[Pictured: Julian Melchiorri's Exhale, the world's first living and breathing chandelier utilising novel bionic-leaf technologies, on display at the V&A]
In 2018, The Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, together with the Royal College of Art (RCA), ran an art competition on the theme of climate change and the environment. Launched as part of the Grantham Institute's 10th Anniversary celebrations, the competition was designed to create a conversation about these issues in a visual way and to kick start collaborations between Imperial College London and students from other universities. The competition culminated in an art exhibition at Imperial College London that rans from 25-28 April 2019. The artwork was on display again from 20-30 August 2019 at the Dyson Gallery in London.
You can find out more about the competition, artworks and exhibition in our brochure: Grantham Art Prize - Fusing art and science to tackling climate change (PDF).
"Climate change is a real and complex challenge that requires us all to take urgent action. While research is an indispensable tool to tackle climate change, we also need to consider the moral and ethical implications of our choices. Historically, art has helped us explore difficult issues and has inspired meaningful conversations. By bringing art and science together, we can strengthen our voice and be a strong motivator for action on climate change. - Professor Martin Siegert"
Tabs
The Grantham Art Prize exhibition has now closed.
The exhibition presented a dynamic show of newly commissioned artworks by young and emerging art students who collaborated with Imperial College London's top climate and environmental researchers.
Grantham Art Prize Preview: 25 April 2019
This celebratory event allowed guests to preview the art works and talk with the artists themselves.
The night included a panel discussion, which explored what role arts and culture can play in changing perspectives and raising awareness of climate change and environmental issues to a wider audience; and how to bridge the gap between artists and scientists to strengthen our voices on these issues.
Running order
18:00 - Panel discussion: Climate Exchange
- Peter Kennard, Contemporary artist and Professor of Political Art | @peterkennardx
- Arnaud Czaja, Reader in Physical Oceanography
- Alice Bell, Co-Director at 10:10 Climate Action | @alicebell
Chair: Alison Tickell, Founder of Julie’s Bicycle | @JB_Alison
19:30 - Exhibition of winning artworks and drinks reception
Art on display:
- Planet Greenhouse, by Fernanda Dobal and Alison O'Reilly, with support from Professor Johanna Haigh
- Pine Island Glacier. Anthotype, 2019, by Melanie King
- The Labyrinth, by Qiaoer Jin and Zhengyi Zhang
- The Outside Inside, by Johanna Schmeer
- We Are You, by Miyuki Oka and Barna Soma Biro
- Yoshino Cherry Tree, by Michiko Yamamoto, Dr Kris Murray and Sonia Tiedt
Speaker Biographies
Peter Kennard
Peter Kennard was born in London in 1949 and lives and works in Hackney, East London. He is Professor of Political Art at the RCA. He studied at the Slade and the RCA. His work has been at the cutting edge of political art since his work protesting the Vietnam War in 1968. His photomontages, installations and paintings are known globally, gaining exposure in galleries, on the streets and in the media. In recent years his work has been included in many group exhibitions, including: Media Burn, Tate Modern; Rude Britannia, Tate Britain; Forms of Resistance, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven and solo exhibitions including, At Earth in Raven Row, London, to coincide with the publication of his book @earth. His work is in many public collections including, the Tate, V&A, Imperial War Museum, Science Museum, British Council and the Arts Council Collection.
His work has been written about across a wide spectrum, including Banksy: "I take my hat off to you Sir", Harold Pinter: "Kennard sees the skull beneath the skin all right" and John Berger: "Peter Kennard’s work is haunting, Eschewing words, it insists on not being forgotten. He is a master of the medium of photomontage". Kennard is the author of six books, his latest Unofficial War Artist was published in May 2015 by the Imperial War Museum to coincide with his retrospective exhibition, Peter Kennard: Unofficial War Artist at the museum. His next book Peter Kennard: Visual Dissent will be published by Pluto Press in September 2019.
Dr Arnaud Czaja
Dr Arnaud Czaja holds a PhD from the University of Paris VI where he worked on seasonal climate predictability and the theory of the oceanic thermocline. Dr Czaja then moved to MIT where he worked for six years on the impact of the ocean circulation on North Atlantic storms on timescales of decades. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Physics Department at Imperial College, first as a Lecturer and, since September 2009, as a Reader in Physical Oceanography. He is also an affiliate of the Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment.
Dr Alice Bell
Dr Alice Bell is a co-director at 10:10 Climate Action, working on a range of campaigns from solar powered trains and decarbonised heat. As an academic, Alice specialised in public engagement with science and technology, working at the Science Communication Unit, Imperial College, the Department of Journalism at City, and the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex. Alice has also written for a range of publications including the Guardian, Times Higher, Research Fortnight and Al Jazeera. She was a regular correspondent for the International Council for Science’s climate policy blog on the run up to the Paris talks, and launched innovation website, How We Get to Next, as its first editor. She is also a trustee of Medact, and sits on the the advisory committee for the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, University of Surrey.
Alison Tickell (Chair)
Alison Tickell is the founder of Julie’s Bicycle, a non-profit company helping the creative industry reduce its environmental impacts and develop new thinking in tune with global environmental challenges. Originally trained as a cellist, Alison worked with seminal jazz improviser and teacher John Stevens. She worked for many years at Community Music and at Creative and Cultural Skills where she established the National Skills Academy. She has been on many advisory and awarding bodies including Observer Ethical Awards, RCA Sustainable Design Awards, D&AD White Pencil Awards. She has been on the boards of the Music Business Forum, Live Music and Sound Connections, and is on the board of Energy Revolution.
