Environmental Issues

Essay Competition 2014 – Leadership

This post comes to you from Cultura21

Entries are now open for the 2014 WOLFoundation essay competition.

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Whether it relates to environmental degradation, personal privacy, the functioning, or otherwise, of our democratic processes and many other issues, many people feel that we are suffering from an almost global crisis of leadership. An inability to break out of the status quo to enable societies to address some of the growing social and environmental issues that we all face.

The theme of this year’s competition is: Leadership: What are the characteristics of effective leadership in the 21st century?

Entrants to focus on the nature of leadership itself rather than the specific issues that leaders should be addressing are encouraged.

Visit the Guidelines page for more details about this year’s competition.

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Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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Call Out for Associate Artist #climatechange

This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

The Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow is recruiting a freelance artist to work with the gallery to explore climate change, sustainability and environmental issues while we host Early Warning Signs, a work by Ellie Harrison.

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The successful artist will use their practice to help the gallery staff to learn new things about themselves as a community, and challenge them to explore the ways they work together as a staff team on environmental issues and sustainability in their programming. The ambition is to build a stronger internal capacity for collaborative, participatory working practice, which make a difference to our carbon footprint.

For any inquiries please see the contact details on the brief, although please note the gallery staff will be unable to answer any inquiries until after 6 January 2014.

Submission requirements
Submissions should be sent in electronic format to John Irwin (john.irwin@glasgowlife.org.uk )

Closing date for submissions: 12 pm Friday 24 January 2014
Interviews on Monday 3 February 2014

Image: Early Warning Signs by Ellie Harrison at GoMa

The post Call Out for Associate Artist #climatechange appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

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Exposure UNESCO-COAL Adapting to the Anthropocene

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EXHIBITION ORGANIZED BY UNESCO, THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION COAL, COALITION FOR ART AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

Monday, November 25 to Friday, November 30 from 10am to 17:30 ●

Opening Tuesday, November 26, at 18h, in continuation of the roundtable  Thinking Anthropocene from 4:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Room II

On the occasion of the World Day of Philosophy in 2013.

Fourteen projects by contemporary artists involved in environmental issues named in the various editions of the Prix COAL Art & Environment: Ackroyd & Harvey – Thierry Boutonnier and Ralph Mahfoud – Damien Chivialle – Olivier Darné – Nicolas Floc’h – Hanna Husberg, Laura McLean, Nabil Ahmed, Benedetta Panisson, Rosa Barba, Christopher Draeger & Heidrun Holzfeind Marian Tubbs and Drew Denny – Ivana Adaime Makac – Matthew Moore – Liliana Motta – Lucy + Jorge Orta – Zhao Renhui – Anna Katharina Scheidegger – Laurent Tixador – The Migrant Ecologies Project .

Entitled  Adapting to the Anthropocene , this exhibition presented art projects nominated in the various editions of the Prix COAL Art & Environment, which all have in common understanding of the major environmental issues, societal and contemporary, participating in the emergence a new culture of nature and ecology. Each year, through the COAL Art & Environment Award, the association recognizes a contemporary artist involved in environmental issues. The winner is named among the ten selected by a jury of personalities from the world of contemporary art, research, ecology and sustainable development artists, through an international call for projects.

The furnishing of this prize has now become a truly international event that attracts many renowned artists and pioneers in the art of ecology. Each year, the Coal Price Art and Environment is a theme of honor. The 2013 edition on the theme Adaptation received nearly three hundred entries from over 50 countries.

Established in 2010 by the COAL association, COAL Art and Environment Prize of EUR 10 000, is placed under the patronage of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, Ecology, Sustainable Development and the Energy, and the National Center for Visual Arts. It also receives support from private partners.

For UNESCO, this exhibition provided an exceptional opportunity to promote to the public the ethical principles and responsibilities for climate change adaptation that the Organization seeks to encourage each day through its activities, and in particular through the activities developed by the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST).

These principles and responsibilities that call for humanity to ensure the sustainability of the environment, encourage people to consider biodiversity and ecosystem integrity as the foundation of life on earth.

Beyond the analytical contributions of the social sciences that may help change human behavior, there is no doubt, for UNESCO, that art can not only be suitable emotional way  to foster new attitudes towards nature and the environment, but it can also be their reflection. This is indeed provided by the example of the  COAL association, founded in France in 2008 by professionals of contemporary art, sustainable development and research to foster the emergence of a culture of ecology.

Video credit: The glacier study group, 2013. Institute of critical zoologists

Via Exposure UNESCO-COAL Adapting to the Anthropocene: COAL.

Culture’s role in environmental change

This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

The British newspaper The Guardian asks: What have the cultural and creative industries got to do with climate change?

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“Climate change is not just about the climate – it will have huge knock-on effects on human rights, economics, democracy, equality and social and civil justice landscapes.The cultural and creative industries already make work that reflects implicitly and explicitly on these issues listed above. We already stir the imaginations, minds, emotions, spirits and souls of audiences on these subjects. So why is environmental sustainability the topic so often missing from the list? The window for averting climate change is narrow. If we want to choose our own path, not have one forced upon us, we need to take responsibility and act now. We must have the courage to programme much more work about environmental issues…”

Guardian Culture Professionals Network – 15 July 2013:
Culture’s role in environmental change The live and digital work of the cultural and creative industries is key to a low carbon transition and future, says Hannah Rudman

Guardian Culture Professionals Network’s Facebook page

Newsletter from The Guardian Culture Professionals Network
Date: 16 July 2013
Subject: Culture’s role in environmental change | Sustainability should be at the heart of our artistic vision 

What have arts and culture got to do with climate change?

“As a sector we are a powerful collective imagination and a trusted voice” – so starts consultant Hannah Rudman in her piece for us on the role the culture sector must play in making positive environmental change. “We must tell stories of hope and warning about what the future holds.”

There’s no doubt about the capability of the arts to create life-changing experiences — and life will change quite significantly if we don’t look after our planet.

The facts and figures might speak for themselves, but the arts can make them speak louder. “Our disruptive, audacious thinking can get people engaged,” adds Hannah. “Our stories about ecological sustainability and greener living will be essential to preparing us all for a new ecosystem. Statistics cannot motivate us in the same way stories can.”

And for more stories on sustainability in the arts, read these from director of Julie’s Bicycle, Alison Tickell: why sustainability should be at the heart of our collective artistic vision; and

why reporting data will give the arts confidence to act.

Matthew Caines | Journalist | matthew.caines@guardian.co.uk

What’s new this week

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.

Go toThis post comes to you from Culture|Futures

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Maya Lin: Here and There

This post comes to you from Cultura21

Apr 26, 2013 – Jun 22, 2013, at Pace Gallery, in New York (USA)

New work by Maya Lin exploring her longtime interest in environmental issues, including rising currents and climate change, and expanding her engagement with natural and geographic forms.Click here for the gallery’s website

An article on the exhibition was published in the New York Times (on April 25th):

“…in a sense, Hurricane Sandy also woke up Ms. Lin. Soon after the floodwaters receded, she decided she wanted her latest show at Pace — her first conceived specifically for a commercial gallery — to fix on Manhattan and its surrounding landscape, environmental history and waterways.“I really wanted people to understand more about literally what’s right under their feet,” she said. “I wanted to really focus on revealing aspects of New York, which we might not be thinking about from a natural, topographic, environmental point of view.”

Read the full article here, by Carol Kino.

Her website, mentioned below, is well worth visiting:

“…the show’s most unexpected aspect is a space devoted to her Web site What Is Missing?(whatismissing.net), begun in 2011 as part of a larger memorial to vanishing species and habitats worldwide. “I see it as a guerilla artwork,” she said.”

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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Web of Life Foundation 2013 essay competition

WOLFoundationThe Web of Life Foundation (WOLFoundation.org) is issuing the first call for essays for its 2013 essay competition.

WOLFoundation is dedicating to stimulating new thinking in the field of sustainability and socio-environmental issues. Within this context, the theme of this year’s essay competition is “An Aspirational Future”.

Essays should be up to 2,000 words of prose in any non-technical style (including fiction) and are meant for a general readership.

From the Guidelines: “Any and all views on the specified theme are welcome and encouraged. We would like to see entries that address all perspectives creatively. Just avoid giving us tired ideas that have been hashed out many times before.”

The winning essay will receive a cash prize of $1,500 and $500 is awarded to the second placed entry.

Submissions should be addressed to submissions@wolfoundation.org. Closing date for submissions is September 30th, 2013.

Guidelines for submissions can be found at http://www.wolfoundation.org/guidelines/

A book of collected essays from the 2011 competition (published in collaboration with Cultura 21) is now available for purchase ($7 + p&p. No sales tax.). Enquiries to submissions@wolfoundation.org

COAL Prize Art and Environment 2013: Adaptation

This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Application deadline: February 28th, 2013

http://www.projetcoal.org/coal/category/prix-coal-2013/

The Coal Prize Art and Environment rewards each year a project by a contemporary artist involved in environmental issues. Its goals are to promote and support the vital role which art and creation play in raising awareness, supporting concrete solutions and encouraging a culture of ecology. The winner is selected out of ten short-listed by a jury of well-known specialists in art, research, ecology and sustainable development.

The 2013 Coal Prize will reward entries that focus on adaptation issues. The award of the 2013 Coal Prize will take place in spring 2013 at Le Laboratoire, a private art center specializing in the blending of art and science.

The prize carries an award of 10,000 Euros. Launched in 2010 by the French organization Coal, the coalition for art and sustainable development, the Coal Prize is supported by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, theFrench Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, the National Centre of Fine Arts (CNAP), Le Laboratoire, PwC and a private benefactor.

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.

It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
Go to EcoArtScotland

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COAL Prize Art and environment 2013 – Call for proposals

This post comes to you from Cultura21

Theme: Adaption

The Coal Prize Art and Environment rewards each year a project by a contemporary artist involved in environmental issues. Its goals are to promote and support

upport the vital role which art and creation play in raising awareness, supporting concrete solutions and encouraging a culture of ecology. The winner is selected out of ten short-listed by a jury of well-known specialists in art, research, ecology and sustainable development

The 2013 Coal Prize will reward entries that focus on adaptation issues.

The award of the 2013 Coal Prize will take place in spring 2013 at Le Laboratoire, a private art center specializing in the blending of art and science.

Application deadline: February 28th, 2013

For more information, click here.

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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Seeking Fresh ideas, Freshly presented

This post comes to you from Cultura21

WOLFoundation – the Web of Life Foundation – is seeking submissions of essays to its annual competition that carries $2,000 in prizes

“WOLFoundation is a non-profit organization aimed at encouraging fresh thinking and clear, writing on subjects related to our environment. We are looking for ideas presented in a high quality, non-technical style. We welcome any opinion on environmental issues – be they for or against any particular debate or point of view.

We are looking for clear, compelling writing in the English language showing original thinking and new ideas. We welcome any form of writing – essays, fiction, short stories or any other form of prose written in accessible, enjoyable, style.”

Submission Requirements: Manuscripts must be written in English, double spaced, no longer than 2,000 words and contain no abstract, list of references or footnotes. Images are allowed as part of the manuscript. There are no fees or membership requirements for submission.

Deadline for submission is September 30th.

More details of the Foundation, detailed guidelines and last year’s winning essays can be found at www.wolfoundation.org

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

Powered by WPeMatico

Creu Cymru partner with Julie’s Bicycle to help fourty two Welsh arts venues go green

Whether a former miners’ institute, an Edwardian theatre or modern iconic buildings such as the Wales Millennium Centre or Galeri Caernarfon, arts venues occupy an important place in the communities of Wales. Today sees the start of a major, ground-breaking initiative to support forty two arts venues in Wales to become greener and leaner.

The venues are all members of Creu Cymru – the development agency for theatres and arts venues in Wales. They will be asked about the way they manage their use of energy and water, their waste disposal and other environmental issues. Those who choose to will take part in a more detailed investigation with on-going support.

Based on the results of the investigation venues will be given the tools and advice needed to strengthen their environmental, social and economic sustainability. By becoming more energy and resource efficient, managers of the venues will be able to save money. They will be helped to develop new strategies and communicate these to staff, contractors, suppliers and audiences. Overall, this initiative will make them fit for the future and better able to respond to the challenges of a changing world.

The initiative will address three areas;

  • energy and waste (consumption and treatment)
  • the supply chain (theatre production and touring)
  • communicating to audiences the issues and potential solutions (imagining the future)

The initiative is part of Emergence – an on-going programme of work led by Cynnal Cymru-Sustain Wales and Volcano Theatre Company that aims to make sustainable development a core organising principle of the arts in Wales. This Creu Cymru Emergence initiative has been made possible by the Welsh Government’s Support For Sustainable Living grant scheme through a partnership comprising Creu Cymru, Cynnal Cymru-Sustain Wales, the ESRC BRASS Research Centre (Cardiff University) and London-based arts and environmental sustainability experts Julie’s Bicycle.

BRASS and Julie’s Bicycle will provide the technical expertise. Both organisations have a track record of success in investigating and offering solutions for the environmental and social sustainability of the arts. Cynnal Cymru-Sustain Wales will use the information and learning that comes from the work to inform consultation on the development of the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Development Bill.

The Creu Cymru membership consists of Wales’ most cherished theatres and arts venues that have for generations acted as hubs of social and cultural activity. With this initiative, they will be able to continue to do this in the context of a changing world and make an important contribution to the development of a sustainable Wales.