Climate change is both a local and a global problem, and our relationship with the environment is the focus of many arts events and the practice of many artists. But what is the impact of the arts and cultural sector on the environment? How can art most effectively speak to our environmental concerns? How can art organisations embrace sustainability when they are shipping objects around the world? How can the arts community best lobby audiences and government for effective change? We ask: can the arts ever be zero waste?

In June 2019, a report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network ranked Australia 38th out of 162 countries in terms of sustainability. The report noted that Australia obtained its worst results in ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’ and ‘Climate Action’, adding that to be on track to reach the target set by the United Nations for 2030, monumental changes would need to be made to lower CO2 emissions, overall pollution and threats to biodiversity.

Join us on Monday 3 May for a focused panel discussion on art, artistic practice, sustainability and climate change.

Panellists include:

Rox De Luca, a Sydney-based artist who works with found plastics.

Zehra Ahmed,  the Sustainability, Accessibility and Diversity & Inclusion Projects Coordinator at the Australian Museum. 

Guy Abrahams, Co-Founder CLIMARTE (NFP, Alliance of practitioners and organisations to advocate for action on Climate Change)

Dr. Jane Gavan, a Senior Lecturer in Visual Art at the University of Sydney. Her research examines innovative, social and environmental approaches to contemporary creative practices to discover their shared value across the community through international industry collaborations.

Professor Mark Howden, Professor Mark Howden is the Director of the Institute for Climate, Energy & DIsaster Solutions at the Australian National University.

Kiersten Fishburn , the Coordinator General of the Planning Delivery Unit (PDU) in the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, will moderate this panel.