LIMA, April 19, The art world has been often criticised for being too involved in environmental preservation. This is no longer true. Many museums are mobilizing to preserve the territories that are being threatened by global warming.
Peru is particularly affected. Global warming has caused melting of 51 percent of the country’s glaciers over the past 50 years. Deforestation is also affecting the biodiversity in regions like Cajamarca and Cuzco.
Pedro Castillos government, faced with the magnitude of the problem has decided to establish new conservation zones to protect the fauna. FloraLocal communities. Galleries Commit has joined forces with Art into Acres as a way to contribute to this project. The Two organisations have recently been announcedThey had established the Chuyapi Urusayhua Regional Conservation Area in order to protect more than 80,000 hectares Peruvian rainforest. This territory is a true carbon sink, similar to some tropical mountain forests on Africa.
Galleries Commit has been involved in the development of the Chuyapi–Urusayhua Regional Conservation Area over the past ten years, with the on-the-ground support from the Amazon Conservation Association. This project was able to take off after more than 40 museums and arts organisations donated their financial support. They include the Kunstmuseum Bonn and Los Angeles museums of contemporary art, as well the magazine Artforum and the Frank Elbaz, Hauser & Wirth galleries. Most donations received were between US$150 and RM638, but some exceeded US$9,000.
Galleries Commit founder Laura Lupton says that this initiative demonstrates how easy it is to contribute to the preservation of land affected by the climate crisis. She explained to The Art Newspaper that funding land conservation is a low-effort and high-impact climate action. [It is]This is a powerful path to collective action. It also creates tangible evidence that we can point at and say, Together, we supported that!
Green transformation underway
Galleries Commit now focuses on tools to support the art world’s green transformation, with the Chuyapi Urusayhua Regional Conservation Area being established. Artists Commit is the artist-led sister organisation of the collective. They are currently working together on a second round report on climate impact of exhibitions.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of arts organizations that are concerned with the environment. The United Kingdom has a Toolkit This initiative was launched in January to support museums throughout the country in their ecological transition. This program offers museum staff the chance to attend a training course in person or remotely. It encourages them to think about how to improve their operations and to engage with the public to create a more sustainable future.
Some museums, like the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), in Canada, are taking a step further and rethinking their behind the scenes operations. Soren Brothers was its hired as a consultant. curator for climate changeto include the issue in the ROMs operations, programming. The legislation in Australia is the new Bundanon Art Museumwas designed to adapt to natural disasters. The art world is slowly but surely changing its mindsets. ETX Studio
