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During 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger initiated one of his last significant endeavors. Known for creating art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting global challenges from anti-nuclear advocacy to ethical eating. In a brief video message, he requested support for a international event to honor the environment.

“This is my appeal for your participation in this global appeal for a day of action to commemorate our planet on 4 November 2015,” he stated, urging artists and creatives to resist the ongoing loss of species. “Our task is to make audiences aware of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into domains that are inherently creative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

And so Remember Nature was established, a day when artists across the country produced pieces to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his final years, remembers his feeling of immediacy. “There was a profound sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I just said – let’s not mess around. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to approve this. We should proceed.”

A Decade Later

After ten years, the initiative did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but Joelson believes its influence can still be observed in campaigns like artist-led declarations and environmental protests, as well as in how makers handle the sustainability of their practices. For this purpose she is reviving it to celebrate its decade milestone. Among the 18 lead artists participating now are Yu-Chen Wang and other notable figures. Each has produced imagery, made video appeals, and produced installations set to be unveiled on 4 November 2025.

Sowing Change

Interviewing Anya Gallaccio, she is working outdoors in Kent, cultivating apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. As she explains, the design and cultivation sessions have already included learning about maths (spacing the gaps in the orchard), biology (exploring the genetic makeup), and history (researching the journeys of how different apples were introduced to England).

Many of the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that produces crimson liquid

“A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that produces crimson liquid. Each has background narratives. The ancient variety was brought over by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that dropped off a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the control 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!”

Creative Initiatives Nationwide

Within the city, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will engage visitors searching Tate Modern on a quest to find the ice masses that have been lost in the past decade. All formations will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using special pens. Each discovery, a chime will sound and a performance will be held to honor that particular glacier.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be putting on a free exhibition about our disconnection from the land, as well as holding a communal feast, prepared with regional food. Over in Newcastle, Uta Kögelsberger is streaming her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which local singers begin a project to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Youth Perspectives

Like Gallaccio, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is aiming to fill Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that document their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Children’s words and images are impactful because they’re not as restricted as mature perspectives,” she says in her public appeal. “What children have to offer to the world is something truly special and it may inspire a sense of responsibility from everyone. Youth is pure. They have anxieties about what’s next. But this shouldn’t be about fear – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they see a better world.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Another artist’s work also connects with children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves drawing birds and then embodying them – and for Remember Nature day he is aiming to address Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also staging a walking tour of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his long-term work over the recent decades. This endeavor began when he endured several events of homophobic abuse on a single day. In response, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the spot where it happened and document it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

He picked the bloom not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The intention on Remember Nature day is to plant pansies at new locations and also refresh the memorials in places he has honored before, all the while discussing with those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his recollections. “There’s been quite a few after my previous work,” he says mournfully.

Progressing Optimistically

The artist wishes his work – and