Eco-seminar – Feedback and Documentations

Arranged by four art organizations – IHME Helsinki, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, HIAP-Helsinki International Artist Programme and Mustarinda – the Environmental Crisis – from words to deeds in the field of art seminar – presented various ways of working in the art field to meet the challenges of climate change and nature loss. During the day, some 200 people, most of them involved in the arts, followed the eco-seminar online on 19 November 2020.

Documentation of the talks at the seminar can be viewed on IHME’s YouTube channel. Most of the presentations were in Finnish. Finnish and English summaries of the talks are now available.

Audience feedback praises concrete suggestions

About a quarter of the participants in the eco-seminar responded to the feedback survey after the seminar. Judging by their responses, the event gave many of them new information and practical tips for sustainable activities in their own organizations or as independent artists. For some respondents, the seminar served as a review of already well-known environmental measures.

“Julie’s Bicycle was a great bonus! The programme itself gave a good overview of the situation and of what has been done in Finland to develop more ecological practices, i.e., for once, the information was quite comprehensive and all in one place.”

“The importance of the 1.5 degree limit compared to e.g. 2 degrees warming was surprising. The seminar left a good feeling that the goal can be achieved, because so many actors are working towards it.”

“The seminar reminded me and confirmed my understanding of the topic. It is good that the seminar dealt with various actions quite concretely.”

Environmental measures are now being diversified

Feedback providers also answered the question of how ecological sustainability is reflected in each individual’s own work or organization. The answers reflect the broad spectrum of environmental measures, a common feature was finding the issue important and topical.

“…we are currently developing many aspects. Partly the same ones as discussed at the seminar, such as reducing travel and transportation. Taking sustainability into account in everything we do.”

“Avoiding flying. Public transport. Vegan food. Using recycled materials in workshops. Producing experiences, not physical matter, at the heart of things.”

“Pretty bad still, a lot to do.”

More discussion, broader scope

The experiences shared in the talks and group discussions in the seminar inspired people to continue the conversation, which was seen as important and topical. Of the ready-made options, the most popular was bringing good practices together in a guide, although community, networking and various forms of support were widely wished for as well. People wanted ecology to be addressed more broadly in the future, while, on the other hand, going deeper into the environmental impacts of different aspects, such as critically examining technologies, materials and diets.

“I do not think ecological issues can be addressed without also talking about social justice and equality. Here, for example, feminist practices emerged mainly in Mustarinda’s contribution. A broader perspective next time, thank you!”

“Just continue, you work seems wonderful!”

“Continue cooperation and networking.”

the year of the joint eco-coordinator is coming to an end

The organizers of the eco-seminar will each continue their own work on ecology and sustainability, utilizing what they have learned. Saara Korpela, the eco-coordinator hired jointly for 2020, has encouraged organizations’ environmental work and has also been a unifying factor in sharing environmental insights in the form of the seminar. Possible future cooperation will be announced later.

The eco-coordinator’s ecoblog – practical tips for calculating your carbon footprint >>

Videos and abstracts of the eco-seminar in Finnish and English >>