Sustainable Practices

BAFTA and Julies Bicycle Announce New Partnership

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JBsustainingcreativity.102840The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced a new sustainability partnership between the BAFTA Albert Consortium, responsible for industry carbon calculator Albert, and Julie’s Bicycle, the sustainability organisation.

The new partnership between the BAFTA Albert Consortium and Julie’s Bicycle aims to encourage and assist good practice in sustainability across the creative sector, and underscores the importance of a collaborative approach in accelerating the creative industries’ transition to a sustainable and responsible, resilient business community. Both organisations have pledged to pool resources to support the development of the skills, knowledge and practical tools needed to facilitate sustainable practice across music, arts, culture, media, broadcasting and film.

Kevin Price, Chief Operating Officer at BAFTA, said: “Individually, the creative industries have done much to promote and embed sustainable practices. Nevertheless, by sharing opportunities, challenges and aspirations across the sector we stand to achieve much more. BAFTA is incredibly proud to have assembled the leading think tank on the sustainability of the TV industry – exploring the substantial need for immediate practical action. Our challenges and solutions are by no means unique and I firmly believe a collaborate approach to be a catalyst for greater progress.”

Alison Tickell, Founding Director of Julie’s Bicycle, said: “This collaboration is really good news for sustainability. Our industries consistently punch above their weight with great creative ideas, entrepreneurial drive, 100% commitment and extraordinary global reach – in fact, exactly the qualities that the sustainability movement needs right now; together we are a formidable force for positive change.”

Sustainability in Theater Unconference (SIT-U 2013) Registration now open

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SIT_logo_web_smRegistration now open

Last year, we presented the first national Sustainability in Theater conference. Please join the Minnesota Theatre Alliance August 19-20, 2013 for a reunion at this year’s Unconference. Compared to 2012’s gathering, the 2013 event at the Southern Theater will be less structured with a greater emphasis on energetic discussions, using Open Space format. All topics related to sustainable practices for our organizations, our craft, our environment, and our community are welcome.

Early bird registration is only $15-$20 per person if you register before by July 15th!

Learn more and register now at http://mntheateralliance.org/content/register-sit-u

See the SIT 2012 conference archive at http://minnesotatheateralliance.org/sit/archive_about.php

Learn about Open Space meeting format at http://www.openspaceworld.org/cgi/wiki.cgi?AboutOpenSpace

Join the Sustainable Theaters Group on our Web site at http://sustain.minnesotatheateralliance.org/

Like the Sustainable Theaters Group Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SustainableTheatersMN

 

Minnesota Theater Alliance

308 Prince St. #270

Saint Paul, MN 55101-1437

(651) 789-0787

 

Web: http://mntheateralliance.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaTheaterAlliance

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheaterAlliance

PULP: Reclaimed Materials Art and Design April 27th

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There will be a unique event Architecture For Humanity Toronto and PULP: Reclaimed Materials Art and Design is holding on April L7OdEt0U5pxgbFRu-V9DKA3VHtVF0DQzjOzYV2MNDjA27th at Metropolis Factory (50 Edwin Avenue – close to Dundas St. West Station on Bloor)). It’s called PULP: paper art party and it will be exploring more active programmatic uses for an art show such as dancing, play, and conversation inside, under, or on the art.

From their release:

We are organizing artists and designers to collect blue-bin materials, especially paper and cardboard, to source their designs of installations and furniture. Our vision is to bring together professional artists (some of which we already reached) and students from all schools around Toronto. We have student representatives at U of T, Ryerson, Waterloo, OCAD, and Humber College. We are excited to give students the opportunity to work alongside professional designers and other students from different schools, to form connections and strengthen Toronto’s design community in a casual and fun settings. We are also committed to explore new sustainable practices and alternatives to the current life-cycle of paper products – it is our belief that while recycling is a good idea, its current practice can be greatly improved. We are inspired by Cradle to Cradle (William McDonough) and Garbage Warrior (Michael Raynolds).

We have these ideas about community, collaboration, and sustainability but we do not want to preach people – we’d rather get them on the dance floor or see them sitting on a cardboard sofa with a drink. The earlier part of the event will be more relaxed (music-wise) to encourage conversation and interaction with the art. There will be a live band (from Humber College’s music program) and several DJs. There will also be a large projection screen that will show video art (we are accepting submissions for that too) and design students’ copywork.

You can find out more on our website - http://pulpartparty.ca/

Our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/PulpArtParty

And the Facebook event page - https://www.facebook.com/events/581888158491090/

Donyale Werle to Speak at USITT 2013

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USITT-DonyaleWerle-tonyTony Award-winning scenic designer Donyale Werle will speak at the upcoming USITT conference in Milwaukee on the subject of making Broadway more environmentally friendly. Werle, who is the pre-production co-chair of the Broadway Green Alliance, is committed to making theatre a “greener” practice, and uses salvaged materials in her sets and designs. Her set for Peter and the Starcatcher, for which she won a Tony, was made entirely of recycled materials. She will speak on Saturday, March 23.

Donyale Werle, winner of the 2012 Tony Award for scenic design and a leader in the Broadway Green Alliance, has been added to the already-stellar lineup of participants at the 2013 USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo March 20-23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Ms. Werle’s session will focus on producing greener theatre. She has gained much acclaim for her use of salvaged materials in her sets and for her creative designs; she won her recent Tony for Peter and the Starcatcher, whose set was made entirely of recycled materials.

Werle serves as pre-production co-chair for the Broadway Green Alliance, which works for sustainable practices in the theatre community and is sponsoring her appearance at the USITT Conference on Saturday, March 23. BGA is a supporting member of USITT, the national association for backstage professionals, whose annual conference draws 5,000 people from the world of theatrical design and technology.

USITT considers Werle’s appearance a major coup for the conference, which has devoted resources to promoting greener theatre and production for several years. Last year USITT awarded a grant to Technical Director Paul Brunner, assisted by Scene Designer Michael Mehler, co-chairs of BGA’s Education Committee, to support their efforts to bring sustainable practices to educational theatre. They will be holding a separate seminar on “Reimagining Theatre with Green Ideals” at the upcoming conference and helped bring Werle in as a speaker.

Cultura21 eBook Vol. 6: Sustainable Fashion

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

New Approaches within the Fashion Industries

Our 6th volume in the Cultura21 eBooks series – by Rana Öztürk

This eBook analyzes current developments in the fashion industries related to the debate on the Cultural and Creative Industries. The author’s approach includes the particularities of the debate about social, economic, aesthetic and anthropological aspects and, lastly, the current discursive and practical changes towards the idea of sustainable development.

The focus lies on two main aspects: First, the implementation of new sustainable practices within the production sector of the fashion field, and second, a mindset change in consumer behavior.

Rana Öztürk: Sustainable Fashion. Link: eBook Vol. 6 as PDF

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 FOR PAPERS/PROPOSALS: Trans-cultural, trans-national, trans-species histories in performance

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ASTR/TLA 2012 WORKING GROUP
Ecology and/of/in Performance Working Group (on-going)

“Trans-cultural, trans-national, trans-species histories in performance”

Since our first ASTR Working Group session at the 2010 conference in Seattle, the Performance and Ecology Working Group has spawned symposia, anthologies, and publications.  Foremost among those is a new volume that grew out of our 2010 session: Readings in Performance and Ecology, eds., Wendy Arons and Theresa J. May (Palgrave 2012).  Our Working Group has continued valuable research on numerous fronts, including:  Earth Matters on Stage conference at Carnegie Mellon University (2012); the Staging Sustainability at York University (2011).  Participants in this Working Group have published an array of new material including; Ecology and European Drama by Downing Cless (Routledge). Networks and journals in the field such as, The Center for Sustainable Practices in the Arts Quarterly, the “Fieldworks” issue of Performance Research (eds. Pearson, Roms, Daniels, 2010), and the “Performance and Ecology” section of Theatre Topics (2007) attest to scholars’ acute awareness of environmental politics and ecopoetics praxis in an imminently changing world.  The rising tide of this focused research indicate not only a growing concern and mounting artistic will in the realm of ecological sensibility, but also faith in the imagination as a critical aspect of our individual and collective ecological identities.

In 2012, as part of ASTR’s “Theatrical Histories” focus, we turn our attention to trans-cultural, trans-national, and trans-species performance in anticipation of a second volume of ecocritical writings on theatre and performance.  Our questions for the upcoming 2012 Working Group session include:

  • How do transcultural and transnational performances re-map our understanding of what May has called “ecodramaturgy”?
  • What constitutes “theatre e of species” (Chaudhuri) and how might these trans-species performances rearrange or reinterpret understandings of representation?
  • How do the material characteristics of artistic sites condition the aesthetics of the work produced?
  • What kinds of geological and geographical histories emerge alongside socio-cultural storytelling?
  • How do intersecting histories – indigenous, place-based, community-driven – play out on stage in performance?
  • How do ecological transitions, transmigrations, transmutations, transformations and transference shape artistic practice and meaning-making in the theatre?
  • Other questions, approaches and  topics that clearly address trans-national, trans-cultural, trans-species topics in performance.

Please send a 500-word Abstract as attachment to both Working Group conveners below:

Theresa May, University of Oregon (tmay33@uoregon.edu)

Nelson Gray, University of Victoria (ncgray@uvic.ca)

Session Format:

Working Group participants will exchange papers in advance of the conference via meetings.  Depending on number, participants will read a selection of 3 to 4 papers each and develop questions that arise from the intersection of the ideas and research.  At the conference, these “pods” will discuss their findings and share them with the entire working group.  The conveners will facilitate a discussion leading to a possible frame (for instance, for a volume of essays) and key questions that the working group would like to see addressed as the research moves forward.

SurVivArt – Art for the Right to a Good Life

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

Berlin

7th to 24th of February 2012

From the 7th to the 24th of February the exhibition SurVivArt – Art For the Right to a «Good Life» takes place at the galleries Mikael Andersen and Meinblau in Berlin.

International artists from Ethiopia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Thailand and the Czech Republic were invited to do a reflection on the meaning of the right to a «Good Life».  From these reflections arose various works of art and related communications on what the “good life“ means to them and people around them. Often the project started off the communication between artists and local communities about sustainable practices in their home country. The artworks touch upon many aspects of our everyday life: Habitation, food, clothes as well as consumption. The works will be shown at the exhibition, which opens at the 5th of February.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation developed SurVivArt with the help of its offices around the world. The project was inspired by the initiative ÜBER LEBENSKUNST from the Kulturstiftung des Bundes and aims at connecting sustainability, climate change and gender equity with the arts and culture.

Among others the works by artists Kebreab Demeke, Robel Temesgen, Alafuro Sikoki, Segun Adefila, Adebimpe Adebambo, Oeur Sokuntevy, Neak Sophal, Tith Kanitha, Nino Sarabutra, and Phyoe Kyi will be shown at both galleries.

“The art works narrate widely differing stories – about the quest for a “good life”; the quest for balance, happiness, and contentment; about the responsible as well as creative and playful handling of resources and new modes of consumption. They also tell us about the power of communities, their potential to survive, and their strength that inspires artists to contribute to a good life through their art.”

The conference Radius of Art takes place in parallel (February 8/9, 2012) and fosters international dialogue and exchange of ideas between culture, science, and politics.

Opening hours of the exhibition are Tuesday to Friday 12 noon – 6 p.m. and Saturdays 11a.m. – 4 p.m.
Opening: 5th February 2012, 6 p.m.

For further information: www.survivart.org and www.radius-of-art.de/conference

This post is also available in: German

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

Sustainability in Theater Conference: People, Planet, Profit, Purpose

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April 30 – May 1, 2012

Minneapolis, Minnesota

A blended conference dedicated to providing tangible, practical strategies to implementing greener theater practices, ensuring theaters remain a vital part of our community.

Early bird discount through December 31
Discounts for members of MTA, TCG, and CSPA		 Register now
Sponsor the SIT Conference
Make a donation

Day One: Learn

A full day of learning and networking, featuring sustainability experts, sustainability in theater pioneers and success stories. If you don’t live nearby, all Day One activities will be broadcast online. By attending virtually, you can save money, time, and carbon emissions. We will take full advantage of social media to allow virtual attendees to participate, connect and network.

Speakers and facilitators will cover four focus areas:

  • People (stakeholders)
  • Planet (environmental impact)
  • Profit (keep the doors open)
  • Purpose (artistic vision and values)

All feeding into the question “How can we tangibly change the way we run our theaters to ensure we survive and have a significant positive impact on our environment and community?”

Presenting organizations include:

  • Broadway Green Alliance (New York): helped convert 97% of Broadway’s marquees to LED technology
  • Center for Sustainable Practices in the Arts (Los Angeles): working on SHOPLAB, a materials reuse and sharing facility
  • York University (Toronto): developing the Theatre Artisans Green Skills forum
  • Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company (San Diego): published the Green Theater Choices Toolkit
  • Childsplay (Arizona): host of the Sustainability in Stagecraft conference, 2009
  • Earth Matters on Stage: presenter of ecodrama playwrights festival and symposium
  • Center Energy and the Environment: providing practical, innovative, energy solutions for homeowners, businesses, nonprofits, and government

Day Two: Do

Presentations will focus on local resources available in Minnesota. Participants will break off into separate sessions based on their roles in their organizations and with the help of conference facilitators will work on specific challenges and problems they encounter in their work. The goal of the sessions will be to produce tactics for tackling these challenges, to be published and shared with every attendee. We encourage communities outside Minnesota to organize their own local working sessions.

  • Meet like-minded and like-titled individuals to share best practices and strengthen your network.
  • Learn ideas, case studies and tactics for building a sustainable organization.
  • Address common sustainability challenges theaters and professionals like you are tackling now.
  • Gather an arsenal of practical, immediate tactics that can help you spur change in your organization and celebrate small successes right away.

Presented by the Minnesota Theater Alliance and the Twin Cities Sustainable Theaters Group
Hosted by Brave New Workshop

The SIT Conference Task Force
John Bueche, Bedlam Theatre
Leah Cooper, Minnesota Theater Alliance
Kat Duvic, Brave New Workshop
Erin Farmer, Brave New Workshop
Ian Garrett, Center for Sustainable Practices in the Arts
Todd Hintz, Guthrie Theater
Elena Imaretska, Brave New Workshop
Ellen Jones, Bemidji State University
Jenna Papke, Minnesota Theater Alliance
Jill Underwood, Guthrie Theater
Alicia Wold, CostumeRentals

In partnership with Theatre Communications Group and
Center for Sustainable Practices in the Arts


Barbizon Lighting Company’s New Light Initiative

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Barbizon Lighting Company has rolled out a new program called New Light Initiative. The “NLI” team is working within our organization to implement sustainable practices into all facets of Barbizon¹s operations. We are also developing educational materials to be used both internally to promote sustainable practices within Barbizon and externally to educate our customers and the industry.

The lighting systems in theatres, television studios, and even in houses of worship are among the least energy-efficient parts of those buildings. Cutting energy consumption, whether in a new building or throughout an existing system, can be an overwhelming task for a facilities manager, technical director, or staff technician to undertake on their own. That is why many in the industry rely on Barbizon¹s expertise to help them create a sustainability plan that is tailor-made for a specific facility¹s needs and usage.

Barbizon has over 60 years experience in the lighting industry and our staff, including a full-time LEED-accredited professional, understand the technology and benefits of the wealth of products available as well as the application challenges of a lighting system. Barbizon is uniquely positioned to provide you with the energy efficient solutions for the entire lighting system meeting your technological and design requirements.

“Barbizon’s commitment to sustainable practices encompasses our own operational efforts as well as encouraging sustainability in our industry through research and education. Barbizon’s business model has always been about providing our customers with access to products and information from which they can make choices.” Jonathan Resnick, President – Barbizon Lighting Company

“Sustainability in any form is most successful as a choice. Our New Light Initiative has been created to ensure that people have the factual information needed to make good choices in sustainability.” Steve Cullipher, Barbizon Florida Systems Manager, LEED AP

Barbizon New Light Initiative PDF

Green Theatre Network Meeting held at Arcola Theatre and Tent on 24th November

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The event was an opportunity for members of the Green Theatre Network to meet up, share progress, discuss issues and find new ways to improve sustainable practices within theatres. The morning consisted of discussions and updates, particularly from members of the network who gave brief summaries on their latest sustainability initiatives. There were also discussions on the future of greening theatre and what we can ideally achieve by 2025.

The variety in projects ranged from new LED lighting techniques, introducing Green Riders into contracts, energy monitoring and measuring, Climate Week 2012 progress and more. It was inspiring and exciting to see how each theatre or company is using different initiatives to be more sustainable.

The event was organised by Julie’s Bicycle, an organisation working to integrate sustainability into the arts.

Go to Arcola Energy