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During 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his last important works. Known for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to responding to global challenges from nuclear disarmament to plant-based living. In a brief video message, he made a plea for a global day of action to remember nature.

“This is my appeal for your participation in this international summons for a day of action to commemorate our planet on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, inviting cultural workers to stand against the steady eradication of living beings. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Creation of Nature Remembrance

In this way the Nature Remembrance initiative was established, a day when artists across the country created responses to the ongoing environmental crisis. One of the curators, who supported Metzger in his later life, notes his sense of urgency. “I sensed a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I urged him – don’t delay. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to authorize this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, Remember Nature hasn’t quite incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its influence can still be felt in campaigns like Culture Declares and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how makers handle the sustainability of their methods. That’s why she is reviving it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Included in the featured creators taking part currently are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. All participants have created visual art, made video appeals, and developed pieces set to be revealed on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

In conversation with one participant, she is out in a field in the countryside, assisting with planting apple trees that will develop into a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and somewhat instructive. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already involved learning about maths (calculating the gaps in the orchard), biology (discussing the genetic makeup), and origins (tracing the journeys of how different apples were introduced to England).

Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got humorous titles such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that releases scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries background narratives. The historical cultivar was imported by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and hit the scientist’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was urging them, when they go shopping, to check the packaging and see their names and the source. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Nationwide

Within the city, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will include attendees looking through an art institution on a journey to find the ice masses that have been lost in recent years. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the museum surfaces using special pens. Whenever one is found, a bell will ring and a recitation will be held to honor that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in another location, Maddi Nicholson will be hosting a public show about our alienation from the environment, as well as hosting a shared meal, cooked from sustainable ingredients. In another city, a participant is broadcasting her environmental performance, in which community vocalists embark on a mission to use music to heal flora in a local park.

Youth Perspectives

Like Gallaccio, another participant will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is planning to decorate a cultural venue in youth creations that express their dreams and worries for the future. “Children’s words and images are compelling because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her call to action video. “What children have to offer to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can provoke a awareness of obligation from everyone. Youth is pure. They have fears about the future. But this shouldn’t be about worry – it should be about optimism and our responsibility that they see a better world.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Paul Harfleet’s work also connects with children. As a former drag queen, his feathered initiative involves illustrating avians and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is aiming to tackle a local symbol. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. That ongoing series started after he experienced multiple occurrences of homophobic abuse on a particular day. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the location of every incident and photograph it – the project has since expanded to cover events experienced by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “It seems wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

The artist selected the bloom not just for the direct association – it has long been a slur – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The project on the event day is to sow flowers at new locations and also refresh the memorials in places he has marked earlier, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the events and his recollections. “There’s been quite a few following earlier installations,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and