Artists’ Environmental Resource

Fife Contemporary has long been engaged with environmental concerns in how we carry out our work and also in the themes of our programme. In 2019 we declared Climate Emergency and continue to embed radical changes to how our programme is delivered and across our operations. Since the Covid-19 pandemic we have been focusing on returning to a rich and full programme without returning to pre-pandemic emission levels.

As we work to make changes ourselves, we recognise the lead and inspiration provided by artists and makers, many of whom have been highlighting environmental sustainability through their practice for many decades. In 2019, we held a day exploring Climate Emergency in Practice, and the commitment of artists to make changes within their own practice was clear. However, the complexity involved in engaging with the impact an individual artistic practice could be having on the environment can be daunting.

These pages take you through a tailored Artists’ Environmental Resource, designed to help provide support and information, as well as signposting other online resources that are available.

Small Changes Big Differences

Addressing the climate crisis can seem overwhelming, and the technical knowledge required to assess it can feel out of reach. However, becoming more aware and informed about this can lead to the small incremental changes in behaviour which, when combined with the work of other artists and organisations can make a big difference.

These changes may be incremental rather than immediate, and reflect your general ethical framework and aspirations. It may also involve engaging with organisations you work with to encourage them to
improve their environmental practice, or working collectively with others to push for improvements, so it is not all just down to you!

The Climate Museum UK suggests taking a ‘Possitopian‘ approach, not being stuck in either wishful
Utopian or despairing Dystopian positions about the future.

This Artists Environmental Resource is not designed as a toolkit to enable artists and makers to accurately measure their carbon footprint. The varied nature of artistic practice, and the complexity of the task makes a 1-size fits all toolkit an impractical idea. There are some general Guides and Tools, linked to further down this page, produced by Culture for Climate Scotland that can help you measure and reduce carbon footprint from specific sources. But the time that it can involve to measure and record carbon outputs and waste could easily feel too onerous for individual artists. Most importantly, it isn’t essential to know your precise footprint in order to be able to make meaningful changes.

There pages therefore try to be a general introduction to the issues to consider, divided into helpful sections, and we hope you find it a useful source of information and links which will continually develop.

The information is shared in good faith, and we aim to keep the information provided as up to date as possible. We will continue to review the resource and welcome corrections, updates and additions.

What is the Climate Emergency?

Our planet faces critical threats to our ecology and ultimately to the human life that depends on it. Most immediately the Climate Emergency has been declared as the earth’s atmosphere rapidly warms due to the emission of greenhouse gases (the chief one being carbon but others such as methane also play a part).

Globally 2024 was the hottest year on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). This interactive NASA animation powerfully illustrates the acceleration and spread of global warming.

Alongside changes to the climate, the necessary diversity of species is being eroded due to a variety of causes including habitat loss, intensive farming, unsustainable building practices, population growth and others. Waste from single-use plastics and consumables does not just produce carbon but ends up in rivers and oceans affecting global ecosystems. So tied to measuring, monitoring and reducing carbon waste are also issues around waste reduction, biodiversity, and climate justice.

Where to Start?

Thinking about what you can do and where your emissions come from.

For a completely accurate assessment of your total carbon footprint and environmental impact you need to gather data relating to a number of key areas of your practice. However, this can be complex and time-consuming and the great variety of art practice means no one single result, or solution, will be the same. A focus on identifying the parts of your work, processes and materials which produce the largest carbon footprints provides a useful starting place. You can then concentrate on how to best reduce your climate impact by focusing on one area of your work to start to change; such as adapting your materials and processes, choosing different travel options, or reducing waste.

The main areas covered in this resource are:
• Energy
• Materials
• Waste
• Markets
• Travel

Another simple step you can look into is reducing the impact of your admin and digital footprint. This is not specific to artists work and other resources are available and will be signposted here.

The most effective thing an artist can do is act as an advocate for climate change and good practice and continue the conversation. Talking to people about the work that you are doing to reduce your carbon footprint and asking others about theirs.