As the largest country in the Middle East with a population of 35 million, Saudi Arabia has accelerated its investment in contemporary art throughout Riyad’s JAX district to the AlUla oasis. Currently underway, the Diriyah Biennale of Contemporary Art and the AlUla Arts Festival bear witness to this momentum. Although eco-design practices remain less developed in comparison to other countries, a wave of local and international artists are exhibiting their ecological awareness of the environmental crisis through their works and performances. Jax District, A New Artist Hub Entirely dedicated to ..read more

Heading into 2024, we are witnessing an increased focus on environmental issues in contemporary art biennials and exhibitions. Interconnections with other lifeforms, impacts of climate change, eco-feminism as well as bio-sourced materials are all aspects addressed by artists. The Impact Art News editorial team has selected 15 exhibitions from around the world, reflecting the diversity of actors involved – biennials, museums, galleries, foundations etc.   Green Snake: women-centred ecologies | until 04.01.24 Group exhibition AFSAR (Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Rese ..read more

Contemporary artists are at the forefront when it comes to monitoring and interpreting the signals of our times, constantly delving into their creative energies. For its first edition of 2024, Impact Art News interviewed 17 contemporary artists engaging with environmental themes to identify the major trends ahead. Davide Balula, Bianca Bondi, Carolina Caycedo, FormaFantasma, Lonneke Gordijn (Studio Drift), Janet Laurence, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Haroon Mirza, Marie-Luce Nadal, Lucy Orta, Yan Wang Preston, Lionel Sabatté, Ugo Schiavi, Timur Si-Qin, Moffat Takadiwa, Michael Wang and Bo Zheng ..read more

Founded in 1993, Danish artist group SUPERFLEX live and work in Copenhagen. In this interview, co-founder Jakob Fenger explains how SUPERFLEX’s art transcends traditional boundaries and even exploits humour to spark change and inspire a more sustainable future. Stefano Vendramin: SUPERFLEX has been addressing environmental issues through varied projects over almost 30 years, such as the biogas system Supergas (1996-7), the video work Flooded McDonald’s (2009), and sculptures doubling as potential homes for fish (As Close As We Get, 2021). Can you share the thought process behind these diverse ..read more

The winter exhibition season in France is a precious opportunity to apprehend the ecological upheavals underway, and to discover how artists are increasingly engaging with subjects related to the environment and nature. While cultural institutions question their practices, including the Museum of Modern Art, Paris with its programme “Décroître est un moment de création” (‘Degrowth is a time for creation’), galleries are happily inaugurating a new chapter in the history of art, with researcher and art historian Guillaume Logé, for example, announcing nothing less than a new form of perspective ..read more

Tomás Saraceno was born in Argentina in 1972. Head of an independent laboratory of artistic and scientific experimentation, the artist talks to us about his projects and his environmental commitments. With a research department devoted entirely to the “Arachnophilia”* project, the Studio Tomás Saraceno pulls us into the world of spiders and their webs, probing their most intimate sounds. The waves produced by these spiders produce a musical score unknown to man. Do you think they communicate with us? Whether we manage to receive their message or not, they definitely communicate. Spiders are am ..read more

The end of 2023 is marked by an increasing intertwining of social and environmental themes. In Latin America, the very first Amazon Biennial, the São Paulo Biennial, and the MASP highlight indigenous artists intrinsically connected to the environment and biodiversity. These indigenous experiences also enrich a broader eco-feminist movement with a significant audience, particularly at the Barbican Art Gallery. In Asia, artistic programming adopts a less anthropocentric perspective on environmental issues with a major exhibition at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. Finally, this season also offers e ..read more

10 solo exhibitions on environmental themes are highlighted, both in Parisian galleries and in regional art centers.While we await our next issue in November with a detailed article on exhibitions in France, here are 10 solo exhibitions to discover this fall. Anne-Charlotte Finel*, “Respiro”, CAP Saint-Fons, from September 29th to November 10th 2023  Anne-Charlotte Finel “Respiro” at CAP—Centre d’art de Saint-Fons, Lyon, 2023. Courtesy: the artist, LVMH Métiers d’art and galerie Jousse Entreprise, Paris. © Blaise Adilon                   Théo ..read more

Thu-Van Tran was born in 1979 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She lives and works in France. She was recently awarded the Rosa Schapire Art Prize 2023 by the Freunde der Kunsthalle in Hamburg. How do you consider your artistic practice with regard to the issues linked to the climate crisis? My artistic interventions are founded upon societal issues, historical episodes and ecological disasters. The first act of ecocide took place, in my opinion, in Vietnam in the 1960s. The annihilation of ecosystems and its soils by Agent Orange* left its mark on the Vietnamese people, who were also poisoned by ..read more

In France this summer, arts programming offers a plentiful encounter with artists, designers, and photographers alerted to the issues of global warming and our relationship to the living world, including a proliferation of scientific collaborations, and on-site experiences. A truly multi-disciplinary approach can be seen to be developing in exhibition production, with a greater consideration of the environment placed at the heart of historic events such as the Rencontres d’Arles. Many exhibitions, festivals, and triennials taking place in France this summer aim to foster a greater sensitivity ..read more