Artwork at COP26

There's going to be artwork at the COP26 conference at the SEC in Glasgow. 

A lot of artists have been working on promoting a declaration from all countries which will help reduce fossil fuel emissions.

Explorers Against Extinction Exhibit at COP26

Secretary bird study by Alan Woollett
Faber Castell polychromos pencil, 27.5 cm x 39 cm

Explorers Against Extinction are exhibiting - and auctioning online - pieces from the Sketch for Survival and Focus for Survival collections in the Blue Zone of the SEC in Glasgow for the COP26 conference which runs from 31 October to 12 November.

It is a huge thrill to showcase the work of our contributors on the world’s biggest stage, and to reinforce the message of ‘Protect and Restore‘ through our art and photography collections. All 25 pieces being displayed feature endangered species or at-risk wild spaces.

Apparently there were: 

• over 7,000 applicants for exhibition space in the Blue Zone of the conference. 
• Just 14 official photographic exhibits, plus the Explorers Against Extinction Exhibit were selected for the c30,000 delegates expected to descend on Glasgow to enjoy.

Alan Woollett is a a professional wildlife/bird artist based in SE England, who was elected as the 2019 Master Artist at the 44th annual “Birds in Art” exhibition. He also teaches drawing in graphite and coloured pencils and has also published Bird Art  - about drawing birds in graphite and coloured pencil. 

The Secretary Bird is currently classified as an endangered species.

 

Eco works identified by the Art Newspaper

READ: Cop26: six eco works popping up in Glasgow (and beyond) for the UN Climate Change Conference | The Art Newspaper

These include:

Indestructible language, Mary Ellen Carroll 

RENDERING of the Glasgow installation 
indestructible language by Mary Ellen Carroll, MEC studios © 2021
Drone photo by Dougie Lindsay

indestructible language is a Monumental Red Neon Artwork which is visiting Glasgow to illuminate the Glasgow skyline during 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26). She is a conceptual artist who lives and works in New York City

Clean Power, #TogetherBand and Morag Myerscough

This collection features artwork by Morag Myerscough focusing on the three main renewable energy sources - Sun, Sea and Air - or our main campaign message, Clean Power

Hope Sculptures, Steuart Padwick

Three sculptures by UK designer Steuart Padwick are intended to be reminders to people living in cities of the "imperatives of the ongoing climate crisis"

• The Hope Sculpture, is a 23.5m-high structure towering over Clyde Gateway’s woodland park at Cuningar Loop. 
• A second sculpture, Beacon of Hope, is located at Glasgow Central Station 
• The Hope Triptych, is sited at the University of Strathclyde’s Rottenrow Gardens. 

He was also responsible for the Head Above Water piece located on the end of Gabriel's Pier  in London.

Salmon School, Joseph Rossano

School is an international traveling exhibition spearheaded and conceptualized by artist Joseph Rossano that casts light on the diminished state of global salmon and steelhead populations. The installation features a life-size school of mirrored salmon-like forms, sculpted from molten glass by concerned individuals from around the world, as well as first hand video accounts from renowned scientists, artists, and indigenous peoples.

School is inspired by the Skagit River, the fourth largest outflow to the Pacific Ocean in the continental United States, and its dwindling run of salmon and steelhead. Once numbering in the millions, the Skagit’s salmon stocks now number barely in the tens of thousands. Whereas the river's steelhead population, which once numbered in the tens of thousands, now numbers only in the hundreds.

​

City of Trees, Matthew Rosier

City of Trees is an installation and video series dedicated to Epping Forest’s ancient relationship with humans and London. It consists of three lifesize video projections of ancient oak, beech and hornbeam trees in Epping, alongside an original soundscape and musical composition for each. The immersive outdoor projections will be taking place at St Aldermary Church in the City of London from the 4 – 11 November.

Clarion, Bamber Hawes 

This is a 10ft-high polar bear sculpture made from bamboo, willow" and layers of tissue paper and called Clarion has been on a 306-mile tripacross the country, from Shropshire to Glasgow and to Cop26

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A post shared by Bamber Hawes (@bamberhawes)

Do you use eco-friendly packaging for transporting / shipping your art?

Have you thought about how sustainable the packaging is that you use for packing your artwork for transporting to exhibitions or shipping to clients?

Have you heard about the Plastic Packaging Tax - which will start being levied in the UK as from April 2022 - with the aim of reducing the use of single use plastic?

This post looks at:

• the background to the drive for more sustainable packaging
• the Plastic Packaging Tax
• what is packaging - from the perspective of a self-employed small business owner
• your obligations on under the waste duty of care rules?
• how to review your use of sustainable green eco-friendly packaging for your artwork
• PLUS CHECKLIST of questions to ask when thinking how to be more friendly to the planet - and marketing your art!

Background

Very many people are concerned about:

• the impact of climate change
• the extent to which single use plastic packaging is becoming a curse for the planet and its oceans 

In March 2018, the government launched a call for evidence on using the tax system or charges to tackle single-use plastic waste. This received a record 162,000 responses, highlighting the strong public interest in action in this area.

Using new plastic typically has greater environmental impact: it requires unnecessary resource extraction and processing, with higher energy use and emissions than using recycled material. It also results in significant amounts of additional plastic waste on the market, which is generally sent to landfill or incinerated. 

Plastic Packaging Tax | HM Treasury Overview

Many people who buy products are very concerned that packaging should reflect their values and avoid the destruction of the environment. 

These include people who buy art.

What is the Plastic Packaging Tax and who will be impacted?

The UK government wants to promote 

a clear economic incentive for businesses to use recycled material in the production of plastic packaging, which will create greater demand for this material and in turn stimulate increased levels of recycling and collection of plastic waste, diverting it away from landfill or incineration.

To do this it's introducing a Plastic Packaging Tax as from April 2022

Those affected by this tax will be:

• UK producers of plastic packaging,
• importers of plastic packaging,
• business customers of producers and importers of plastic packaging, and
• consumers who buy goods in plastic packaging in the UK.

Bottom line - if you are currently using plastic materials for your packaging, you will probably find it increases in cost next year.

Now is the time to get your packaging standards reviewed and revised!

What is packaging?

Just in case you think this is nothing to do with you as an artist.....

‘Packaging’ is any material used to hold, protect, handle, deliver and present goods. This includes packaging for raw materials right through to finished goods to be sold or being sold. For example, pallets, boxes, bags, tape for wrapping, rolls, tubes and clothes hangers sold as part of the clothing item.

GOV UK Guidance - Packaging waste: producer responsibilities

So unless you place your framed artwork in the hands of your buyer yourself - with no packaging -  you are a packaging producer!

Also, did you know that your art business (in the UK) MUST follow the waste duty of care rules?