EVENTS | Art+Climate Action

COMMUNITY MEETINGS: Check here to learn more about tools, resources, and actions that support sustainability at your arts space. Meetings will resume Spring 2024. More information coming soon.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS: Check here for programs featuring artists, organizers, and climate specialists.

PAST EVENTS:

Sustainable Materials Community Meeting, June 2, 2023. Russell Fortmeyer, an engineer, architect, and educator who has worked in sustainability at various scales for the past 20 years, and Kim Kraczon, a conservator of modern materials and contemporary art specializing in sustainable practices within the art sector, each share critical information about making responsible material choices. They discuss a wide range of topics, from California legislation on embodied carbon emissions to recycling myths.	Climate Conscious Shipping Community Meeting, May 5, 2023. Cutting emissions and waste while moving artworks around the world is critical. In this meeting, hear from Jamie Harker, Chair of the Green Subcommittee at ICEFAT, a global trade organization for art logistics experts. Harker discusses shippers' ongoing efforts to make transportation more sustainable and introduces a range of steps shippers and clients can take together.	Understanding Building Energy Community Meeting, April 7, 2023. The energy that powers museum buildings and galleries is a major producer of GHG emissions. Spacious architecture combined with rigid climate control guidelines can result in intensive electricity and natural gas use. Hear from Joyce Lee, Chair of the American Association of Museums (AAM) Environment Climate Network and President of IndigoJLD Green + Health, on how art and cultural spaces are rewriting the rules on energy use.
Understanding Emissions Community Meeting, February 3, 2023. Danny Chivers, climate researcher, carbon footprint specialist, and adviser to Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) discusses GHG emissions, the activities that generate them, and the most effective steps art organizations can take to prevent harmful emissions in the first place. Halving our GHG emissions this decade is absolutely possible–let’s get started!	Small Teams Big Impacts Community Meeting, March 3, 2023. Small and medium-sized art organizations play a vital role in establishing a sustainable cultural sector. Regardless of whether they consist of a team of 2 or 20, climate action plans tailored to these modestly-sized organizations can make a significant impact. Let’s celebrate and support these creative and persuasive partners as we work towards achieving positive change across various sectors.	Climate Leadership and the Arts Public program, FOG Design + Art Fair at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, San Francisco. This conversation with Todd Hosfelt, gallerist, Claudia Schmuckli, Curator-in-Charge of Contemporary Art and Programming, FAMSF, and Jodi Roberts, co-founder of Art + Climate Action features concrete steps art fairs, museums, and galleries can take to improve their environmental impact and resources to support meaningful change.
Support Workers Community Meeting, January 13, 2023. Our collective future depends on foregrounding climate in our day-to-day decisions and cultivating a culture of care-taking in our immediate and global communities. Hear from Debra Scacco and Jordan Seaberry, artists and activists who are working to ensure our colleagues and peers have the support they need to prioritize climate-based decision-making at work, in the studio, and at home.	Making an 8x8 Climate Action Plan Community Meeting, December 7, 2022. Cliodhna Murphy of Hauser & Wirth and Todd Hosfelt of Hosfelt Gallery, early signees on the Climate Action 8x8 Campaign, discuss the climate actions they'll take in 2023 to improve their respective organization's climate impact and tips for creating meaningful and manageable climate action plans using the 8x8 framework.	Climate Action 8x8 Campign Community Meeting, November 4, 2022. The launch of Climate Action 8x8, a cross-sector initiative dedicated to helping arts organization make progress in 8 key areas of climate impact. Learn about the campaign and how it can jumpstart your organization's transition to climate-conscious practices.
Sustainable Exhibition Planning Community Meeting, October 7, 2022. Integrating sustainability into exhibitions requires a thoughtful re-evaluation of exhibition systems and processes. In this session, Simone Paz, Associate Director of Sustainability at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), discusses making exhibitions more sustainable through applying alternative strategies to the design and planning process.	Strategic Climate Funds Community Meeting, June 3, 2022. How do we engage carbon-emissions drawdown and environmental protection? In this event, we discuss Strategic Climate Funds and carbon calculations with artist Halley Mellin. Mellin founded the nonprofit Art to Acres, which helps artists and institutions support the conservation of large-scale landscapes, preserving biodiversity and historic carbon stores in the process.	BARDER.art Community Meeting, May 6, 2022. Jae Cho and Laura Lupton introduce BARDER.art, a peer-to-peer, resource-sharing website that allows users to source and post materials like crates, frames, and AV equipment. BARDER.art helps exhibition spaces and artist studios save money, free up storage space, and build stronger connections within arts communities, all while investing in a low-waste, circular, closed-loop economy.
Measure Your Emissions Community Meeting, April 1, 2022. In order to create an effective culture of sustainability, we all need a starting point. Aoife Fannin and Kelsey Shell introduce Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), a London-based initiative that has developed quick, easy, and free tools for measuring your climate impact. Learn the story behind GCC’s carbon calculator, get a tutorial on how to use it, and hear what the group is learning as more and more arts spaces use this resource.	Achieving Sustainability Community Meeting, March 4, 2022. Caitlin Southwick (Founder and Executive Director of Ki Culture) speaks about the tools and resources available through Ki Culture to make sustainability readily achievable. The books and training programs designed by Caitlin and her colleagues include manageable first steps and advice for building a holistic culture of sustainability at work and beyond.	Climate Impact Reports Community Meeting, February 4, 2022. Learn how to assess the climatic and environmental effects of your next exhibition or project with artists Robin F. Williams and Deville Cohen of Artists Commit. Climate Impact Reports are a new framework for artists and collaborators to better understand their climate effects, share lessons learned, and promote sector transparency.
Building Community Community Meeting, January 7, 2022. In this event, we discuss building community, finding allies, and making a plan with Laura Lupton, co-founder of Galleries Commit and Artists Commit.	Community Meeting Launch Community Meeting, December 3, 2021. Learn about Art + Climate Action’s goals, actions, community members, and partners. Climate change is an issue on which museums, galleries, and art spaces can, and must, take leadership.	What Can We Do? Public program with de Young Museum, January 26, 2022. Hear from leading voices in the arts and broader sustainability movement: Lisa P. Jackson (VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives at Apple), Sarah Sutton (CEO of Environment & Culture Partners), Haley Mellin (artist and founder of Art to Acres), Jessica Silverman (founder of Jessica Silverman Gallery), and Micki Meng (founder of Micki Meng Gallery and co-founder of Art + Climate Action).
Practices of Conservation Panel discussion, January 22, 2022. EXPO CHICAGO presents Alternate Assembly: Environmental Impact in the Era of Pandemic, a digital proxy for rigorous in-person discourse over three days. Artists and co-founders of MOCA's Environmental Council, Art to Acres, Culture Declares Emergency, Art+Climate Action, and Galleries Commit discuss specific aims and resources for sustainable practices.