Arts & Ecology

Arts & Ecology Day 2009

Today on World Environment Day, the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), in association with Bash Creations, will announce the launch of an Arts & Ecology Day in 2009.

The announcement of Arts & Ecology Day 2009, which takes place at City Hall, will comprise a fast moving one-hour programme of performance and commentary by people committed to responding positively to sustainability challenges. Music, poetry, practical ideas and inspiration will be provided by a range of contributors including Royal Institute of British Architects President Sunand Prasad, theatre director Nigel Hinds, musician Marmaduke Dando, and world leading expert in the development of sustainable cities, Peter Head, Director at Arup.

This pioneering initiative will engage the creativity and influence of the arts community in making London a more sustainable city. ‘Arts & Ecology Day 2009’ will raise the profile of sustainability by celebrating new plays, poems, music, artworks and dance across London, with the aim of developing into a world-wide campaign.

Click here to see Smartplanet's photo essay which promotes the concept and stay tuned to this blog and our site to hear more about Arts & Ecology Day 2009...

The Art of Crocheting to Save the Great Barrier Reef

A storm has been brewing among ecologically-aware crocheters across America, who have joined forces to create a hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef. Initiated at the Institute for Figuring, this collaborative work is designed to draw attention to the Australian Great Barrier Reef’s demise as a result of rising sea temperatures and pollution. So far, the exhibit spans 3000 square metres, including undulating corals, ruffled sponges, kelps and slugs, and is still growing. Scientists have warned that the current threat from global warming and pollutants could lead to the Reef’s destruction within 30 years - so urgent action is needed. Started in Los Angeles by sisters Margaret and Christine Wertheim, the project has spread across America, involving crocheting groups, scientists, mathematicians and artists. It has been found that the hyperbolic coral forms represent a natural manifestation of non-Euclidian geometry, thought until recently to exist only as an abstract concept. In this way, the 'conceptual enchantment' of the project weaves together craft, science and the environment.

Greenwashing in Turin

Tue Greenfort Untitled, 2008 modified Eurobins

Arts & Ecology recently made a trip to Turin for the opening of Greenwashing at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo which has been curated by Ilaria Bonacossa and Latitudes (Max Andrews and Mariana Cánepa Luna). It is the concluding project of a year long programme at the Fondazione tied to the environment.

25 international artists were invited to participate in Greenwashing, including some familiar faces to the Arts & Ecology project; Lara Almarcegui, Maria Thereza Alves, Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, Tue Greenfort, Cornelia Parker, Tomas Saraceno and Sergio Vega.

Among the highlights were The Bruce High Quality Foundation’s ironic demonstration of alternative energy sources in the form of wired up citrus fruits in the guise of BP's logo which in time exposed itself as a health hazard and Chu Yun’s collection of defunct outdated technologies whose stand-by buttons were winking in the dark in a sedate yet sinister fashion - last year the government announced that stand-by switches will be outlawed in the UK

If you are able to get to Greenwashing you won’t be disappointed - this is undoubtedly the seminal exhibition of artists who are reflecting, responding and challenging the state of our planet.

Cornelia Parker at the Whitechapel

On Wednesday night we launched Arts & Ecology EXCHANGES with a panel discussion, Culture in a Time of Crisis.

One of the highlights of the evening was Cornelia Parker showing an extract from her filmed interview with Noam Chomsky, in which he spoke with incredible clarity about our future, consumerism and our relationship to the environment.

You can see this work, Chomskian Abstract, at the Whitechapel Art Gallery from 13 February to 30 March 2008, open Wed – Fri, 11– 6. This exhibition is in partnership with Friends of the Earth.

80-82 Whitechapel High Street London E1 7QX. The Whitechapel is expanding and during this time the entrance to the Whitechapel Laboratory is via Angel Alley, which is the first passage on the left when facing the building.

Stop. Watch. New short films by artists that address ecological emergencies

Animate Projects and RSA Arts & Ecology, in partnership with Arts Council England and Channel 4, have commissioned seven artists to make short films for the internet that explore ecological themes.

The artists, from the UK, USA, Switzerland, Sweden and Korea are: Jordan Baseman, Phil Coy, Manu Luksch, Christine Ödlund, Elodie Pong and Annie Wu, Simon Woolham, and Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries.

They take diverse approaches, that consistently and powerfully challenge common perceptions and clichés of current debates about environmental crises and their human impact.

The films will premiere online in June 2008.

Youth voyagers tell their tales

I’ve just come out of Cape Farewell’s Youth Expedition Conference which took place at the RSA today and was organised by Creative Partnerships.   12 students were selected to board Noorderlicht, the vessel bound for Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic which became the crew’s temporary home between 14 – 23 September 2007.

Embarking from London, the chosen 15-16 year olds came from schools across the UK, Germany and Canada with the objective to explore climate change and see the very real effects for themselves.  During their trip they responded to the issues from a scientific and artistic point of view, but perhaps paramount to this was the invaluable experience of sharing perspectives from their own cultures and feeding back their discoveries to a much wider audience via online broadcasts. 

To assist with the communication and legacy of the project on dry land each school had a ground team who brought the project alive to those who weren’t on the trip – fuelled with pride and purposefulness these students made contact with the media and got the whole school on board in a philosophical sense.

I was totally blown away by the fascinating stories, observations and accounts from such a talented, articulate and positive group of young people.  There was a privileged insight into the perspective from the Inuit community courtesy of Doriana and her teacher who call the Arctic their home.  While Western eyes look at the Polar bear with wonder and spectacle, the Inuit community find their increasingly everyday presence alarming - Polar Bears are solitary animals but have been forced to come into villages to scavenge for food when the ice breaks up and doesn’t return when it should do. 

After lunch Josef and Jethro played an acoustic and enchanting rendition of a score that they had written on the boat and we had the opportunity to see Franzi’s innovative short film which ingenuously told the tale of plankton from a fluorescent narrative!

I urge you to look at the site and read these amazing accounts; it was an inspiring and incredibly optimistic day.  Creative Partnerships are now working on a tool kit which will be distributed to schools next year to ensure the outcomes and experiences reach a much wider audience.