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During 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger launched one of his last important works. Famed for introducing auto-destructive art, Metzger had dedicated his life to confronting societal issues from nuclear disarmament to vegetarianism. In a brief video message, he requested support for a worldwide initiative to honor the environment.

“This is my appeal for your participation in this global appeal for a day of action to commemorate our planet on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, urging artists and creatives to stand against the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into territories that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Inception of Remember Nature

And so the environmental art day was established, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the unfolding climate catastrophe. An organizer, who supported Metzger in his last days, remembers his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a profound sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I just said – we must act now. Let’s not wait for funding or for anyone to authorize this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, the initiative hasn’t quite sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but organizers feel its influence can still be felt in campaigns like Culture Declares and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how makers handle the environmental impact of their practices. For this purpose she is restaging it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Part of the 18 lead artists participating now are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. All participants have designed posters, recorded calls to action, and produced installations set to be presented on 4 November 2025.

Planting Hope

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is out in a field in a rural area, helping plant apple trees that will create a spiral-shaped orchard. Working with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and somewhat instructive. She describes, the preparation and sowing sessions have already incorporated learning about mathematics (measuring out the gaps in the orchard), biology (studying the apple’s DNA), and history (mapping the backgrounds of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

Several the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that produces crimson liquid

“A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ red juice. They all have histories attached. The historical cultivar was brought over by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that fell from a tree and hit Isaac Newton’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the influence we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, on their next shopping trip, to read the label and see the variety and where they were grown. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Throughout Britain

In London, Youngsook Choi’s Book of Loss will engage visitors looking through an art institution on a journey to find the seven major glaciers that have been disappeared in modern times. Each glacier will be illustrated on the museum surfaces using invisible ink. Each discovery, a chime will sound and a recitation will be performed to honor that individual formation.

At the same time, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be presenting a open display about our alienation from the environment, as well as holding a communal feast, made using sustainable ingredients. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is sharing her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which local singers begin a project to perform for vegetation in a green space.

Youth Perspectives

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is hoping to decorate an art space in youth creations that capture their aspirations and concerns for the future. “Children’s words and images are compelling because they’re not as trammelled as mature perspectives,” she says in her recorded message. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and hopefully it will stimulate a awareness of obligation from us all. Youth is pure. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about hope and making sure that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Paul Harfleet’s work also connects with children. With a background in performance, his feathered initiative involves drawing birds and then embodying them – and for the event he is aiming to address an iconic figure. He is also organizing a walking tour of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. That ongoing series commenced following he experienced three incidents of prejudice on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the location of every incident and photograph it – the project has since spiralled to include incidents shared by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the clear connection – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The intention on Remember Nature day is to place blooms at new locations and also renew the tributes in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the guided walk about the events and his recollections. “There’s been quite a few following earlier installations,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

He desires his work – and