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In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger initiated one of his last major projects. Famed for introducing auto-destructive art, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting global challenges from nuclear disarmament to ethical eating. Through a short video message, he requested support for a international event to honor the environment.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your participation in this global appeal for a day of action to remember nature on the fourth of November, 2015,” he stated, encouraging cultural workers to resist the steady eradication of species. “The mission is to remind people of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into domains that are inherently creative.”

The Birth of Remember Nature

In this way the Nature Remembrance initiative was born, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the unfolding climate catastrophe. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, recalls his sense of urgency. “There was a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I urged him – let’s not mess around. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to green light this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

Ten years later, the initiative did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but organizers feel its legacy can still be felt in campaigns like artist-led declarations and environmental protests, as well as in how makers handle the eco-friendliness of their methods. That’s why she is relaunching it to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Included in the key participants participating now are Yu-Chen Wang and Anya Gallaccio. Each has created visual art, recorded calls to action, and produced installations set to be unveiled on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is on site in the countryside, cultivating apple trees that will develop into a circular grove. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and part learning experience. According to her, the preparation and sowing sessions have already included learning about maths (calculating the planting intervals), science (discussing the hereditary traits), and geography (researching the stories of how different apples came to the UK).

Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid

“Several the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that produces crimson liquid. Every one carries histories attached. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and hit the scientist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the influence 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 look on the bag and see the variety and the source. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

In London, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will engage visitors searching an art institution on a journey to find the seven major glaciers that have been lost in modern times. All formations will be illustrated on the museum surfaces using invisible ink. Whenever one is found, a chime will sound and a reading will be performed to remember that specific ice mass.

Elsewhere, up in a northern town, Maddi Nicholson will be putting on a public show about our separation from nature, as well as holding a community dinner, prepared with sustainable ingredients. Over in Newcastle, an artist is streaming her environmental performance, in which local singers undertake a task to use music to heal flora in a local park.

Youth Perspectives

Following this approach, another participant will be engaging schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is hoping to cover an art space in kids’ letters and drawings that express their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as trammelled as grown-ups’,” she says in her recorded message. “Young people’s input to the world is something quite unique and hopefully it will inspire a feeling of duty from us all. Kids are unbiased. They have anxieties about what’s next. But this shouldn’t be about fear – it should be about hope and making sure that they have a tomorrow.”

Memorials and Memory

A participant’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the initiative he is aiming to address an iconic figure. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his Pansy Project over the past twenty years. That ongoing series started after he faced three incidents of homophobic abuse on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the spot where it happened and photograph it – the project has since grown to cover events reported by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “It seems wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the obvious reason – 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 reflective, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on the event day is to plant pansies at additional sites and also renew the tributes in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the itinerant journey about the events and his memories of them. “There’s been quite a few after my previous work,” he says sadly.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and