Mangrove replanting with Pengudang Mangrove School, June 2025, Pengudang, Bintan Island. Photo by Mei Jia Ng.
Developing and Evaluating Digital Tools for Participatory Climate Change Mitigation
This research project identifies regional climate change mitigation practices, specifically addressing sea level rise on coastlines along the Riau Archipelago. The project brings together artists, scientists, and local communities to co-create digital tools—such as bilingual online manuals—that support the implementation of best practices in climate resilience.
A mixed-method evaluation rubric, using both qualitative and quantitative research design, will assess the impact and effectiveness of these digital tools. The overarching objective is to understand how such tools can support local communities in strengthening their climate mitigation strategies.
This interdisciplinary approach to climate mitigation integrates local knowledge, environmental science, and research-based artistic practice. It offers the potential to develop new ways of understanding and responding to local environmental issues. Given the ecological similarities between Bintan and Singapore—particularly in their shared mangrove ecosystems—and the mutual threat of rising sea levels, the project fosters cross-border learning and cooperation.
By centering community participation and regional specificity, this research contributes to broader conversations around sustainable adaptation strategies for vulnerable coastal areas in Southeast Asia.
Ute Meta Bauer is a Professor at the School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU). She is currently the Acting Director and Principal Research Fellow at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA Singapore); and is the Chair of the Masters in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices (MA MSCP) programme. Having served as the Founding Director of NTU CCA Singapore for over a decade, her work as educator and curator over the past years has focused on Climates. Habitats. Environments. At the Centre, she curated and co-curated The Oceanic (2017/2018), Trees of Life. Knowledge in Material (2018), and The Posthuman City (2020). In 2022, she served as curator for the Singapore Pavilion at the 59th Biennale di Venezia, featuring artist Shubigi Rao. Her recent large scale projects include the 17th Istanbul Biennial (2022), co-curated alongside David Teh and Amar Kanwar, and the artistic direction of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2024. She is a Trustee of the Art Foundation TBA21 and a member of the Governing Council of n.b.k. Berlin. Bauer was recently conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Art and Design by Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Helsinki, Finland.
Ng Mei Jia is currently Research Associate at the School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University, managing the research projects Climate Transformation Programme (2024–2030), Developing and Evaluating Digital Tools for Participatory Climate Change Mitigation (2025–2026) and a research assistant on Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss (2021–2024), Environmentally-Engaged Artistic Practices in South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (2021–2023), and Understanding Southeast Asia as a ‘Geocultural’ Formation (2021–2023). She was previously a Project Officer (Intangible Cultural Heritage) at the National Heritage Board, Singapore. Mei Jia holds an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore.
Angela Ricasio Hoten is a research assistant at the School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University supporting the research projects Climate Transformation Programme (2024–2030), Developing and Evaluating Digital Tools for Participatory Climate Change Mitigation (2025–2026) and previously the Environmentally-Engaged Artistic Practices in South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (2023–2024). Angela holds a BA (Hons) in Environmental Studies and minor in Anthropology from Yale-NUS College, Singapore. She was also the undergraduate research assistant for ‘Lala Land: Singapore’s Seafood Heritage’ edited by Anthony Medrano, published by Epigram Books.
Liz Liu Yihui is a research assistant supporting the Developing and Evaluating Digital Tools for Participatory Climate Change Mitigation (2025–2026). Liu holds a BSc in Ecological Sciences from the University of Göttingen. She has pursued a master’s degree at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, using dye-making as a research method to investigate the materiality of a traditional textile dye in Southeast Asia. She is a co-founder at Wild Dot, a botanical ink-making studio working with locally abundant plants.
