Sustainability in Action 2023

The day-long conference was a hybrid, digital and in real life event hosted by Hauser & Wirth CEO Ewan Venters and chaired by writer, curator and Executive Director of The Industry, Tim Griffin.

Invited speakers covered three major topics as catalysts for discussion of new ways to work and plan collaboratively:

• Today’s Future: What Does a Sustainable Art World Look Like?

• Operating Systems and Behavioral Shifts

• Environmental Justice, Collectives and Art’s Changing Shape

The event featured a special reading by guest artist speaker Charles Gaines, alongside film contributions from Diana Thater and Camille Henrot.

0:00 Welcome remarks from Ewan Venters, CEO of Hauser & Wirth

6:28 Moderator’s Address by Tim Griffin, writer, curator and Executive Director of The Industry

14:20 Today’s Future: What Does a Sustainable Art World Look Like?
Danny Chivers, Environmental analyst, author and climate action consultant
Kathy Halbreich, Former Director of Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
Naima Keith, Vice President of Education and Public Programs at LACMA
Kibum Kim, Partner, Commonwealth & Council
Haley Mellin, Founder of Art into Acres
Johanna Rietveld, Co-Director of Art Switch, & Anika Schroter, Co-Director of Art Switch

1:20:58 Film contribution from Diana Thater

1:22:45 Cal State LA student-directed documentary We Explore Earth

1:25:10 Cal State LA student-directed documentary LA Crop Swap

1:28:50 Interview between environmental psychologist Paco Underhill and Tim Griffin

1:44:01 Operating Systems and Behavioral Shifts
Laura Lupton, Founding member of Galleries Commit / Artists Commit
Jason Bailer Losh, Director of Business Development, Dietl International
James Merle Thomas, Deputy Director Helen Frankenthaler Foundation
Jodi Roberts, Co-Founder of Art + Climate Action, Executive Director of MarinMOCA
Kelsey Shell, Environmental & Sustainability Strategist, MOCA LA
Cecilia Winter, Project Specialist, Getty Conservation Institute

2:36:00 Environmental Justice, Collectives and Art’s Changing Shape
Andrea Bowers, Artist
Nalleli Cobo, Environmental activist and storyteller, Co-Founder of People Not Pozos (Wells), Co-Founder of South Los Angeles Youth Leadership Coalition
Charles Gaines, Artist
Kevin J. Patel, Founder of OneUpAction International

Sustainability in Action 2022
The lineup of speakers included artist Pipilotti Rist; Artists Commit; Art Switch; Art to Acres; Christie’s; ClientEarth; Kate MacGarry; Frances Morris, Tate Modern; Gallery Climate Coalition; Hospital Rooms; KiCulture; Paul Tukey of Glenstone Museum and SUPERFLEX. The day-long conference was a hybrid, digital and in real life event, uniting international arts sustainability networks, hosted by Hauser & Wirth CEO Ewan Venters and chaired by art writer, broadcaster and The Art Newspaper correspondent, Louisa Buck.

Following four key themes, the conference explored how artist studios are working towards environmental best practices, collectors who are actively supporting industry-conscious approaches, galleries that are taking immediate action and organizations that are implementing changes within the supply chain. The event featured a special presentation by guest artist speaker Pipilotti Rist, whose studio has long practiced sustainable methods for shipping and travel. Rist’s recent 2021 survey at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) was the first carbon-calculated exhibition to be organized by the museum.

Learn more about our first ‘Sustainability in Action’ conference, held in Somerset in 2022.

About Cliodhna Murphy, Hauser & Wirth’s Global Head of Environmental Sustainability 
With over 15 years’ experience in the art world, Murphy has worked in project management and operations roles for a number of UK galleries and organizations, including Frieze Fairs and Tate. Murphy joined Hauser & Wirth in 2017 as Director of Operations based in London and, as part of that role, led the gallery’s carbon footprint calculation initiative. Appointed as Hauser & Wirth’s Global Head of Environmental Sustainability in 2021, Murphy has written about the Science Based Targets Initiative for the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) and is a volunteer member of the GCC’s Waste Management steering group. ‘Sustainability in Action’ is an annual event which launched in Somerset in 2022.

Hauser & Wirth is committed to aligning with the goals set forth by The Paris Climate Agreement of the United Nations. The gallery’s commitments are to:

• Reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 50 percent by 2030, in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), including reducing our shipping and business travel emissions.

• Support strategic climate funds that are anchored by climate justice initiatives and devoted to preserving existing forests and positively impacting communities.

• Actively provide a platform for industry collaboration toward climate impact reduction goals.

About Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles
Hauser & Wirth opened its first Los Angeles location in 2016 in the heart of the burgeoning Downtown Arts District at 901 East 3rd Street. Occupying a former flour mill, Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles is a vibrant communal space that links art and architecture with a dynamic events program. In addition to supporting and collaborating with many local and international cultural organizations, nonprofits and universities, the Los Angeles gallery fosters public dialogue with the arts through a range of activities that engage the city’s diverse population. Hauser & Wirth’s long-term partnership with local educational institution Cal State LA will be highlighted during the ‘Sustainability in Action’ conference with a short screening by student filmmakers from the university’s Community Impact Media course. Alongside support for this course, the partnership with Cal State LA encompasses opportunities for students to engage with the gallery and its program through collaborative events hosted onsite at Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles.