Cultural Institutions and Sustainability Activism: Balancing Ethics, Activism, and Impact

As the climate crisis becomes increasingly pressing, the need for social and cultural institutions to enact sustainability has become an increasingly debated and essential issue. Institutions are being called upon to reconsider their practices, rules, influence and responsibilities. It makes one pause and wonder—what are museums really for, besides ticking the “cultured tourist” box on our travel agendas? Museums are social spaces for our communities where people can interact, converse, and learn. An institutionalised stage of knowledge preservation and production. Museums can offer an excellent platform for educating the public about current (and even past) issues, such as the climate crisis. Cultural institutions are well-respected organizations whose opinions and acts greatly matter since they embody our society as keepers of our art and culture. Museums represent us. Activist Museums: Institutions with a Goal What can museums do? What are their opportunities and limits? How can they inspire change in people, not only in theory but in practice? When asking these questions, I am sure many do not see the true power of cultural institutions. “Museums can sign open letters, endorse movements and campaigns, and form broad coalitions within and beyond the museum sector. They can host community meetings and operate as meeting spaces for activists, organize training sessions and consultations, stage prop-building workshops before demonstrations, and host panel discussions and film screenings on pressing contemporary issues with thought-leaders in environmental justice and science for the common good.” (Lyons and Bosworth, 2019, 181). Exhibitions: Learning in Conversation The Climate Museum UK is an excellent example of a local museum with a smaller outreach. This experimental museum curates and collects information about climate emergencies. It organises talks, games, workshops, and other activities. Therefore, they can reach people of various ages and backgrounds. A smaller outreach does not equal an insignificant impact. During my time in the UK, I also experienced the strength and unity of local communities. This museum is an excellent example of such collaboration between individuals, and this respect opens up the doors for conversations that become the basis of change. Limitations can be redefined when the goal is clear enough, in this case, education on the climate. There have been numerous sustainability exhibitions and shows in Australia, the UK and the US. For example, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has dedicated its first major exhibition in four decades to the topic of the Anthropocene. Focusing on biodiversity conservation, the future of natural history museums and a practical understanding of the relationships of humans and nature. In New York, a complete museum is dedicated to the cause, The Climate Change Museum. Their main focus is on giving tangible, literal advice to visitors on what they can individually do to help the climate. Organizing events specifically for children to teach the dialogue on climate engagement from a young age. However, it is very difficult to keep the necessary attraction and interest of visitors, and looking for donors and stakeholders is increasingly challenging as well. Sustainability Behind the Scenes Transparency is key, especially since the public increasingly expects institutions to upHowever, changes can also be implemented behold their ethics and take a clear approach hind the Instagrammable gallery space walls. to societal issues. Today, political neutralThe Go Green Project is an intriguing example ity is almost impossible and unattainable. of that. They are developing preventive and restorative conservation techniques for art pieces. Despite its sustainability efforts, the National HisChanging harmful, outdated conservation methods tory Museum faced accusations of greenwashing which include toxic and pollutant products on art after signing a contract with a Danish oil compieces.

pany containing a “gagging clause” prohibiting criticism of the firm (Davic, 2023; ArtNet News, The Gallery Climate Coalition is an international 2023). This raised public concerns about the mucommunity of several art institutions and galleries seum’s independence and potential corporate instriving to make changes in their sector on a large fluence, though the museum denied these claims scale. The GCC was capable of realising that the and later revised the contract. Similar was the case only people who can revolutionise a sector are those with the Louvre, having an open partnership with living and working in it. Their main goals include the oil company, Total causing a stir in the media. the reduction of CO emissions and promoting zero waste practices within and outside the museum However, the environmental consequences of walls. The performativity of the GCC lies in its acinaction affect museums themselves. The Louknowledgement of the weaknesses within its sector, vre had to close its doors and move its art piecdemonstrating self-critique, and its efforts to address es to protect it from the flooding of the Seine in these shortcomings. Setting an excellent example 2021. Venice, renowned as a global hub of art for other sectors to reflect on their own practices. and culture, faces an even greater threat of flooding due to the impacts of the climate crisis. The However, implementing sustainable changes does walls of the Taj Mahal were also surrounded not need to be so elaborate. “The beauty of going by flooded, muddy water in 2023. The risk of green is that everyone can start anywhere at any the destruction of art itself is real and tangible. time. These are easy changes that can be implemented with relatively little funds and efforts.” With a robust ethical framework and finan(Dwyer, 2021, 53) Many museums and other social patrons, there could be a solution. To recial and cultural institutions experiment with ofduce greenwashing, we must raise awareness fering sustainable food and printing more wisely, and educate the general public on sustainability. making small steps towards a prominent change. In a world where activists throw soup at museum pieces, it’s clear that people aren’t shy about Monetisation and Greenwashing: Issues making their opinions known. The public’s conof the Politics of Sustinability sumer pressure and advocacy could push organisations to stay transparent and accountable. The issue of monetisation and capitalisation during the climate crisis is impossible to look over. Generating revenue through sustainability-focused products can help the institution gain the resources it needs to continue working towards a more sustainable future. However, capitalising in this way pollutes and even corrupts the authenticity of the institution’s work and message. A seemn atalie G al is an a msterdam – based journalist and editor – in –

---

The original pages

As published in Issue 4: Limitless. Click any page to view it full size.

First published in Issue 4: Limitless, the Innately Science newspaper.