Dialogue 4: Sustainable Museums

A program of:
Plastic Heart: Surface All the Way Through

Wednesday October 27, 2pm–3:30pm EDT
With speakers Suzanne Carte, Maya Ishizawa, Sarah Sutton, and moderator Kirsty Robertson

Where does one begin to tally the environmental impact of an exhibition? Is it in the space itself as the artworks and artefacts are assembled? Or is it in the very first steps of the process, which might involve mining for heavy metals and pigments, manufacturing chemicals and products, and laying the fiber optic cables that underlie the systems of communication that are key components of exhibition-making? Guided by these questions, Plastic Heart aims to create a low-carbon exhibition throughout all stages of its making from the size of artworks and geographic proximity of artists, to shipping, material sourcing, installation, exhibition waste, powering media, and web presence. This panel will consider the complexities of this process, how to improve, and will look to other models that critically address aggregate forms of sustainability as motivators for change in the arts.

Video courtesy of 4th SPACE Concordia University.