FRESH PERSPECTIVES/4 www.ietm.org ART FOR THE planet’sArts and Environment sAKE picture: ‘The drowned mermaid’, Stig (from Art Not Oil coalition) Hannah Van Den Bergh November 2015 in partnership with ISBN: 978-2-9601106-8-5 IETM is supported by: This publication is distributed free of charge and follows the Creative The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an Commons agreement Attribu- endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission tion-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives cannot be held responsi ble for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. (CC BY-NC-ND) FRESH PERSPECTIVES www.ietm.org Art for the Planet’s Sake Fresh Perspectives on Arts and Environment by Hannah Van Den Bergh Published by IETM - International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts, Brussels In partnership with COAL - Art et développement durable November 2015 Editing and general coordination: Marie Le Sourd (On the Move), Elena Di Federico (IETM) Graphic layout: Elena Di Federico (IETM) on a template by JosWorld This publication is distributed free of charge and follows the Creative Commons agreement Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND). You are free to reuse and share this publication or parts of it as long as you mention the original source. This publication should be mentioned as follows: H. Van Den Bergh, “Art for the Planet’s Sake. Fresh Perspectives on Arts and Environment”, IETM, Brussels, November 2015. Link: https:// www.ietm.org/en/publications For further information please contact [email protected] The publishers have made every effort to secure permission to reproduce pictures protected by copyright. IETM will be pleased to make good any omissions brought to their attention in future editions of this publication. ART FOR THE PLANET’S SAKE FRESH PERSPECTIVES www.ietm.org Table of contents About 3 01. INTRODUCTION 5 02. SUSTAINABLE PEOPLE 7 Stig, ‘Drowned Mermaid’ (from the Art not Oil Coalition) Changing the narrative 7 Sustaining Creativity: Julie’s Bicycle 11 A little less conversation, a little more action 12 COP21: The arts and civil society 04. respond 15 GUEST CONTRIBUTIONS 23 Striving for Meaningful Impact - 05. Chantal Bilodeau 23 CONCLUSIONS 35 03. Community and Art as a Way Towards Ecological Sustainability - it’s noT EASY BEING Marco Kusumawijaya 25 On Culture, the Environment and GREEN 17 06. Sustainable Development - Mike Van Graan 27 RESOURCES 36 Big Oil, Big Art, Big Question 17 Prefiguring Sustainability: Green fatigue 18 Response-Ability and Spaces of Possibility - Art in the Cloud 21 Sacha Kagan 29 Culture Shift 22 The S-word - Yasmine Ostendorf 33 2 ART FOR THE PLANET’S SAKE FRESH PERSPECTIVES www.ietm.org About IETM is a dynamic, engaged and forward-looking network for the performing arts sector as Almost 125 years ago, the Swedish chem- This edition of Fresh Perspectives was well as a resource and reference point for ist Svante Arrhenius drew attention to the written by Hannah Van Den Bergh and innovative contemporary art. IETM con- potential global impact of fossil fuel use. At coordinated by Marie Le Sourd, Secretary sists of over 550 subscribing professional least 25 years ago we started experiencing General of On The Move. Special contri- performing arts organisations from more the impacts of a dramatic rise in global tem- butions were commissioned from Sacha than 50 countries. They are engaged in peratures, due to human activities. While Kagan, Marco Kusumawidjaya, Mike van innovative, contemporary performing arts scientific calculations continue to predict Graan, Chantal Bilodeau and Yasmine work and are committed to cross-border the catastrophic consequences another Ostendorf. exchange and collaboration. 1°C temperature rise will have on our eco- system, world leaders are yet to agree on a For this publication we wish to thank all course of global action to drastically reduce those who replied to our call for contribu- emissions. Time is running out. tions, and in particular: COAL Can art pretend to save the planet? No. And Flyer roots (TR), Citron Jaune (FR), it doesn’t. But if we believe in the power of European Capital of Culture Leeuwarden- The Coalition for Art and Sustainable art as a purely humanistic act, enriching Fryslân 2018 (NL), Centre Scientifique Development, was founded by contem- people with non-materialistic values, art is et Technique du Bâtiment(CSTB) and porary art, sustainable development and able to tap into a different instinct, ratio- Bellastock (FR), Anna Macdonald UK), research professionals in France in 2008. nale and emotion than political rhetoric, UFA (DE), Birth (RO/FI/HU/UG), Solar Trailblazing and cross-cutting, COAL is corporate sales-patter or even scientific Solidarity International (BE), Greentrack working to promote a new generation data. Gent (BE), La nourrice (FR), Zelenkovac of artists focusing on environmental and Ekološki Pokret (BA), Rimini Protokoll societal issues, in partnership with cultural In this edition of Fresh Perspectives IETM (DE), Doxandem Squad (SN), Francis spaces, NGOs, scientists and the business collaborates with leading arts and envi- Hahton (ES), Sari Palmgren (FI), Catherine world. In a multidisciplinary and innovative ronment organisation COAL to present Young (SG/PH), Shaun Gladwell (AU), spirit, COAL mobilises artists and cultural contemporary arts models and practices Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix- operators on social and environmental that tackle environmental issues and en-Provence (FR), SomeBody - Galaad Le issues and supports the creation of art- advocate change – issues that should be Goaster & Marjorie Burger-Chassignet works, creating awareness and implement- the shared responsibility of all humankind. (FR), Thessaloniki Concert Hall (GR), ing concrete solutions through exhibitions, Increasingly artists and arts organisations Charbel Samuel Aoun (LB/AM), Leaves of events, the COAL Prize Art Environment, dedicate their talent to raise awareness grass (FR), Chantal Latour (FR), Corinne and intelligent resources like through the of the environment, scrutinize their own Forsans (FR), Pia Galvez (ES), Chantal unique platform ressource0.com. carbon footprints and encourage action in Bilodeau (US/CA), CirkVOST (FR), Arts civil society. Time is running out. We need House (UK/AU), ASEF - Asia-Europe action to reinvent our world, and the arts Foundation, Lonesome Goerge Production help us imagine how. (USA), Mona Nicole Sfeir (CH), Creative Carbon Scotland (UK), Julie’s Bicycle (UK) HANNAH VAN DEN BERGH Hannah Van Den Bergh is a writer and researcher based in the UK, working on projects exploring arts and environment, cultural mobility and site-specific perfor- mance. Hannah has worked for the Arts Council of Wales, the BBC and advises performing arts companies across the UK. 3 ART FOR THE PLANET’S SAKE FRESH PERSPECTIVES www.ietm.org Coordinator of this publication MARCO KUSUMAWIJAYA SACHA KAGAN Marco Kusumawijaya is a practitioner, Sacha Kagan is Research associate at activist and thinker in the fields of architec- the Leuphana University Lueneburg, MARIE LE SOURD ture, environment, arts, cultural heritage, ISCO (Institute of Sociology and Cultural urban planning and development with Organization – ISKO in German). Among Marie Le Sourd is the Secretary General of more than 20 years of intensive experi- other engagements, Sacha Kagan is the On the Move, the European cultural mobil- ences, orienting his practice and thinking Chair of Research Network 2: Sociology ity information network. This organisation towards sustainable urbanism and archi- of the Arts, at the European Sociological provides information about cultural mobil- tecture. Trained as an architect, he has Association (ESA) for the period 2015- ity opportunities and funding in Europe worked as architectural designer, urban 2017; he is Founding Coordinator of and worldwide, and tackles various issues designer and planner, researcher and con- Cultura21 International – ‘Cultural related to cultural mobility, including envi- sultant on urban management and gover- Fieldworks for Sustainability’, a network ronmental ones. From 2006 to 2011 Marie nance. He has worked with private sec- gathering artists, scientists and other cul- was Director of the French Cultural Centre tors, governments, international and local tural practitioners engaged for cultures of in Yogyakarta (Indonesia) after managing NGO’s, international agencies such as the sustainability; and he is a founding mem- the Cultural Exchange Department of the WWF, the British Council, the World Bank ber of Cultura21 in Germany (Institut Asia-Europe Foundation-ASEF (Singapore) and UNDP/UN-HABITAT. Community Cultura21 e.V.). His my main research and for seven years. engagement, community-based approach, action area is the transdisciplinary field of participatory democracy in urban develop- ‘arts and (un-)sustainability’. Some of his ment and planning are always an important other areas of work and interest include emphasis in his approach. His special inter- the sociology of arts and culture, cultural ests include the urban study of Jakarta, economics, dance studies, documen- Guest contributors city and arts, and social changes towards tary film, sustainability and sustainable sustainability. development. CHANTAL BILODEAU Chantal Bilodeau is a New York-based MIKE VAN GRAAN YASMINE OSTENDORF playwright and translator originally from Montreal. She is the Artistic Director of Mike van Graan is the