Twelve steps to achieve a circular economy

Sustainability, an international, peer-reviewed Open Access journal.

At a glance, it’s easy to take an artwork’s materials for granted. Today, however, across all areas of production and consumption, it’s increasingly urgent to consider the environmental impact of materials. When it comes to art, more and more artists are taking the lifecycle of their materials into account, making their art with an eye towards sustainability and protecting the natural world. This can mean using sustainable materials themselves or making art that consciously encourages conversations about pressing climate issues. The international artists in Masters of Eco-Design: Art and Sustainability represent the vanguard of eco-design, producing their art from recycled and upcycled materials towards diverse conceptual and formal ends.  Rather than serving as a limitation, sustainable design opens up wide-ranging approaches to artmaking, resulting in rich and novel practices.