In 2020, as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of dedicated arts professionals in London formed Gallery Climate Coalition. The coalition’s primary targets were to facilitate a reduction of the visual art sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 50% by 2030. The first of GCC’s affiliated volunteer groups was formed soon after in Berlin. Following London and Berlin, groups were established in Italy, Taiwan, Los Angeles, Spain (in late 2022), and New York. 

These seven groups became known as the International Volunteer Chapter (IVC) programme, and each advocated for an environmentally responsible arts sector on their local level, either nationally or by being focused on specific cities. Each was composed of professionals from the arts sector volunteering their time to work collectively to develop localised content and resources in line with GCC’s guidelines. Each hosted events and engaged with their immediate networks on environmental issues within the arts sector. Their teams were self-organised and self-motivated whilst remaining closely aligned with GCC’s core targets and commitments. 

Four years later, and despite the intensive work carried out by the IVCs, the increasing funding needs of this ever-widening network, and the challenging funding landscape facing GCC and arts/non-profit organisations more generally, have led to the difficult decision to bring the IVCs programme to a close as of September 2024. 

The IVC programmes have provided invaluable insights over the past years and fostered a formidable international network of dedicated volunteers. Whilst GCC Spain ceases operations as a GCC International Volunteer Chapter (IVC), the committee members remain affiliated to GCC as members, and will continue to contribute to climate action in a more informal capacity.

GCC Spain’s Timeline

Laura Carro and Lucía Mendoza (Galería Lucía Mendoza), Carolina Grau (Independent Curator), Carmen Huerta (TAC7), María Gracia de Pedro (Badr El Jundi Foundation), Mariana Cánepa Luna and Max Andrews (Latitudes) and Nicky Ure (UreCulture) met online for the first time in December 2022. This group ended up founding the International Volunteer Chapter, GCC Spain. Further along, the Committee expanded to include Angela Costantino and Simone Sentall (Fundación TBA21), Miriam Torres and Paula Ráez (Estudio Jurídico Gabeiras & Asociados) and volunteers such as Miriam Callejo.

GCC Spain’s first physical meeting was at ARCOmadrid in February 2023, when it convened an open session at the art fair to inform professionals about GCC’s targets and commitments, advise on practical issues about enrolment in its membership programme, and use helpful tools and resources such as the Carbon Calculator. 

One of GCC Spain's first achievements was translating GCC’s 11-part Best Practice Actions into Spanish (Acciones Efectivas) and opening its Instagram account.

In June 2023, GCC Spain held its first online Introductory Event (pdf of the press release in Spanish here), presenting GCC’s overall aim and officially launching GCC Spain. The launch was featured in Revista Bonart.

June 2023: Online Introductory Event (press release here) 

In January 2024 GCC Spain had its first online Assembly to inform members and non-members about the past and future plans of the group.

In February 2024, in collaboration with GCC London and ARCOmadrid, a campaign for #ClimateConsciousTravel was launched through multiple displays at ARCOMadrid, encouraging visitors to take the #TrainToARCOMadrid instead of flying. Additionally, the Gallery Climate Coalition was featured in Exibart magazine, and Carolina Grau, a founding member of GCC Spain, was interviewed about her curatorial work.

Despite these changes, Latitudes remains steadfast in its commitment to GCC’s core activity and commitments. Latitudes remains committed to working with its international community of 1500+ across 50+ countries in reaching a shared goal of 50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the visual arts sector by 2030 (compared to a 2019 baseline). This adherence is essential to maintaining our Individual Active Membership.

You can read a statement about the closure of the IVC programme from GCC Managing Director Heath Lowndes here. For all other communications and enquiries regarding GCC, please contact info@galleryclimatecoalition.org

RELATED CONTENT:

• Latitudes renew their Active Membership with Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), 9 Apr 2024
• Gallery Climate Coalition en ARCOmadrid, campaña #TrainToARCOmadrid y artículo en la revista Exibart, 11 March 2024
• Cover Story, February 2024: Climate Conscious Travel to ARCOmadrid, 1 Feb 2024
• Montse Badia sobre GCC Spain en la revista Bonart #198, 25 Oct 2023
• Latitudes qualify as an Active Member of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), 10 May 2023
• Latitudes’ (Full) Environmental Policy Statement, 17 April 2023
• Cover Story, March 2023: Art, Climate, and New Coalitions, 1 Mar 2023
• Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) en el Estado español, 25 Jan 2023

Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) es una coalición internacional de organizaciones artísticas que trabajan para reducir el impacto medioambiental del sector de las artes visuales. El objetivo principal de GCC es facilitar la reducción de las emisiones de CO2e del sector en un mínimo del 50% para 2030, así como promover prácticas de cero residuos.

GCC desarrolla y comparte recursos prácticos sobre sostenibilidad y proporciona liderazgo en cuestiones medioambientales específicas del sector, aprovechando el poder colectivo de sus +1100 miembros provenientes de 42 países motivados a lograr cambios sistémicos.

A pesar de la influencia única de las artes en el discurso público, las emisiones de carbono y los residuos generados por este sector son desproporcionadamente elevados en comparación con su tamaño económico. Un informe de 2021 (pdf) estimó que las emisiones globales del sector de las artes ascendieron a 70 millones de toneladas de CO2e al año [*], cifra equivalente a las emisiones anuales producidas por todo el país de Marruecos.

Dicho informe, revela que la mayor parte (74%) de la huella del sector se atribuye a las emisiones por viajes de agentes del sector y visitantes (~52 millones de tCO2e). Es por ello que desde GCC se ha iniciado la campaña Climate Conscious Travel para promover la movilidad a eventos culturales con consciencia climática.

Complementando la presencia física y en línea durante la feria, la revista Exibart ha publicado una entrevista con la comisaria Carolina Grau, miembra fundadora del Comité de GCC Spain, sobre sus proyectos curatoriales y planteamientos entorno a la sostenibilidad, y un artículo donde se profundiza sobre la labor que realiza Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) y destaca algunas de sus Acciones Efectivas, uno de los varios recursos prácticos que ofrece la organización.

En julio 2023, un informe de Greenpeace Vienna comparando precios de billetes de tren vs. avión en Europa, rezaba que “la ruta Madrid-Barcelona es una de las pocas en las que el tren es rápido, circula con frecuencia y siempre es más barato que el avión. (...) A pesar del perfecto servicio de tren, en 2019 casi 2,6 millones de personas volaron en esta ruta convirtiéndola en el 5º vuelo de corta distancia más utilizado de la UE que cuenta con una alternativa de tren. Prohibir este vuelo completamente inútil ahorraría 176.000 toneladas de gases nocivos de efecto invernadero.” (...) y concluía que “de todos los países analizados, España tiene la mayor densidad de aerolíneas de bajo coste”.

Según un estudio sobre vuelos cortos presentado por Ecologistas en Acción en octubre 2023, un total de 11 rutas aéreas serían potencialmente sustituibles en España [al contar con alternativa ferroviaria], eliminando más de 50.000 operaciones anuales que podrían proporcionar un ahorro de más de 300.000 toneladas de CO2, equivalentes a casi el 10% de todas las emisiones producidas por la aviación doméstica en España. O, dicho de otra manera, eliminar unos 200.000 coches de nuestras calles y carreteras al año.”

El sector del arte por sí solo no puede resolver la crisis a la que nos enfrentamos. Pero sí puede predicar dando ejemplo, sentando precedentes y cambiando hábitos de movilidad, adoptando acciones efectivas contra el cambio climático y utilizando su influencia cultural para introducir reflexiones cruciales sobre nuestros recursos materiales y económicos, entre otros.

GCC Spain es uno de los siete capítulos internacionales de GCC y representa a la coalición a nivel nacional. Contacte con el grupo escribiendo a espana@galleryclimatecoalition.org o siga a @gcc_spain en Instagram.

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[*] La mayor parte (74%) de la huella del sector se debe a las emisiones de los viajes de los visitantes (~52 millones de tCO2e). Se calcula que el 26% (18 millones de toneladas de CO2e) se debe a la construcción, el envío de obras de arte y los viajes de negocios. El impacto digital, aunque sigue siendo una pequeña proporción de la huella, está creciendo. Esta huella anual equivale a la electricidad generada por 8.692 aerogeneradores de 10 MW.

RELATED CONTENT:

• Cover Story, February 2024: Climate Conscious Travel to ARCOmadrid, 1 Feb 2024
• Montse Badia sobre GCC Spain en la revista Bonart #198, 25 Oct 2023
• Latitudes qualify as an Active Member of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), 10 May 2023
• Latitudes’ (Full) Environmental Policy Statement, 17 April 2023
• Cover Story, March 2023: Art, Climate, and New Coalitions, 1 Mar 2023
• Cover Story, February 2023: Soil for Future Art Histories, 2 Feb 2023
• Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) en el Estado español, 25 Jan 2023

We are pleased to announce that Max Andrews and Mariana Cánepa Luna of Latitudes have successfully qualified to be in the first cohort of Active Members of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC). To achieve this status we had to demonstrate that our organisation had implemented environmental sustainability best practices in line with GCC’s guidelines.

This initiative marks an evolution in GCC’s strategy from awareness raising and community building to one focusing on the near-term tangible progress of members following three key actions:

• Completing a CO2e report or audit (our 2019 and 2022 emissions are published here).
• Establishing and maintaining a Green Team (Latitudes is also on the Founding Committee of GCC Spain).
• Publishing an Environmental Responsibility Statement.

As part of the initiative, GCC provides qualifying members with a badge (see below) to recognise and celebrate the actions taken. These badges are year-stamped and members have to re-submit annually to retain the latest Active designation. 

Active Membership is neither a certification of sustainability nor a claim that we are doing things perfectly and have all the answers — none of us are at this point. Yet it does entail transparency in the assessment, reporting, and reduction of climate impact, the setting of targets in line with science, and the search for working solutions.

We encourage everyone to visit the Gallery Climate Coalition website to learn more about the initiative and how to get involved.

Moreover, Latitudes is part of the Founding Committee of the recently formed volunteer team, GCC Spain. To get involved, please contact: espana@galleryclimatecoalition.org

Active Membership Press Release, 10 May 2023.

RELATED CONTENTS:

• Latitudes’ Environmental Policy Statement – Extended version here.
• Cover Story, March 2023: Art, Climate, and New Coalitions, 1 Mar 2023
• Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) en el Estado español, 25 January 2023
• Latitudes’ essay “Un suelo para las historias del arte del futuro” [Soil for Future Art Histories] in TBA21’s catalogue “Futuros Abundantes / Abundant Futures”, 22 Jan 2023
• “‘Minor’ Ornithologies” podcast conducted by Max Andrews of Latitudes for TBA21 on st_age, 27 Sep 2022
• 18 marzo 2021, 18:30h: Mesa redonda “Transformación geológica y construcción artificial” con Lara Almarcegui y Juan Guardiola, 8 Mar 2021
• Lead Faculty, Geologic Time, Banff International Curatorial Institute, Visual + Digital Arts Department, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada, 11 September–6 October 2017
• Group exhibition, “4.543 billion. The matter of matter”, CAPC musée d’art contemporain Bordeaux, France, 29 June 2017–7 January 2018
• Editors, “Lara Almarcegui. Projects 1995–2010”, Archive Books, 2011
• Solo exhibition, “Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller: United Alternative Energies”, Kunsthal Aarhus, Århus, Denmark, 22 January–3 April 2011
• Public realm commissions, Portscapes, Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, throughout 2009
• Custodians, Reduce Art Flights (RAF) website (2008–ongoing)
• Touring film programme, “A Stake in the Mud, A Hole in the Reel. Land Art’s Expanded Field 1968–2008”, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, and other venues, April–October 2008
• Group exhibition “Greenwashing. Perils, Promises and Perplexities”, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino, February–May 2008
• Convenors, “Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change”, 3-day symposium during the Sharjah Biennial 8, 5–7 April 2007
• Editors, “UOVO #14: Ecology, Luxury and Degradation”, 2007
• Editor, “LAND, ART: A Cultural Ecology Handbook” (2006)
• Curator, Tue Greenfort, Arts & Ecology public realm commission in London, 2005–2008.

  March 2023 cover story on www.lttds.org

The March 2023 monthly Cover Story “Art, Climate and New Coalitions” is now up on our homepage www.lttds.org

“The terminology of environmental consciousness and carbon emissions has shifted significantly in recent decades, from talk of the greenhouse effect to global warming and sustainable development, and now from climate change to the climate emergency. ” → Continue reading (after March 2023 this story will be archived here).

Cover Stories are published on a monthly basis on Latitudes’ homepage featuring past, present or forthcoming projects, research, texts, artworks, exhibitions, films, objects or field trips related to our curatorial projects and activities.