In connection with its involvement in the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) which will take place in Paris from 30th November to 11th December 2015, Surfrider Foundation Europe recently launched a call for submissions for an artist residency based on the ties between climate, ocean and society, with the aim of creating a piece of art which will be included in the Surfrider Campus Tour 21 before being exhibited in the Petit Palais, Paris. With the call coming to a close, the name of the winner will be announced by the end of February.
Surfrider hopes to make the most of its involvement in COP 21 to present the public as well as national, European and international authorities with a new perspective on the issues that society must integrate in the face of climate change. In line with the projects developed in the past two years through Surfrider’s educational measures, Art Campus aims to ally environmental awareness and artistic creation in order to revive our thinking through the perspective of a contemporary artist.
ALLYING CREATION AND AWARENESS IN AN ARTISTIC PROGRAMME
« The question ‘what is the best way of changing our behaviour towards the environment?’ is often asked. It seems to me that the first step towards change is through an encounter, an impact, or questioning that can happen through a multitude of media and a variety of materials. Here art claims to be the medium of this encounter. In my mind the emotional force of it (be it with a person or a work of art) is the most favourable breeding ground for awareness, then the search for knowledge and finally a change in behaviour. That is why we developed the Surfrider Art Campus, in order to provide a different path towards environmental awareness. » – Boris Masseron, Head of Surfrider Campus
Over a three-month residency at the association’s headquarters in Biarritz, the selected artist will develop their work exploring the relationship between humankind, the ocean and climate through the prism of climate change and the stakes it represents for our societies. Assisted by the Surfrider team who will offer their expertise on the role of the ocean in climate regulation, the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems and the individual and collective solutions which humankind can put in place to protect it, the artist will offer a personal vision of these themes through his/her work.
No particular discipline is favoured. With the freedom to select his/her techniques, in the project the artist will especially commit to integrate the key aspects of mediation and mobility which characterise the programme. Indeed after a period of residency on Surfrider Campus premises in Biarritz where he/she can discuss the emerging creation with a mainly young audience and, if so desired, integrate these discussions into the creative process, the installation will join the Surfrider Campus Tour when it sets out on World Oceans Day (8th June). The Campus Tour educational caravan will be passing through some twenty European towns in the second half of the year while carrying out various awareness-raising operations; in the last stage, it will be installed in the space dedicated to NGO’s at the Le Bourget conference and in the Petit Palais in Paris.
FIND OUT MORE
For more information on the aims of the programme, its process and the selection of candidates you can consult the call for submissions available online (in French).
Are you open to Surfrider’s values? While you are waiting to discover the work of the selected artist, you can also join us right now by participating in the 20th Ocean Initiatives!