21 April, New York: Today, the Gallery Climate Coalition is delighted to announce the launch of its New York chapter at a special event hosted by the Guggenheim, ahead of Earth Day 2023. By bringing together leaders of New York’s art world, GCC aims to galvanize the industry's response to the climate crisis and encourage alignment on environmental responsibility and collective action.

GCC’s NY founding committee is composed of: Ales Ortuzar (Founder and Director, Ortuzar Projects), Chiara Repetto (Founder and Director, Kaufmann Repetto), Haley Mellin (Artist, Environmental Conservationist and Director, Art to Acres), Laura Lupton (Co-founder Galleries Commit, Artists Commit, Barder and PACT), Loring Randolph (Director of the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Collection), Lisa Schiff (Founder and President, SFA Advisory) Matthew Wood (Founding Partner, Mendes Wood), Stefanie Hessler (Director, Swiss Institute), and Whitney McGuire (Associate Director of Sustainability, Guggenheim Museum).

At the Guggenheim Museum today, Richard Armstrong, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, and Wendy Fisher, President, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, co-host representatives of the city’s art institutions, galleries, advisories & art-sector businesses to introduce GCC’s Managing Director Heath Lowndes and Co-founder & Trustee Victoria Siddall and to officially launch GCC in New York. 

GCC now issues an open call for New York’s galleries, artists, non-profits & institutions, art sector business and individual professionals to join the coalition and commit to collective climate action. 

The primary goal of GCC is to facilitate decarbonization and adoption of low-waste practices in a way that allows the art world to continue to thrive. For the past three years the coalition has been providing actionable and effective guidelines on environmental responsibility, specifically tailored for visual arts organizations. With the launch of this new chapter, this work will be extended to New York. Along with other chapters in LA, Berlin, London, Italy, Taiwan, Switzerland and Spain the New York team forms an international network of art-sector professionals committed to decarbonizing and reducing waste as well as using their platforms to engage with audiences and inspire systemic change.

Victoria Siddall, GCC Co-Founder and Trustee says: “We are thrilled to officially launch Gallery Climate Coalition in New York, with the support of the Guggenheim and a founding committee of leaders from the city's art community. It is this spirit of collaboration that will enable us to bring about real change, while allowing our industry to thrive, and our actions will have a ripple effect that reaches far beyond the art world.”

International alignment and cooperation will be crucial to GCC’s success but sustainability solutions are often very locally focussed. This event marks the launch of a fundraising campaign to secure finances that will support region-specific research and resources that will accelerate action within New York’s art community. With fiscal sponsorship provided via Haley Mellin’s Art to Acres, GCC is registered with a 5013c and able to receive tax deductible donations from US benefactors.

Following on from the Guggenheim event, GCC NY’s founders will host a Zoom event on Tuesday 30th May 10am EST to share further information with the wider art community. Event registration via this link.

Call to Action

Art has a unique influence on public discourse and can engage audiences with social issues on an emotional level, in a way that transcends facts, figures and politics. By showcasing artworks, voices and stories that address the reality of the climate emergency, arts organisations can use their unique position to help tackle the crisis. 

Ultimately, that will be more impactful than the emissions or waste reductions of any one organization. But, in order to do that work with credibility, arts organizations need to be able to show they are embodying the change they want to see in society - by decarbonizing and implementing practical solutions in line with climate science and environmental responsibility.

GCC invites all organizations and individuals working in the visual arts sector to join the coalition - and in doing so commit to taking effective action in line with the principles of environmental responsibility in collaboration with an international collective of like-minded organisations.