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In 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his ultimate important works. Recognized for pioneering self-destructive creations, Metzger had devoted his career to confronting societal issues from peace activism to plant-based living. In a brief video message, he requested support for a worldwide initiative to honor the environment.

“This is my appeal for your engagement in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on the fourth of November, 2015,” he declared, urging artists and creatives to oppose the ongoing loss of living beings. “Our responsibility is to remind people of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into realms that are naturally imaginative.”

The Creation of Nature Remembrance

In this way the Nature Remembrance initiative came into being, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the unfolding climate catastrophe. One of the curators, who cared for Metzger in his final years, remembers his sense of urgency. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. We shouldn’t hold back for funding or for anyone to green light this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, the project hasn’t quite triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but Joelson believes its influence can still be seen in initiatives like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how creatives consider the eco-friendliness of their work. For this purpose she is reviving it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Among the key participants involved this time are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. They have all created visual art, shared messages, and created artworks set to be unveiled on November 4, 2025.

Planting Hope

When speaking to the artist, she is on site in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will create a circular grove. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and somewhat instructive. According to her, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about maths (spacing the distances between trees), biology (discussing the hereditary traits), and origins (researching the backgrounds of how different apples arrived in Britain).

Several the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid

“Several the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that produces scarlet-colored sap. They all have stories behind them. The historical cultivar was imported by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that fell from a tree and landed on the physicist’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more consciously engaged of the environment and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was urging them, when they go shopping, to check the packaging and see what they’re called and the source. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Nationwide

At the capital, Youngsook Choi’s Book of Loss will engage visitors exploring an art institution on a quest to find the ice masses that have been lost in recent years. Every ice sheet will be drawn on the museum surfaces using special pens. When located, a bell will ring and a recitation will be performed to commemorate that individual formation.

Elsewhere, up in another location, a creative will be presenting a open display about our alienation from the environment, as well as organizing a communal feast, made using regional food. Further north, an artist is sharing her musical project, in which local singers embark on a mission to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Young Insights

Following this approach, a featured creator will be working with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is planning to decorate an art space in youth creations that document their hopes and fears for the future. “Children’s words and images are compelling because they’re not as trammelled as grown-ups’,” she says in her call to action video. “Young people’s input to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can inspire a awareness of obligation from us all. Kids are unbiased. They have anxieties about what’s next. But let’s not make it about anxiety – it should be about optimism and us ensuring that they see a better world.”

Memorials and Memory

Paul Harfleet’s work also appeals to children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves drawing birds and then performing as birds – and for the initiative he is planning to represent an iconic figure. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his ongoing series over the past twenty years. This endeavor began when he faced several events of homophobic abuse on a one occasion. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the location of every incident and document it – the project has since expanded to incorporate experiences experienced 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 direct association – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The plan on 4 November is to sow flowers at additional sites and also renew the tributes in places he has honored before, all the while discussing with those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his personal experiences. “I’ve recorded quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and