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We had the pleasure of attending Art/Switch's [re]Thinking Art Logistics as part of its [re]Framing the Arts: A Sustainable Shift series last week. This series of digital conferences brings together academics and practitioners to discuss and rethink current practices in the global art world, in order to create long-term sustainable methods. It threw up some great resources we wanted to share with you.
Art/Switch was launched as a non-profit, in the fall of 2019, in order to introduce a new generation of sustainable practices to the arts. Based between Amsterdam and New York, we are bringing together a global community of museum professionals, academics, art professionals and artists with the aim to connect discussions, promote existing knowledge and pave the way for sustainable solutions in the arts.
You can find out more here and sign up for their future conferences: https://www.artswitch.org/
Some of the presentations and information they covered were:
- Melissa Lewis, from Rachel Barker Associates, looked at how to make a sustainable, conservation-grade frame and artwork. It threw into the mix something which conservators are familiar with art technical professionals aren’t which is the Oddy Test.
The Oddy Test is used as a subjective method for determining whether or not a material, such as wood, fabric, or paint, is appropriate for use in an enclosed space with artwork or other cultural heritage artifacts. Find out more here https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Oddy_Test#Test_Result_Tables_and_Contributing_Results
If you are looking for materials, such as fabrics, adhesives, paints, and boards, that have been tested to determine if they are safe to use in storage, transit, or exhibition cases with cultural heritage artifacts, you are in the right place. Results from Oddy tests and other methods are currently being shared by numerous testers from the US and around the world on the Oddy Test Results Tables.
There are currently five tables:
- Kim Kraczon from Studio Olafur Eliasson, as well as a member of the team behind the Gallery Climate Coalition, discussed how the studio has been changing its practices to produce sustainable and more responsible packaging for the transport of the artworks. They serpent time researching and experimenting with using biodegradable materials, reducing the amount of non-recyclable/biodegradable materials used to an absolute minimum, and then reusing these materials for other things.
Kim also referenced Ki-Culture and the free references it has step-by-step guides, each with a particular theme on Waste & Materials, Social Sustainability, and Energy, to implement sustainable changes now in your institutions and practices. https://www.kiculture.org/ki-books/
Other resources which were mentioned during the talks:
Julie’s Bicycle
Take the first step and measure your impacts with the Creative Green Tools, developed by Julie’s Bicycle for the arts and culture industries. They provide free carbon and environmental calculators to record, measure, and understand the impacts of a venue, office, tour, production, event or festival.
The CG Tools make it easy to measure energy use, water consumption, waste generation and recycling, travel, and production materials. The results can then inform your environmental strategy and organisational priorities.
Use the Tools to track your progress over time and take the first step towards Creative Green certification.
https://juliesbicycle.com/reporting/
Gallery Climate Coalition
The goal of the GCC is to facilitate a greener and more sustainable art world. Our aim is to provide information and the necessary tools so that we can collectively reduce our carbon footprint by 50% over the next ten years (in line with the Paris agreement), along with near zero-waste practices.
The GCC website contains information on a range of issues including shipping and travelling, packaging, energy and building management, recycling, and more.
The GCC has created a carbon calculator specifically tailored to the art industry. This provides users with the means to determine and monitor their carbon footprint. This unique tool is available for all to use free of charge.
https://galleryclimatecoalition.org/carbon-calculator/
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to attend the whole conference but you can find out more at Art/Switch
If you are aware of other initiatives and organisations which are, or could be, great resources for the art and artefact community please let us know by commenting below.