Artists’ Environmental Resource
Fife Contemporary has long been engaged with environmental concerns in how we carry out our work and also in the …
Tag: Circular Economy
‘REsolve’ exhibition & the Circular Economy
So much going on in the world seems very negative, including UN scientists saying it’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming. Things can feel pretty bleak. It surely must help to find something, even small, you can do to make a change for good.
The ‘REsolve’ exhibition at Kirkcaldy Galleries uses examples of creative work to illustrate the 4 main themes of the Circular Economy. These argue that it would massively improve the environment if we moved away from the current ‘Linear Economy’ – take-make-dispose – to a circular one. In this, waste and pollution are designed out, materials are kept in use for as long as possible, and the natural environment is regenerated, rather than depleted.
The exhibition has been running now 6 weeks and we’ve asked visitors if after viewing it, they feel there are any changes along the lines of a Circular Economy that they could make in their lives. We’ve had some great answers:
- Share tools with family members so don’t need to buy more than one
- Think before buying anything, making sure that I really need it, and if I do, I will buy secondhand first, and if not possible, eco-friendly/circular
- Donated an unwanted guitar to the OnFife music library
- The next garden tool we need to buy, we will hire instead
Here are some of the thought-provoking artworks on view:
Shown are Stefanie Cheong’s Zero Waste jewellery; the underside of one of Sara Howard’s ‘Circular Ceramics’, made from industrial waste; Janet Hughes of Balgarvie Weaving’s beautiful woven cloth from ‘Brockie’ wool, dyed with homegrown madder (photo Studio RoRo); Carol Sinclair’s ‘Tipping Point’ mobile made from recycled plastics & a new material that combines powdered studio waste and Polylactic Acid (photo Neil Hanna); Deirdre Nelson’s upcycled, secondhand t-shirt, embroidered with Platform21’s Repair Manifesto (photo Studio RoRo).
The Repair Manifesto is a list of what you can do to keep things going by repairing them in different ways, rather than throwing them out and buying new.
To find out more about all the artists in the exhibition, visit its webpage.
If you’d like to research ways of making your lifestyle more sustainable, we have a webpage of REsources you can check out, including Zero Waste Scotland and Greener Kirkcaldy. Let us know if you’re aware of others we’ve not included!
Also, if you’re an artist trying to make your practice more sustainable, take a look at our Artists’ Environmental Resource. We’re happy to share information about what you do to be more environmentally aware via the Sharespace – just get in touch.
Another excellent comment, made by an exhibition visitor, was that Marmite was already recycling brewery waste to make its product in 1902. So there’s nothing new about being circular in life or work. But time is really running out now, and even small changes help.
Posted in Fife Contemporary Blog
REsolve: a Creative Approach to the Circular Economy
Fife Contemporary is delighted to present REsolve: a Creative Approach to the Circular Economy as part of our commitment to put the climate emergency at the heart of our programming.
Curated by artist-curator Mella Shaw, this exhibition will showcase the work of contemporary artists, designers and makers and encourage new perspectives on resources, waste and how we live. It will take place at Kirkcaldy Galleries from 26 February to 8 May 2022.
The objects on show will challenge expectation, spark dialogue and reveal an innovative and explorative approach to materials that is essential for our transition away from our current take-make-waste economy. From salvaged building materials to the by-products of beer-making, in the hands of these creative practitioners everything has value to be unlocked. An alternative and hopeful future is discussed through adoption of the themes of the circular economy, as well as celebrating the craftsmanship and creativity necessary for moving towards a sustainable, zero carbon future.
Artists include Sarah Calmus, Chalk Plaster, Stefanie Ying Lin Cheong, Draff Studio, Paul Eames, Helen Grundy, Sara Howard, Janet Hughes, Hannah Imlach, Deirdre Nelson, Carol Sinclair and Daniel Svahn.
Listen to INSIGHTS from some of the participating artists in conversation with Mella Shaw, and explore more resources on the online microsite.
Header image: Objects from the REsolve exhibition. Photo © Ross Fraser McLean / StudioRoRo
Craft Pods 2021-22: Sara Howard
After a pandemic-enforced hiatus in 2020, we’re delighted to have the Craft Pods back on the road later this summer. They will feature the Circular Ceramics of Sara Howard, who creates tableware from industrial waste.
As part of her degree research at Central St Martins (London), Sara looked at how ceramic production could be made more sustainable. She investigated waste streams of various industries including glass and stone-cutting, quarrying and excavation. She experimented with processing their often toxic by-products and was finally able to produce a suitable material from which to make tableware.
Her methods are based on the principles of the Circular Economy, and by doing this, her ceramics divert waste away from landfill, reducing the consumption of raw materials.
This year’s tour will visit a selection of public spaces (including libraries) and secondary schools across Fife. We have also created pages on our microsite to give further details about Sara and her work, including some short films of her processing waste. You will also find details of the tour there.
Sara’s work will also be featured in REsolve: a Creative Approach to the Circular Economy at Kirkcaldy Galleries 26 February – 8 May 2022
Header image: Sara Howard, plate, bowl and cup from the Circular Ceramics collection
Associated Events
REsolve: a Creative Approach to the Circular Economy
Curated by artist-curator Mella Shaw, REsolve showcases the work of contemporary artists, designers and makers, and encourages new perspectives on resources, waste and how we live.
Fife Contemporary – Living with Covid
It’s now about a year since Covid-19 struck the world’s consciousness. In that time there has been much change, much sadness, and in the arts (as with most things), a sudden move from the physical to the virtual in terms of activity.
Like our fellow organisations, Fife Contemporary has had to ‘pivot’ in order to continue delivering our programme. Conversations, discussions and meetings all take place within the confines of a computer’s rectangle.
We were delighted that our exhibition Lines from Scotland was able to reopen at DCL&G last year, albeit months later than planned. Its closure spurred us on to create a series of INSIGHTS, with help from the exhibition’s curator and some of the participating artists, which gave personal views of some of the themes and artworks within the show. These remain as a tangible legacy. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, it’s clear that there will not be an immediate return to ‘normal’ in early 2021.
A taste of our online content so far
- Lines from Scotland Online – INSIGHTS 1-10.
- Care Making for Good – an online exhibition to celebrate the first Phase of our project with Fife carers.
- Fife Portraits for LGBT+ History Month 2019 – to mark Fife Pride 2020 which was to have taken place on 4 July, we published this online exhibition of photographic portraits made last year by 2 LGBT+ youth groups in Fife.
- 100 Buttercups Education Pack – inspired by Laurie Clark’s beautifully drawn flower portraits & featured as part of Engage’s Children’s Art Week 2020.
- Materialise 3 – an online exhibition of selected 2019 craft & design graduates & new makers.
Frances Priest Patterns of Flora, Raasay House: commission by ATLAS Arts – featured in ‘Lines from Scotland’
(Photography Ruth Clark)
Looking forwards
We are currently working on an exhibition which looks at the Circular Economy – REsolve: a Creative Approach to the Circular Economy. It was due to open at Kirkcaldy Galleries in mid-March 2021, but has had to be postponed until 2022. Meanwhile, in the current uncertain climate, we will be working on online material to accompany it.
Sarah Calmus, one of REsolve’s participating artists
(Photo Sandra Franco)
Our usual StAnza Poetry Festival collaboration will take place this year online, and with the climate emergency very much at the forefront, will be linked to the REsolve project (and titled Resolve to Make it New), looking at how the Covid crisis make many of us rethink our lives and try to ‘make do and mend’ – literally. There will be information available very soon about how you can take part in this project.
We continue to offer artist support including another fast-approaching VACMA deadline (2 Feb 2021, 5pm). This time we are pairing Fife with Perth & Kinross – and again with a virtual panel. Artists from these 2 regions interested in applying for a VACMA bursary can find all the information and downloadable forms on our website.
With the new vaccines now being given, we are hopeful that another, more positive, change is on the horizon. We hope that this will enable more face to face arts activity, albeit with masks, in the not too distant future and look forward immensely to that time.
Our Virtual Venue website will continue to keep you up to date with what we’re doing!
Posted in Fife Contemporary Blog