About

Mission

Art Switch was founded on a shared belief in promoting environmental sustainability within the creative community. Since 2019, we have been dedicated to driving climate action in the arts by fostering dialogue, curating diverse voices, and regenerative art practices that address the climate crises and imagine a climate-conscious, resilient, and equitable future.

Our work is driven by interdisciplinarity, community engagement, and a commitment to creating space for new perspectives and meaningful collaborations with emerging artists and institution from near and far.

We believe that connecting around shared values and forward-thinking ideas becomes more important than ever in this fractured world. This is why we aim to shape artistic practices that withstand shifting currents and invite our audiences to collectively develop optimistic, inclusive, ambitious, and dynamic worldviews.

Since 2019, Art Switch has been at the intersection of sustainability and the arts. Our first activities took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and much has evolved since then. Here are a few questions that speak to what has inspired us to do this work and how the thinking and activities have shifted over the last years.

When and why did you create Art Switch?

Art Switch was born from a shared passion for environmental sustainability within the creative community. Our journey began in the fall of 2019, prompted by our collective frustration over the pervasive issue of single-use waste and the lack of alternative practices in the industry. We quickly united over a common goal: instigate positive change by engaging and curating different voices that empower climate action in the arts.

Why did you decide to have a foothold in both New York and Amsterdam? Is there a benefit to being multinational?

With our Dutch and German roots, it made sense to create an initiative that would have a foothold both in Europe and in New York, our current home base. Amsterdam, as a global hub for innovative practices and circular systems, seemed like the best complementary location to start from. Once we launched Art Switch, we also understood the impact that could arise from a broad and global coalition of climate advocates. During our first conference, we were blown away by the amount of international participation eager to share and learn from each other. It became clear that the biggest shift would come from uniting geographies, people, and practices.

How has Art Switch grown or evolved since its founding?

Our journey has been one of evolution and growth. Art Switch transitioned from online conferences and publications to developing transdisciplinary public programming across a spectrum of institutions including galleries, museums, universities, and community spaces. Our topics have evolved along with the sector’s demands, continuously pushing the boundaries of the conversation and practices. On a personal level, running Art Switch has been a source of continual learning and it’s been fun to see how together with other organizations like Art Into Acres, Art + Climate Action, Artists Commit, Galleries Commit, Gallery Climate Coalition, Ki Culture, we have shaped the discourse and somewhat grew into a family.

Do you feel that sustainability in the arts has changed since Art Switch's founding?

In 2019, the discourse around sustainability in the arts was still very new with little centralized platforms and a lack of data and resources. It felt like an open ground with many possibilities to implement change. Amid the pandemic, the sector was able to adapt and as a result, many new organizations blossomed to address the problems along the supply chain of the arts. Since then, the field of sustainability in the arts has moved away from its niche into a mature topic with new sustainability leadership roles, specialized funding, and sector-specific consulting agencies. At the core of these changes lies a strong collaborative foundation, exemplified by coalitions of organizations such as PACT, Partners for Arts Climate Targets, and GALA, Green Art Lab Alliance.

People

Contributors

Anika Schroter and Johanna Rietveld have been running Art Switch since 2019. With multidisciplinary backgrounds in exhibition development, architecture, and research, they both are advocates for the arts’ collective power for change and climate innovation. 

Charlotte S. Somerville

Arne Empen

Pierre-Jean Desemerie

Bart Jansen

Ashley Ashe

Xingyao Wang

Joanna Wendel

WE are Pact

Climate Action in the arts

Art Switch is a founding member of PACT – Partners on Art and Climate Targets. PACT is an international coalition of organizations within the visual arts engaged in collaborative efforts to accelerate the sector’s broad adoption of collective climate action: Art Into Acres, Art + Climate Action, GCC, Art to Zero, Artists Commit, Galleries Commit, Gallery Climate Coalition, Ki Culture. By advocating for every individual’s agency, PACT amplifies voices and promotes collaboration for global change.

Each organization within PACT brings offerings to the sector, inviting multiple pathways for engaging in meaningful climate action and allowing each initiative to innovate, explore solutions, and build community while supported by and supporting a collective, aligned network. In 2021 PACT was part of the Hope Forum, an important marker bringing a multitude of voices from the art sector to the negotiator’s table with the outcoming message being clear: the role of the art sector in accelerating climate action is critical, and we, the art sector, are committed to inspiring hope and fostering real action for our humanity and planet. The Hope Forum marks an important start for ART 2030’s push for Hope, Collaboration, and Action across our sector, together.