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12/1/2017 / Issue #010 / Text: Camille de Wit

The Art of Sustainability or The Art of well-living together!

How art can be a transversal link to question all aspects of the society and support a sustainable change?

This column is a showcase of talented initiatives and reflections about Art and Culture supporting the well-living in a society allowing to “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” - Brundtland Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

Art Not Oil support! 

I interviewed Teresa Borasino, Peruvian artist and activist living in Amsterdam, about the actions of the network she created with others artists and activists called Fossil Free Culture.

Artist 100% focus on Climate change issue
Teresa Borasino uses different mediums as graphic design, installations and actions alone or collectively. Since 2013, she has been 100% focus on the issue of climate. Before she used to do a lot of art projects with communities and urban issues with a social focus. After researching more on the issue of climate change, she thought that it’s so urgent that she decided to put all her energy to try to contribute to it. She is using her artwork to address this issue and to bring awareness. 

Fossil Free Culture, an artistic and active network 
Fossil Free Culture (FFC) is an open collective for activists and artists where everyone can join. They research and challenge the museums, galleries or theatres that are being sponsored by fossil fuel companies in the Netherlands. For the fossil fuel company, it’s a way to green wash their image, showing that they are doing something very positive for the society, but at the same time they are destroying the planet through their inherent practice.
The network in the Netherlands started after the COP21 in Paris when activists and artists did a project called the Climate game. It was a platform for activists to make visible disobedient actions everywhere in the world to claim climate justice. FFC was inspired by groups, which were doing performances in museums receiving fossil fuel company money as Liberate Tate and others in the world. 
Fossil Free Culture does unsolicited performances in Museums, where they are not expected.  They did one performance in the Van Gogh museum last September that got great success, even if the museum didn’t reply to them. They want to organize also more public events as workshops and conferences in cultural spaces that are fossil free, to talk about the subject and to invite artists who are working on that issue. 
Their long-term goal is to disentangle cultural institutions and to change the image we have over the fossil fuel companies, firms that are destroying the planet. For example in the Netherlands, Shell is really an appreciated company. Their mid-term goal will be that the museums will drop those sponsorships and that they will create a stronger network with not only individuals but also with cultural institutions who refuse to receive this kind of money.

The Weight of fossil fuel companies in sponsoring Culture in NL
When Fossil Free Culture (FFC) started to look at this specific sponsorship in the Netherlands, they realised that most of museums receiving this money, especially from Shell are the largest museums in the Netherlands who don’t need money!
All the numbers from the budget are not published but FFC could guess in deducing. For example the Van Gogh museum has a yearly budget of 50 million euro. They received 400.000 euros from many private sponsors and so approximately 100.000 euros from Shell only. That it’s not so much for the museum and even more nothing for Shell! With this small amount of money, Shell has his logo in the wall of the museum, and can organize private events in the museum. They gain a lot of good PR by doing this, but paying nothing. It’s a distorted relation. 
How can we stop the weight of fossil fuel company? The governments for example, can stop subsiding the fossil companies or tell them to limit their production. Teresa Borasino makes a comparison with what happened with the tobacco industry that changed in a small period of time. The consumer and then the government became aware about the damage of the tobacco so the authority started to taxes more and the firms were not allowed to sponsor sport or cultural events. 

Get strengthen together!
Sponsorship is an exchange: by receiving money, museums support the sponsor company. To be clear on what they want to support, they should give possibilities to others companies to join as sustainable companies. But are there examples of sustainable sponsorship in cultural sector?
FFC is connected with ecological organizations and especially with Fossil Free Netherlands, a worldworld campaign coordinated by the organization 350.org, about disinvestment of public institutions. They ask the big pension funds ABP to disinvest from fossil companies and to reinvest in other more sustainable companies. Trough this partnership FFC get more communication and could even reach the 10.000 views on their videos about the performances in Van Gogh museum.

Follow and be engaged in Fossil Free Culture
What are their next actions? Usually they keep it secret to get more impact on their actions. But you can note in your agenda that they are invited to participate to the 1st engage art fair in De Balie – Amsterdam, in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of December. They will live stream something that they will do somewhere else. 
On their website, you can commit to their cause and join in different ways. On their Facebook page, you can find more information and inspiration from all over the world. They are really only focus on Art and Oil sponsorship. It’s important for them not too be too wide to be able to be more effective and to be able to celebrate their small victories and thus give it big visibility. 
Fossil Free Culture is an open platform, so you are welcomed!

You can follow the work from Teresa Borasino on www.teresaborasino.com and Fossil Free Culture on www.fossilfreeculture.nl

Camille de Wit /// theartofsustainability.net