Visual contemporary artists will showcase their work at the ACT with the Arts Climate Festival from Saturday 22nd – Saturday 29th June 2024 in two galleries in Newton Abbot, and at the Paradiso Gallery in Bovey Tracey. The exhibitions will display thought-provoking visual artworks on themes of climate change awareness, climate justice, and endangered species.
Artists exhibiting include: Frances Gynn RWA, Nigel Moores, Beatrice Corsetti, Tuong Nguyen, Simon Temblett, Sarah Lovett, Judy Harington, Mabel Harris, and Jo Holt.
Vietnamese artist Tuong Nguyen, says: “The festival is a valuable opportunity for me to join other artists in sharing ideas and inspiration to tackle climate issues through art for more people. I believe the more we sense and are aware of nature’s value and its connection to us, the more responsibly and actively we will live and act for the environment.”
Tuong’s abstract artworks (pictured left) seek to promote dialogues on wellbeing and sustainable development. The collage work she is showing at the exhibition serves as a visual reminder of the kinship and interdependence between human, non-humans and nature.
Dartmoor-based artist Nigel Moores takes his inspiration from the natural environment (pictured right). He says: “The act of painting might be solitary, but the aim is always about communication. I am interested in a visual language that is open and not tied down by definitions, and a creative process that reflects the collective consciousness. There is only one main issue facing the collective consciousness and that is of course the climate crisis. We must face this together.”
Jo Holt is a British contemporary artist specialising in art installation investigating themes around otherworldliness and the ethereal. Her contribution to the ACT exhibition is ‘Eye Of The Beholder’, an interactive artwork that invites the audience to take part. The piece speaks of the beauty of coral, the tragedy of coral bleaching and the magnificence of biofluorescence.
Environmental artist Frances Gynn is increasingly concerned about the human impact on nature. Her Public Erasures draw attention to the species endangered by climate change, habitat loss and plastic pollution. For the ACT exhibition, the featured species is the Hazel Dormouse. Frances will invite the audience to ‘erase’ a painting of multiple dormice.
Beatrice Corsetti is an origami artist whose work (pictured right) serves as a poignant reminder of our interconnectedness with the natural world. Beatrice’s inclusive approach invites individuals from all walks of life to engage with her art, igniting a collective dialogue on the importance of environmental stewardship.
Bonsai artist Simon Temblett takes his artistic inspiration directly from the natural world, working with weathered wood, fire and ceramic, as well as taking an avant-garde approach to bonsai (pictured left). Ultimately his medium has become the living things themselves. “Cutting carbon emissions to zero will not be enough to fix our world,” says Simon.
“Nothing short of a change in human consciousness can alter the course upon which we are set. It is the duty of science to expose the truth that makes the case for change, and the responsibility of history to reveal the errors of our past. It is the task of politics to negotiate the terms for transformation, but it is the work of art to change our minds.”
Environmental artist Judy Harington is passionate about connecting people to the natural world, and caring for what we have left of our precious ecosystem. In 2022 she highlighted issues of plastic pollution through the funded project: ‘Waste of Our Time’ which culminated in workshops, a collaborative exhibition and performance. Find Judy’s plastic packaging bodies The Insatiables at The Maltings Taphouse, Newton Abbot. They remind us that we are all implicated in producing the mountains of plastic rubbish that end up in our rivers and seas.
Paradiso Gallery in Bovey Tracey is running GREEN!, an exhibition highlighting many green and environmental issue featuring thought provoking artworks that deal with climate emergency, deforestation, recycling, pollution and loss of species. Throughout the exhibition there will be talks on these subjects, recycled artworks and a sound installation by Skylark fm. The exhibition runs to 20th July.
Find out more about the exhibitions and artists.
The Newton Abbot exhibitions take place at Sherborne House, Courtenay Street, Newton Abbot TQ12 2PF, from 10am-4pm, and Maltings Taphouse, Teign Road, Newton Abbot, TQ12 4AA, from 3pm-9pm.
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