Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
25 January 2022 Vol 7 No 2 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2022
Portia Priegert
From the Editor
Hill Strategies, an Ontario arts research firm, provides regular reports about interesting aspects of the arts. It has shone a light on the distribution of artists across Canada, for instance, and explored how the pandemic has impacted the arts sector. Its most recent missive came with a provocative title: Green(er) arts?
It’s a productive question. While the arts sector may not seem like a major drain on the environment compared, say, to launching Jeff Bezos into space, everything has a carbon footprint, and sometimes much more than you might expect. Even streaming Netflix adds up collectively.
The environmental impacts of the visual arts include the toxic solvents used in some disciplines, the carbon costs of shipping work, and the energy galleries use to control heat and humidity, to name just a few.
While some in the sector are working to become greener, Hill Strategies says there is still much to be done.
“The research findings indicate that more can be done to align the arts with climate solutions, given the importance of the arts in environmental activism, the quite average level of environmental practices and policies by arts organizations, and a policy disconnect between the arts and the environment,” it says.
For instance, artists can help boost climate awareness through the stories they tell – think of Edward Burtynsky and his work on the Anthropocene project, for instance. I’ll leave it to you to contemplate if that impact offsets its carbon costs.
Hill Research observes that less than 10 per cent of arts organizations and businesses have a written environmental policy or measure their environmental footprint.
While these are difficult times and budgets are typically tight in the arts, it’s hard to ignore the reality that the global problems we are facing – from harsh racial inequalities and Indigenous struggles over land to the cruel reapings of the pandemic and climate change disasters – are an interconnected web rooted in an economic system driven to grow and profit at any cost, even if that means degrading the very ecosystems that sustain life on this planet.
It has become blindingly obvious that we need to reverse this downward spiral, and it behooves us all to do our part, where and how we can. Moving forward in a positive and caring way may also help stem the sense of hopelessness that’s so pervasive now.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how to address environmental issues in our art communities, as well as what you are doing and how Galleries West can support your efforts. Our comments are open below and you are always welcome to contact me directly.
In this issue, we look at artists exploring some of today’s pressing issues. In Edmonton, Agnieszka Matejko writes about George Littlechild’s tribute to Indigenous students who perished at residential schools, and, in Calgary, Lissa Robinson checks out a show that considers how art can be a tool for healing. In Regina, Sandee Moore writes about work that has helped artists process grief over the death of their parents.
We also cover two shows that seem directly relevant to the pandemic – Vancouver writer Mark Mushet considers Jonah Samson’s cyanotypes and, in Saskatoon, Laura St. Pierre tackles Nic Wilson’s videos of burning candles. Finally, Vancouver’s John Thomson enjoys the materiality of installations Connie Sabo constructs from newspapers as she creates new stories by recycling old materials.
Looking ahead, we’re covering exhibitions by Laiwan, Florence Yee, Veronika Pausova, Denyse Thomasos, Vilhelm Sundin and Brendan Lee Satish Tang.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Agnieszka Matejko, Sandee Moore, Mark Mushet, Lissa Robinson, Laura St. Pierre, John Thomson
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Special Measures for Journalism Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
