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In 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger initiated one of his final important works. Recognized for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had devoted his career to responding to human struggles from peace activism to plant-based living. Through a short video message, he issued a call for a global day of action to remember nature.

“This is my appeal for your involvement in this global appeal for a day of action to commemorate our planet on the fourth of November, 2015,” he announced, inviting cultural workers to stand against the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “The mission is to help the public recall of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter territories that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Inception of Nature Remembrance

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative came into being, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain produced pieces to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who cared for Metzger in his final years, notes his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a profound sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I just said – don’t delay. We shouldn’t hold back for funding or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

A Decade Later

After ten years, Remember Nature hasn’t quite sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its impact can still be seen in movements like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how creatives consider the sustainability of their work. For this purpose she is relaunching it to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Part of the key participants participating now are Cornelia Parker and prominent artists. All participants have created visual art, recorded calls to action, and created artworks set to be revealed on 4 November 2025.

Planting Hope

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is working outdoors in the countryside, 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. She describes, the design and cultivation sessions have already involved learning about mathematics (spacing the planting intervals), biology (studying the apple’s DNA), and geography (tracing the backgrounds of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

Several the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid

“Many of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the other unusual varieties,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that releases scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries background narratives. The decio apple was brought over by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that fell from a tree and hit the scientist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more actively aware of the natural world and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was prompting them, next time they were out, to read the label and see the variety and the source. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Cultural Projects Nationwide

In London, a participant’s work about extinction will involve participants searching an art institution on a mission to find the frozen formations that have been lost in recent years. Every ice sheet will be drawn on the exhibition spaces using ultraviolet markers. Whenever one is found, a chime will sound and a recitation will be conducted to commemorate that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, a creative will be hosting a public show about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a community dinner, made using regional food. In another city, a participant is sharing her environmental performance, in which local singers embark on a mission to perform for vegetation in a local park.

Young Insights

Like Gallaccio, a featured creator will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is hoping to decorate Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that express their dreams and worries for the years ahead. “Children’s words and images are compelling because they’re not as trammelled as adults’,” she says in her call to action video. “The contributions of youth to the world is something distinctive and it may inspire a awareness of obligation from everyone. Children are innocent. They have fears about the future. But this shouldn’t be about worry – it should be about positivity and making sure that they see a better world.”

Memorials and Memory

Paul Harfleet’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves sketching winged creatures and then performing as birds – and for the event he is intending to tackle a local symbol. He is also staging a walking tour of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. The project started after he endured three incidents of homophobic abuse on a particular day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the site of each occurrence and document it – the project has since grown to include incidents shared by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

He picked the flower not just for the direct association – it has long been a slur – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The project on 4 November is to place blooms at new locations and also replant flowers in places he has marked earlier, all the while discussing with those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his personal experiences. “We’ve seen quite a few after my previous work,” he says sadly.

Moving Forward with Hope

He desires his work – and