Take a holiday from the “end of the world” as we know it, and explore art that shines a light on solutions for a sustainable future.
Sustainable Solutions
2019 included the launch of The Art of Sustainability, and began my curation of a plethora of amazing eco-inspired art. But the news and the messages throughout the year also often contained too much “doom and gloom” for the holidays. So for the Christmas-Channukah-New Year-New Decade holiday season, I decided it was time for a positivity infusion. The Art of Sustainability December 2019 and January 2020 feed focused on art celebrating solutions for our sustainable future. Project Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, Edited by Paul Hawken served as my prompt to seek out art exploring the strategies highlighted in the book. Like wine and cheese, for almost every top sustainability strategy, there’s art to go along with it, from Wind Turbines to Trains, and Educating Girls to Forest Protection. OK, I’ll admit, I haven’t seen art about Refrigerant Management (yet)*.
Let’s assume we ARE going to have a future, a bright green, shiny, amazing one; how did we get there? Maybe we tried some of the ideas highlighted in these artful visions.
The heartening thing is that these works shed light on just a few of the types of solutions that we need to create a sustainable future, and that are available right now.
Beyond the Wave features organic photovoltaic and kinetic harvesting and could generate 4,229 MWh5w! 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative design competition for Copenhagen; artist team: Jaesik Lim, Ahyoung Lee, Sunpil Choi, Dohyoung Kim, Hoeyoung Jung, Jaeyeol Kim, Hansaem Kim (Heerim Architects & Planners). 
WE CAN DO IT! shouts an eco and equity call to action from María María Acha-Kutscher 
Starlit Status designed by Sunggi Park for a submission to the 2019 Land Art Generator design competition for Abu Dhabi. Solar & water harvesting with hydroscopic materials puts a new spin on “utilitarian art”. 
Van Gogh Bike Path and its starry nights might help light the way. Smart roads of the future may mix transit modes, provide traffic data, and make travel more artful By Studio Roosegaarde. 
Mark Warren Jacques‘s Center Movement gives Seattle transit riders a mystic vision of connection along the SODOTRACK. Photo courtesy of WISEKNAVE.. 
For Forest: the Voice for the Trees. 2019 installation by Austrian artist Klaus Littman, inspired by The Unending Attraction of Nature, by Austrian artist and architect Max Peintner (b. 1937).
To view all the art from December and January, visit The Art of Sustainability Instagram page (no account needed to view).
Take Heart
The heartening thing is that these works shed light on just a few of the types of solutions that we need to create a sustainable future. The technologies, materials, and methods for our planetary salvation exist, with more are coming online every day. The key challenge is us. To save ourselves, both individually and collectively, we must act in ways that are good for each other and the planet (and by “good for the planet” I mean good for allowing our planet to maintain the temperature range, biodiversity, and clean air and water that we as humans depend on for living), and we must do so quickly. A powerful motivator for change, as it turns out, is storytelling. Rather than tales of woe, however, we need visions of a world we want to see, across all art media. Through art, what seems impossible can be made relatable, and paths to possibility can be glimpsed. Yes, we can do it! We must do it.
*If you have seen art about Refrigerant Management, I’d love to see it! Drop me a line at teresa [at] teresastern.com.
Love this! As someone whose sustainability journey focuses on aiming for a brighter future (rather than being terrified of what could happen), I have loved following along with your blog posts and art sharings on Instagram. By doing our part, and sharing our knowledge with others, we’ll continue to see growth in sustainability through technology (as you mentioned) and human choices.
Thanks Jean! Hope + creativity + action = a livable future 🙂
Awesome! Its a really amazing article, I have got a much clearer idea about solutions from this article.