The Voice | Nicky Ure on The Art x Sustainability Axis

  • During her visit to the Cop28 Climate Change Conference in Dubai, we caught up with Nicky Ure, the founder of...

    During her visit to the Cop28 Climate Change Conference in Dubai, we caught up with Nicky Ure, the founder of UreCulture. We delved into her groundbreaking initiatives, focusing on the empowerment of artists and cultural institutions as trailblazers in the realm of sustainability leadership.

     
  • On UreCulture

    © Claudia Comte, Underwater Cacti (2019), TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary. Photo by F-stop Movies.

    On UreCulture

    Nicky: I’m the founder of UreCulture, a cultural agency dedicated to supporting the culture sector to achieve its mission, with a focus on sustainability and regeneration for both planet and people. 

    Nicky: When I look back, I can now see how my education and career across psychology, law, arts and culture has allowed me to build a unique and informed approach as to how to incorporate sustainability in my work for the culture sector. Sustainability is deeply complex and systemic and the solutions and frameworks we build and embed in organisations need to reflect this systemic thinking and knowledge-base. This is something we addressed in the Business Management Sustainability certificate I completed at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability  Leadership.

  • NICKY:I’ve been working in strategic planning and project development for the culture sector for the past 15 years. I worked...
    © Yoko Ono, I LOVE YOU EARTH, 2021.
     

    NICKY:I’ve been working in strategic planning and project development for the culture sector for the past 15 years. I worked for the Department of Culture and Tourism for eight years where I was the Director of Programmes, Culture Department.  My background prior to culture was in law, I was a UK solicitor working in banking and finance when I arrived in Abu Dhabi in 2007 before I transitioned my career to cultural management. In addition to my Postgraduate Diploma in Law, I hold an MA Hons in Psychology from the University of  St Andrews.

     

    NICKY:After leaving Abu Dhabi I set up UreCulture. We support museums, cultural organisations, governmental bodies and artists with strategic planning, organisation design, governance and project planning and delivery across the MENA region and Europe.  We specialise in visual arts, cultural heritage and sustainability. 

  • On The Art x Sustainability Axis
    © Leandro Erlich, Order of Importance (2019), commissioned by Miami Beach City, US, 2019. ©Leandro Erlich Studio
    On The Art x Sustainability Axis

    Nicky: We’re all becoming acutely aware that our planet’s ecosystems are close to breaking point. We are facing the increasing effects of global warming, biodiversity loss, scarcity of earth’s natural resources and an excess of landfill waste which is harmful to our planet.  One bit of data that always impacts me is Earth Overshoot Day, which is the day the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources Earth is able to generate that year) is exceeded by humanity’s Ecological Footprint (humanity’s demand for that year). This year the global earth overshoot day was 2 August 2023. This means that from 3 August until 31 December we were operating on an “ecological deficit”.  This is why this work is important and urgent for us all.

    Nicky: Whilst the impact of the arts sector is much less than other industries it still has a significant impact. A report by the UK non-profit Julie’s  Bicycle stated that the global arts sector has an annual impact of 70 million tonnes of CO2e. Therefore the arts need to align with the global sustainability agenda and carry out best practices to reduce its environmental impact. Also, future legislation, compliance standards and funding requirements will eventually require that this work is embedded in the culture sector.  So the sooner the better. 

    Nicky: The most powerful opportunity presented to the arts and culture sector is how they can help lead the transition to a sustainable future by acting as an agent for change in society, through innovation, discourse, narratives and ultimately by leading by example by implementing and reporting its sustainability work. 

    Nicky: We also have to keep in mind that the key mission of the culture sector is to promote artistic creation and safeguard and protect our culture for the generations to come. If we don’t have a safe and healthy planet to live in 100 years, this will be a very difficult task. There are also the risks of the impact of climate change on our cultural heritage sites. 

    Nicky: Here, in the Gulf, UreCulture delivered a sustainability assessment and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy for the Louvre Abu Dhabi working with France Museums. We are also working with Manal Al Dowayan through our regenerative sustainability roadmap for one of her land art projects, and of course, we are working with Emirati artist Hashel Al Lamki. 

    Nicky: In Spain, we just completed the 2019 carbon footprint for TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary across its entire organisation and global programme. I’m also a founding committee member of Gallery Climate Coalition Spain where we are supporting the Spanish art sector to be more environmentally sustainable. Another great project I worked on was with the artist Alvaro Laiz for his exhibition at the Museo Universidad de Navarra where we worked on circular design innovation, the exhibition footprint and sustainability storytelling through the website we created for this project Beyond the Edge. This project was funded by the National Geographic Society as Alvaro is a National Geographic Fellow. 

    Nicky: The positive impact is that these institutions and artists are leading the way in what is still a relatively new (and at times challenging) field of work in our sector. They are acting as the trailblazers of the future that is to come, hopefully inspiring others in the arts and culture ecosystem to follow.  In turn, the general public looks up to artists and cultural institutions and thus this can have a further systemic impact on society.

  • On Cultivating A Conscious Art Practice with Hashel Al Lamki
    Hashel Al Lamki, ADNOC Gas Station (2019). Acrylic on canvas. (2019). Image courtesy of Warehouse421 and the artist
     
     
    On Cultivating A Conscious Art Practice with Hashel Al Lamki

    Nicky: Hashel is an artist who has always engaged with environmental and social narratives in this work, and his practice incorporates some of the key principles of the circular economy by the use of natural pigments and by his intention to reduce waste in his exhibition designs as he recently did at his solo exhibition at Abu Dhabi Art. 

    Nicky: Where UreCulture has come in is to further support and formalise his environmental sustainability practice and reporting, as well as working on a four-month sustainability mentorship programme so he can learn about the sustainability agenda, carbon footprints, the circular economy and other key areas of this work. 

    Nicky: We worked on Hashel’s studio baseline carbon footprint for 2021 and supported him to become a member of the Gallery Climate Coalition and obtain his 2021 Carbon Footprint Report Stamp. We are now calculating his 2023 carbon footprint and preparing documentation so he can become an Active Member. We have also prepared his environmental statement and carbon report as you can see here.  

     
  • TANGIBLE STEPS TO IMPLEMENT SUSTAINABILITY:
    TANGIBLE STEPS TO IMPLEMENT SUSTAINABILITY:

    1. Set an environmental policy or statement so you can establish what are your objectives and targets (sometimes this step comes after carrying out your baseline carbon footprint or an environmental audit as this tells you where your impacts are)

     

    2. Calculate your baseline carbon footprint and then thereon annually, each year trying to reduce the footprint following guidelines for our sector by the Gallery Climate Coalition

     

    3. Measure and reduce waste, supporting the principles of the circular economy

     

    4. Report your footprint results on your website

     

    5. Donate through Strategic Climate Funds set out by the Gallery Climate Coalition in acknowledgement of your footprint

     

    6. Share this work through storytelling so you can lead by example and be a catalyst for change in society 

    Operationally my three top tips for the biggest impact on reducing carbon emissions are: 


    1. Ship artworks by sea freight instead of air freight and fly less 

    2. Support your venues/buildings to become more energy efficient and if possible incorporate the use of renewable energy sources

    3. Don’t be scared to innovate and do things differently if this means you are doing better for the planet.