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In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his last significant endeavors. Recognized for pioneering self-destructive creations, Metzger had devoted his career to addressing societal issues from anti-nuclear advocacy to plant-based living. Through a short video message, he issued a call for a international event to remember nature.

“This is my appeal for your participation in this international summons for a day of action to commemorate our planet on 4 November 2015,” he announced, inviting cultural workers to stand against the ongoing loss of living beings. “Our task is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Inception of Remember Nature

And so Remember Nature came into being, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the unfolding climate catastrophe. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his final years, remembers his sense of urgency. “There was a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. Let’s not wait for financial support or for anyone to approve this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, the project may not have triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but supporters think its influence can still be seen in initiatives like Culture Declares and environmental protests, as well as in how artists approach the sustainability of their work. For this purpose she is restaging it to commemorate its 10-year anniversary. Among the key participants involved this time are Cornelia Parker and Anya Gallaccio. Each has created visual art, shared messages, and created artworks set to be revealed on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is on site in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Working with schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and half educational workshop. According to her, the design and cultivation sessions have already involved learning about mathematics (calculating the gaps in the orchard), genetics (exploring the apple’s DNA), and history (tracing the stories of how different apples came to the UK).

Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that releases red juice

“A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that produces scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries histories attached. The ancient variety was imported by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that dropped off a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the influence we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was urging them, next time they were out, to look on the bag and see their names and their origin. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Cultural Projects Nationwide

In London, one artist’s project on disappearance will engage visitors exploring a major gallery on a mission to find the seven major glaciers that have been vanished in modern times. Every ice sheet will be illustrated on the museum surfaces using invisible ink. When located, a chime will sound and a recitation will be held to remember that individual formation.

At the same time, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be hosting a open display about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a community dinner, made using sustainable ingredients. In another city, an artist is broadcasting her environmental performance, in which local singers begin a project to perform for vegetation in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Youth Perspectives

Similar to other artists, another participant will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is aiming to decorate Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that express their dreams and worries for the future. “Children’s words and images are powerful because they’re not as inhibited as grown-ups’,” she says in her recorded message. “What children have to offer to the world is something truly special and hopefully it will stimulate a sense of responsibility from us all. Children are innocent. They have anxieties about what’s next. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about hope and making sure that they see a better world.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Another artist’s work also connects with children. Drawing on past experience, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the event he is intending to represent Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also organizing a guided walk of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his Pansy Project over the last two decades. The project started after he experienced several events of prejudice on a single day. In response, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the site of each occurrence and photograph it – the project has since grown to include incidents reported by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

Harfleet chose the flower not just for the clear connection – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on 4 November is to plant pansies at additional sites and also renew the tributes in places he has marked earlier, all the while discussing with those on the guided walk about the incidents and his memories of them. “I’ve recorded quite a few since I last planted,” he says sadly.

Moving Forward with Hope

Harfleet hopes his work – and