmut Veit, who spent 400 hours in a pine plantation, carving a large burial canoe out of a fallen tree and suspending it above the ground.

Then, dive into a wartime romance — actually, several — unearthed by the discovery of a bundle of forgotten love letters.

This fascinating story follows the life and times of Marjorie Merle James — known as Merle — who was engaged to five men at the same time. Informed by her daughter, Merle's story is a poignant insight into the complexities of love and loss in wartime life.
 

Until next time,

Anna Levy, RN deputy digital editor
 

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Meet three Australian creatives using art activism to push back against the fossil fuel legacy of their parents.

Tarni's mother was once engaged to five men at the same time. The reason was more complicated than she thought.

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