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In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger initiated one of his final significant endeavors. Recognized for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had devoted his career to addressing societal issues from anti-nuclear advocacy to ethical eating. In a brief video message, he issued a call for a international event to remember nature.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your engagement in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on the fourth of November, 2015,” he announced, encouraging artists and creatives to stand against the steady eradication of flora and fauna. “The mission is to remind people of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore territories that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

Thus the environmental art day came into being, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the escalating planetary emergency. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his later life, remembers his drive for action. “There was a great sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I urged him – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for financial support or for anyone to authorize this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

After ten years, the initiative hasn’t quite incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but organizers feel its influence can still be felt in movements like cultural advocacy groups and environmental protests, as well as in how makers handle the eco-friendliness of their practices. That’s why she is relaunching it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Part of the 18 lead artists involved this time are A Man Called Adam and Anya Gallaccio. Each has designed posters, shared messages, and produced installations set to be unveiled on 4 November 2025.

Cultivating Awareness

Interviewing the artist, she is working outdoors in the countryside, helping plant apple trees that will create a spiral-shaped orchard. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. According to her, the preparation and sowing sessions have already involved learning about mathematics (calculating the planting intervals), genetics (discussing the genetic makeup), and geography (researching the stories of how distinct varieties arrived in Britain).

Many of the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that releases red juice

“Several the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that releases crimson liquid. They all have background narratives. The decio apple was brought over by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that descended from a tree and struck the physicist’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more thoughtfully connected of nature and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, next time they were out, to check the packaging and see their names and where they were grown. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Cultural Projects Across the Country

At the capital, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will involve participants searching Tate Modern on a quest to find the frozen formations that have been disappeared in the past decade. All formations will be illustrated on the exhibition spaces using invisible ink. Whenever one is found, a alert will occur and a reading will be held to honor that specific ice mass.

At the same time, up in a northern town, a creative will be hosting a free exhibition about our separation from nature, as well as holding a communal feast, cooked from sustainable ingredients. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is broadcasting her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which regional performers embark on a mission to sing plants back to health in a local park.

Children’s Voices

Like Gallaccio, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is aiming to cover an art space in youth creations that express their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Children’s words and images are powerful because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her public appeal. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and hopefully it will stimulate a awareness of obligation from each person. Youth is pure. They have anxieties about what’s next. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about hope and our responsibility that they see a better world.”

Memorials and Memory

Paul Harfleet’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves drawing birds and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to address Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also staging a guided walk of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his ongoing series over the past twenty years. This endeavor started after he experienced several events of prejudice on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the spot where it happened and record it – the project has since expanded to include incidents experienced by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly birds consume them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

Harfleet chose the bloom not just for the clear connection – it has long been a slur – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The intention on 4 November is to plant pansies at new locations and also replant flowers in places he has marked earlier, all the while talking to those on the itinerant journey about the occurrences and his personal experiences. “There’s been quite a few following earlier installations,” he says mournfully.

Progressing Optimistically

The artist wishes his work – and