Fiona Grady cares deeply about the future of our planet. She recognises the importance of protecting the environment against the loss of biodiversity and the negative impact of climate change. She is committed to ensure that her art practice is as sustainable as possible. She believes that part of an artist's role is help educate and inspire audiences to engage with their local community and the wider world. Art and culture are directly threatened by the climate crisis; those from marginalised communities and cultures are most at risk. She knows that we can all do more and has created an environmental sustainability policy to highlight her values.
As her career and the ambition of her work develop she recognises the importance of setting sustainability and best practice goals to ensure positive growth. She is aware that the main direct environmental impacts of her art practice include: use of materials to create artwork, travel for research and commissions, freight of artwork for exhibitions, and energy use at her studio. The majority of her work is created at her London based studio where she is economical with her energy consumption, the studio has LED bulbs and she is working with her studio providers to ensure the building has efficient heating methods. She has a policy of avoiding unnecessary wastage which includes sourcing the most sustainable materials, re-using offcuts, purchasing materials in bulk to avoid extra deliveries, and recycling. When outsourcing fabrication, she works with local suppliers who have environmentally conscious policies and seeks out the most sustainable materials. She travels by public transport and where possible, she has a train first policy for long distance travel. She is a member of the Gallery Climate Coalition and follows the advice of arts advocates including Julie's Bicycle to stay connected to current thinking. She regularly monitors her working processes and uses a Carbon Calculator to keep a log of her studio's activities.
Fiona Grady's Studio Make the Following Commitments Moving Forwards:
- We will clearly communicate our environmental commitment with suppliers, fabricators, galleries and clients to encourage them to support systems and work with us to reduce our impact.
- We will continue speaking to our suppliers and service providers about their carbon footprint, and looking for opportunities to encourage them to take action, or to switch to alternative suppliers who will.
- We aim to reuse, recycle or repurpose more of our art and exhibition materials. Alongside this we will continue to create a circular economy within our peer group of artists and creative collaborators to share materials and equipment to keep them in use for as long as possible.
- We will work with our shippers about alternatives to air freight. Planning our exhibitions and events with care to minimise the need for air freight.
- We will review our travel policies and practices, using virtual meetings, good time management to make the most of trips, and a train first policy for international events to reduce the need for air travel.
Fiona Grady is an Active Member of the Gallery Climate Coalition.
