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The planet will get a little cheer from a major cultural program starting this fall. The Getty Museum’s latest PST art initiative will feature a rolling program of about 60 exhibitions that consume large amounts of energy and material resources, but it will also feature a largely invisible environmental component: the museum has launched its Climate Impacts Program. (CIP) was launched last year to help participating institutions adopt environmentally conscious practices, an initiative that seemed like a natural part of the PST arts program given this year’s “Art and Science Collide” theme, which includes several exhibitions exploring environmental issues.
“This was something that came from the curatorial and participant community,” says Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation, which funds PST art. About two years ago, she says, “Debra Scacco and Laura Lupton, who are involved with Artists Commit and Galleries Commit, approached us and said, ‘We’d love to share our ideas with the whole PST community.'” Both were involved in efforts to encourage artists and galleries to reduce their environmental impact.
With a PST arts conference coming up, the Getty Museum decided to host a session on environmental impact, with Scacco and Lupton speaking about their work at the intersection of art and sustainability. The presentation was so well-received that the Getty asked them to “host a couple of webinars for the community to build climate literacy and start learning together,” Weinstein says. That prompted the Getty to hire Lupton and her firm, LHL Consulting, to run what would become CIP for two years, starting last March.
California has long been at the forefront of environmental awareness in the United States, and some PST participants already have programs in place: In 2009, the Museum of Latin American Art (Molaa) in Long Beach installed solar panels, and museum leaders hope to update the system in a future expansion. Last year, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca) in Los Angeles hired Kelsey Shell for a new position of environmental and sustainability strategist.
The CIP helps PST Arts participants focus on environmental issues, and through Lupton consultants, participants have direct access to expert assistance. LHL offers group webinars and one-on-one consultations. There is also an online portal where participants can learn more about the program and “outlines of effective actions” in areas such as travel, shipping and energy use – mainly about how to reduce, or find alternatives where possible. Participation is voluntary and free of charge.
Museums and art spaces are addressing this challenge in different ways. To reduce travel, some organizations are using “virtual couriers.” Traditionally, some loaned works had to be accompanied by a courier, often a member of the lending institution, to ensure safe transportation and to provide a condition report of the work upon unpacking. Now, some works are dispatched alone, with unpacking taking place over live video.
Consolidating transportation can provide additional savings in emissions, materials, and costs. Although this may require additional planning, the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (Lace) venue was able to add the transportation of archival materials from New York to trucks heading to Los Angeles for the Frieze fair in February. “We plan to track the environmental impact, primarily from carbon emissions and material disposal,” says Fiona Ball, deputy director at Lace. “We have support and collaboration from the Getty Museum and other institutions, so we’ll use this as a pilot and then as a template for each of our exhibitions and major projects.”
Transporting the Artist, Not the Art
Another way to cut transportation costs is to transport the artists rather than the artworks, as Molaa does with its PST art exhibitions. ARTEONICA*: Art, Science and Technology in Latin America Today“We invited artists from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Chile to create new works,” said Gabriela Urrutiaga, the museum’s lead curator, who will be in Southern California for two weeks starting on Friday, during which the artists will also take part in “workshops and dialogue with local residents and other artists.”
Other participants in PST Arts are exploring ways to operate their buildings more efficiently by managing heating, cooling and humidity. At least two participating museums, Moca and the Hammer Museum, have adopted the Bizot Green Protocols, a set of recommendations first published in 2015 and updated last year, to make some operational requirements more flexible. “While planning the PST exhibition, the Hammer Museum made the decision to reduce its energy consumption,” says Michael Nock, director of exhibitions and publications at the Los Angeles Museum of Art. This fall, the museum is Breath(e): Towards climate and social justice“Bizot is known in the industry and has already been adopted by other institutions,” says Nock. Previously, institutions were required to keep the relative humidity in their galleries at 50% ±5% and the temperature at 70°F ±2°F, but now the humidity is 50% ±10% and the temperature range is wider, between 61°F and 77°F. Nock emphasizes that lending institutions must also agree to the new guidelines if they are lending artworks.
Mocha will be using the Bizot Protocol for its Olafur Eliasson exhibition in September. “The Geffen Contemporary Gallery’s planned HVAC renovation [at Moca] “This project will enable the museum to adjust temperatures in real time, moving towards more common-sense energy usage,” Shell said. “The project will reduce the building’s energy use by approximately 25 percent, a major step towards the goal of a 50 percent energy reduction by 2030 in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.”
They are also considering what will go inside the building – materials that will be used to protect and display the art, such as cases, frames and other exhibit preparations. The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens will also host environmental exhibits. Storm Clouds: Plotting the Origins of the Climate Crisisfor PST Art. “The Huntington has consistently advocated for the reuse and display of existing casework and frames, which naturally supports sustainability and prevents waste,” said Melinda McCurdy, co-curator of the exhibition. “The Getty’s Climate Impact Program has certainly stimulated innovative thinking, [our] McCurdy said the Huntington’s design team should reevaluate the materials they use and look for more environmentally friendly solutions. McCurdy sees cost savings from reusing materials. The Huntington will also use environmentally friendly materials wherever possible, which McCurdy said includes “using reusable ApplePly panels for construction and recycled eco-cloth and environmentally friendly paper for graphics.”
“Museums are places of influence and education, and this is a great opportunity to mobilize that influence,” says Shell, pointing to two major upcoming solo exhibitions at Moka. Josh Klein: Climate Change and Olafur Eliasson: Openis a climate story that also features thematic events and educational programs. “We need to reduce our emissions, but we also need to share the process of reducing emissions with our peer organizations. We are in this together and we cannot put it off.”
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