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In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger launched one of his ultimate major projects. Recognized for introducing self-destructive creations, Metzger had devoted his career to responding to global challenges from peace activism to plant-based living. Through a short video message, he requested support for a global day of action to remember nature.

“I call upon you for your participation in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on the fourth of November, 2015,” he declared, inviting makers and thinkers to oppose the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “Our task is to help the public recall of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into realms that are inherently creative.”

The Inception of Nature Remembrance

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative was established, a day when artists across the country developed works to the escalating planetary emergency. An organizer, who cared for Metzger in his later life, recalls his drive for action. “I sensed a great sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – don’t delay. We shouldn’t hold back for financial support or for anyone to green light this. We should proceed.”

After Ten Years

After ten years, Remember Nature did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but supporters think its impact can still be observed in initiatives like Culture Declares and environmental protests, as well as in how makers handle the eco-friendliness of their work. For this purpose she is relaunching it to commemorate its decade milestone. Among the 18 lead artists involved this time are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. Each has produced imagery, recorded calls to action, and produced installations set to be presented on the fourth of November next year.

Cultivating Awareness

Interviewing one participant, she is out in a field in the countryside, cultivating apple trees that will create a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and half educational workshop. According to her, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about measurements (spacing the gaps in the orchard), genetics (studying the genetic makeup), and history (tracing the journeys of how distinct varieties were introduced to England).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid

“Several the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases crimson liquid. Every one carries background narratives. The decio apple was imported by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the control we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was urging them, on their next shopping trip, to look on the bag and see what they’re called and their origin. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Throughout Britain

Within the city, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will engage visitors searching Tate Modern on a mission to find the frozen formations that have been vanished in recent years. Each glacier will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using invisible ink. Whenever one is found, a alert will occur and a recitation will be conducted to honor that individual formation.

At the same time, up in a northern town, Maddi Nicholson will be hosting a free exhibition about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a communal feast, cooked from regional food. In another city, a participant is broadcasting her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which local singers begin a project to perform for vegetation in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Young Insights

Similar to other artists, another participant will be engaging schoolchildren – on the day itself she is hoping to cover a cultural venue in youth creations that document their dreams and worries for the future. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her public appeal. “What children have to offer to the world is something quite unique and hopefully it will inspire a feeling of duty from everyone. Youth is pure. They have anxieties about what’s next. But this shouldn’t be about fear – it should be about hope and making sure that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

A participant’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his feathered initiative involves illustrating avians and then performing as birds – and for the event he is planning to represent an iconic figure. He is also conducting a guided walk of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his Pansy Project over the past twenty years. This endeavor commenced following he faced several events of homophobic abuse on a particular day. In response, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the spot where it happened and document it – the project has since expanded to cover events reported by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

Harfleet chose the bloom not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a slur – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The project on 4 November is to plant pansies at additional sites and also renew the tributes in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the guided walk about the incidents and his memories of them. “There’s been quite a few since I last planted,” he says sadly.

Advancing Positively

The artist wishes his work – and