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Back in 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger launched one of his ultimate major projects. Recognized for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to addressing societal issues from nuclear disarmament to vegetarianism. Via a concise video message, he made a plea for a global day of action to honor the environment.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your participation in this international summons for a day of action to commemorate our planet on 4 November 2015,” he declared, urging artists and creatives to resist the steady eradication of species. “Our task is to make audiences aware of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore realms that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Creation of Nature Remembrance

In this way the environmental art day came into being, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the unfolding climate catastrophe. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his final years, remembers his feeling of immediacy. “There was a great sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – let’s not mess around. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to green light this. Let’s just do it.”

A Decade Later

Ten years later, the project hasn’t quite incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its impact can still be seen in movements like artist-led declarations and climate activism networks, as well as in how creatives consider the environmental impact of their methods. For this purpose she is reviving it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Among the featured creators taking part currently are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. All participants have designed posters, shared messages, and produced installations set to be revealed on 4 November 2025.

Sowing Change

In conversation with the artist, she is on site in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a spiral-shaped orchard. Working with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and half educational workshop. As she explains, the design and cultivation sessions have already involved learning about maths (measuring out the planting intervals), biology (studying the genetic makeup), and history (tracing the backgrounds of how various cultivars arrived in Britain).

Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid

“Several the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that produces red juice. They all have histories attached. The ancient variety was imported by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that fell from a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more actively aware of the natural world and the control we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, when they go shopping, to read the label and see what they’re called and the source. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Cultural Projects Across the Country

In London, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will include attendees looking through Tate Modern on a mission to find the ice masses that have been vanished in the past decade. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the gallery’s windows and walls using invisible ink. Whenever one is found, a bell will ring and a performance will be performed to remember that particular glacier.

At the same time, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be hosting a public show about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a community dinner, prepared with organic, local produce. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is broadcasting her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which regional performers embark on a mission to sing plants back to health in a green space.

Young Insights

Following this approach, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is planning to fill Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that document their aspirations and concerns for the years ahead. “Children’s words and images are compelling because they’re not as restricted as grown-ups’,” she says in her recorded message. “Young people’s input to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can stimulate a awareness of obligation from us all. Children are innocent. They have fears about the future. But this shouldn’t be about fear – it should be about positivity and making sure that they get a future.”

Memorials and Memory

A participant’s work also connects with children. Drawing on past experience, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the event he is planning to represent a local symbol. He is also organizing a guided walk of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his ongoing series over the recent decades. The project started after he faced multiple occurrences of homophobic abuse on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the spot where it happened and record it – the project has since grown to include incidents shared by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “It seems wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

He picked the pansy 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 was linked to a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on the event day is to place blooms at fresh spots and also replant flowers in places he has marked earlier, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the events and his personal experiences. “There’s been quite a few following earlier installations,” he says mournfully.

Advancing Positively

The artist wishes his work – and