"Museums have a unique position to release sustainability issues, drive genuine empathy and understanding"
"Museums have a unique position to release sustainability issues, drive genuine empathy and understanding, and get people to connect on a human level to the themes of environmental and social justice. So we all must move together towards this sustainable future simultaneously, and that is why a unified approach is essential to start engaging as a sector."
"While we are looking at how we will recover from the pandemic and what we'll be doing to build back better, the core of this is sustainability as a holistic approach. We have to build back sustainably through all three pillars, including social, environmental, and economic. As institutions, if we are not sustainable, how can we start practicing sustainably and advocate sustainability to the public?"
Caitlin Southwick, Director of Ki Culture, Secretary of ICOM Sustainability Group, and CEO and Founder of Sustainability in Conservation, London, and panelist at CIMAM's first online session Sustainability and Environmental Change in Museum Practice.
Caitlin Southwick is the Founder and Executive Director of Ki Culture. She holds a Professional Doctorate in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Amsterdam. Caitlin has worked in the conservation field for nine years in museums and sites around the world, including the Vatican Museums, The Getty Conservation Institute, The Uffizi Gallery and Easter Island. She is the Secretary of the Working Group on Sustainability for the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and a former Professional Member of the American Institute of Conservation (AIC) Sustainability Committee.
Sustainability and Environmental Change in Museum Practice
The workshop took place on Thursday 25 March 2021.
- Desirée Blomberg, Manager, Exhibition Coordination & Loans, Moderna Museet, Stockholm.
- Jeremy Deller, Artist, London.
- Rachel Kent, Head of International Touring Exhibitions, Tate Modern, London.
- Caitlin Southwick, Director of Ki Culture, Secretary of ICOM Sustainability Group, and CEO and Founder of Sustainability in Conservation, London.
Moderated by Rhana Devenport, Director, Art Gallery of Southern Australia.
Hosted by CIMAM’s Sustainability and Ecology Working Group, this workshop provides an opportunity to hear from, and ask questions of, colleagues and allies who are championing new and innovative ways of responding to climate and ecological emergencies.
Relevant to both individuals and institutions working in the contemporary art museum sector the session aims to share best practices and foster collaboration across our community.