What Does Sustainability Mean for the Art World?

The Visual Arts Commission in partnership with the Diriyah Biennale Foundation Public Program invites you to join Alice Audoin, Ute Meta Bauer and Qutouf Elobaid for a conversation on sustainability in the art world.

The panelists will discuss how the visual arts sector can play a critical role in disseminating information and introducing innovative practices and initiatives in response to the climate emergency. They will elaborate on examples of engagements with local and international artists and institutions that bring future perspectives for a sustainable art world.

This talk is made possible by The Visual Arts Commission.

Ute Meta Bauer (born 1958 in Stuttgart, Germany) is an educator and curator in the field of contemporary art. Since 2013, she has been the Founding Director of the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore and a Professor at the School of Art, Design, and Media at Nanyang Technological University. She co-chairs the Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices and leads the “Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss” research project. Bauer co-curated Documenta11 (2002) and the 3rd Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art (2004). With Paul C. Ha, she co-curated the US Pavilion at the 56th Biennale di Venezia (2015), receiving an honorary mention. She also curated the Singapore Pavilion at the 59th Biennale di Venezia and was a curator of the 17th Istanbul Biennial (2022).

Chair and founder of Art of Change 21, consultant, curator, and author, Alice Audouin has spent 24 years in sustainable development, focusing on contemporary art and the environment. She organized the first international symposium on “The Artist as Stakeholder” at UNESCO in 2004. With Art of Change 21, Audouin enriches the intersection of art and environmental issues and introduces art to global events like the COP Climate Conferences. She has curated numerous exhibitions on environmental themes and served as a guest curator at Art Paris 2022. Audouin was instrumental in establishing Novethic for the Caisse des Dépôts Group and was the sustainable development director for Havas Group. She has published six books and has taught at the University of Cergy-Pontoise and the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne.

Qutouf Elobaid is the Special Projects Coordinator at Art Jameel, where she leads the Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform. Her work focuses on supporting regional artists and sustainability projects. Beyond her primary role, she is a dedicated writer and curator, emphasizing Sudanese art and culture.