My art project “What’s Next for Earth” was born from the desire to connect artists, seize the opportunity to reflect on this unique time, and address themes focused on the human predicament. At first, it was a gamble when I launched the first art call on Instagram about Earth Day 2020, with only two followers of the project’s new account. But little by little, the contributions started to trickle in, showing an interest from artists from around the world. I was encouraged to continue and launched more art calls. What’s Next for Earth has proposed nine themes to its submitters: Earth Day, Quarantine Discoveries, Inner Change, Convergence, Resilience, How Are You Doing, The Human Predicament, Planetary Limits, and Interconnected — our current call.
Through What’s Next for Earth, I am striving to drive greater awareness of our predicament. Each call contains links to videos, podcasts, and publications that relate to the current theme to help submitters think about, and understand, the multi-crisis we face. Important information that states the facts as they are. Many artists have sent messages of gratitude for creating this project, in great part because they learned new information about our predicament and are part of an important, worldwide conversation.
We have to rethink our society’s norms and the standard operating procedures as we move forward, which is evident within the art community over the last year. This period of challenge has obligated artists to rethink what it means to show art and where. We have the virtual space, and, although far from ideal, it offers the possibility to share art on an accessible platform.
To head to a more sustainable future, some things must cease to exist or radically change, and a new “normal” must emerge. It is not easy to rethink everything. I recognize that. Even for artists, it is important to think about alternatives to the old standard of galleries and museums as we see them — as the standard venue for showing art. We have to find new ways to interact and share what we do. New ways to collaborate.