Dear Earth

Fife Contemporary is marking its 20th anniversary in 2026 with Dear Earth, an exhibition exploring how artists are responding to the increased fragility of the world around us.

For the past 20 years Fife Contemporary have been producing exhibitions of contemporary art and craft for artists and for the public in Fife. Across this time attention to sustainability and care for the planet has permeated our programme, which has often featured artists exploring sustainable practices and addressing themes such as climate justice, overconsumption and environmental change.

Now open at Kirkcaldy Galleries, the Dear Earth exhibition is a message from nine artists to the planet we live on. Ranging from photography, printmaking, ceramic, found-objects and crafted installations, the works in Dear Earth address the impact of human activity and the declining health of our planet.

We now live alongside the climate emergency, environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity, and the growing political and social polarisation and conflict that it brings. A sense of increasing concern for the future is becoming the norm, and artists’ practice is inevitably affected by this ever-present sense of turmoil.

The artists in Dear Earth aren’t resigned to despair but instead embrace a sense of discomfort which looks to a future with creativity and purpose in mind. Each work in this exhibition reflects care for the planet and the value of our efforts to save and understand it, offering a glimpse of hope and positive change.

Dear Earth features work by Ade Adesina, Helen O’Brien, Jeni Reid, Jenny Pope, Naomi Mcintosh, Scott Hunter, Susie Johnston, Will Carey and Zoe Hamill. Each of these artists have reflected on their own relationship to a fragile and precarious world, and through their practice have found a way to respond. Brought together with different perspectives from across Scotland, they explore an experience many of us can relate to.

The works in this exhibition offer some reassurance, accepting the idea that it is ok to be unsure about the future while we continue to find a way through. Next to the main exhibition space, at the top of the stairs, a Climate Care Corner presents work by Katie Fowlie and provides a space for further support, information and reflection.

Image: Scott Hunter, Bloom, 2024. Photo courtesy of the artist

Dear Earth has been curated and produced by Fife Contemporary to mark our 20th anniversary year. In addition to the artists in this exhibition, we are celebrating this landmark year with a wider Satellite Programme including new commissions, workshops, activities and pop-up events to run throughout their anniversary year. The exhibition and Satellite Programme launched with a packed opening on 21 March at Kirkcaldy Galleries, including a Plantograms Workshops with Zoe Hamill and an Artist In-Conversation Event with Mella Shaw and Stefanie Ying Lin Cheong discussing sustainability in artists’ practice.

The full list of Satellite Programme artists includes Alan Grieve and Eddie Summerton, Annie Lord, Christina Riley, Jonathan Baxter, Katie Fowlie, Mella Shaw, Stefanie Ying Lin Cheong and more to be announced soon. Keep an eye on the Satellite Programme events below, join our mailing list, or follow us @fifecontemp to find out more.

Header image: Ade Adesina, Parallel, 2020. Photo courtesy of the artist

Satellite Programme Events

Drawing from Apple Trees: A Charcoal Making and Sketching Workshop

Gather in the orchard to make apple-wood charcoal, sketch among the trees, and share a relaxed creative day with artist Annie Lord.

Sunlight to Soil: Botanical Photography & Mossling Workshop

Join artist Katie Fowlie for a creative day combining botanical printing with mindful, nature-based making. EATS …

Plantograms with Zoe Hamill

Join Dear Earth artist Zoe Hamill for a fun filled session exploring alternative photography.