About Green Arts Oxfordshire Network
Green Arts Oxfordshire Network was set up in January 2021 to unite Oxfordshire’s artists and cultural organisations in their work to tackle the climate & ecological emergency.
We began as a small seed of an idea, planted by the Tandem Collective Community Action Group, and the network has since grown with the support of Fusion Arts and other Oxfordshire artists and cultural organisations.
We facilitate conversations and connections between Oxford’s creative community, and signpost to information, suppliers and organisations that can help to reduce the environmental impact of arts programming and practices.
Over 50 artists and individuals from Oxfordshire’s cultural organisations collaborated to design the Green Arts Charter, a set of 10 action points to help us, as a network, to create a greener city and county.
Join the Green Arts Oxfordshire Network by signing the Charter, to work towards climate justice and a zero-carbon future, together.
Green Arts Oxfordshire Network unites Oxfordshire’s artists and cultural organisations in their work to tackle the climate & ecological emergency. Our mission is to…
Represent and engage artists, cultural organisations and community groups as a unifying force for change.
Measurably reduce carbon emissions through delivering Carbon Literacy Training to Oxfordshire’s cultural sector.
Signpost to relevant resources (local and arts specific).
Lead in the support and creation of green events that harness the power of culture to communicate, facilitating connections, collaboration and knowledge sharing between members of the network.
Encourage members to consider both the direct carbon impact of their operations and the messages within their creative work.
Our Story
By Nina Brown, Co-Founder of Tandem Collective
Since its inception in 2014, Tandem Collective has worked as an arts collective with sustainability at its core. The Collective was first and foremost a CAG (Community Action Group) and remains part of the pioneering CAG network.
One outcome of Tandem’s work, born in 2020, was the concept of a Green Arts Charter for Oxfordshire that would support Oxford’s cultural sector to become more sustainable. The concept was inspired by the inspiring work of the Manchester Arts Sustainability Team, the Green Arts Initiative of Creative Carbon Scotland and the Good Food Oxford Network and Charter. Tandem’s collaboration with Rosa Thomas and the team at Fusion Arts allowed the charter concept to develop and flourish.
On 14th January 2021, at the Green Arts Charter Soft Launch, over 50 artists and individuals from Oxfordshire’s cultural organisations came together to brainstorm how we, as a sector, can work to create a more ecological city and county.
We discussed how the collaborative creation of a Green Arts Charter might help us, as a network, achieve this. The Green Arts Oxfordshire Network was born.
The long term aim of the Green Arts project is to support and inspire organisations and artists to meet their ecological goals and work together to help create a more ecological sector and county. The network aims to act as a hub to link up artists and organisations who share these aims, and also to connect them with environmental movements, both locally and nationally.
Meet our Advisory Board
Ellie Monk
What inspires you?
An artwork: Outside There Were Flowers, Eva Joy
A play:Atlantis by the Hidden Spire Collective
A book: Rebel Talk by Extinction Rebellion
A song: Europe Is Lost by Kae Tempest
A film: The Territory by Alex Pritz
A poem: Small Kindnesses by Danusha Laméris
Becca Vallins
Becca is Deputy Director at the Old Fire Station, a centre for creativity, in a building shared with the homelessness charity Crisis UK. As an organisation we have signed up to Culture Declares a Climate and Ecological Emergency and support a city wide journey towards Net Carbon Zero.
The Old Fire Station’s intention is to face the Climate Emergency by working with others to:
- Educate ourselves about the emergency
- Take practical steps to reduce carbon emissions
- Use our creativity to help our community face the challenges ahead
- This is not work we can do alone and are grateful for the support of other cultural organisations, artists and the links that Green Arts Oxfordshire Network helps us create.
Dr JC Niala
What inspires you to act?
The urgency of the climate crisis is a primary motivator for JC’s artistic endeavors. Witnessing the tangible impacts of environmental degradation and the growing need for sustainable solutions drives her to create art that not only educates but also inspires action towards a greener future.
An artwork: Aïda Muluneh’s ‘Water Life’
A performance: Glitch by Headington Dance Academy/ Dillon Dance (2023)
A book: ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer – This book’s blend of indigenous wisdom and botanical knowledge has profoundly influenced JC’s perspective on our relationship with nature.
A song: Savane by Ali Farka Toure which captures the spirit of the unique Sahel landscape
A film: Chasing the Rains Dir Faith Musembi
A poem: ‘The Peace of Wild Things’ by Wendell Berry a reminder of the generosity of nature’s capacity to heal
Anything else that Inspires you: The resilience of natural ecosystems and the way communities come together to protect and restore the environment.
A favourite quote: “When resources are degraded, we start competing for them, whether it is at the local level in Kenya, where we had tribal clashes over land and water, or at the global level, where we are fighting over water, oil, and minerals. So one way to promote peace is to promote sustainable management and equitable distribution of resources.” Wangari Maathai
Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck
Her practice, composed of painting, drawing, installation, sculpture, film, photography, writing, participatory projects and publishing, often conceals ecological messages rendered in soft and delicate methods. In several of the artist’s projects, interaction with the environment and others plays a central role. Theories related to Art Therapy, Deep Ecology, Permaculture and the Way of Tea are at the roots of her works. Recent solo exhibitions include Dreaming about Tomorrow at Nidi Gallery and Caring & Tender -A Painter’s Photographic Diary at Terrace Square Photo Tokyo. Recent group exhibitions include One Foot in The Sky at Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer and New Nature at Paterson Zevi Gallery.
InOtherWords Imprint, Chose Commune, Jane & Jeremy and Editions Ulmer have published books on her practice.
In 2014, Johanna founded the positive and collaborative cultural project Poetic Pastel. In 2018, the artist co-founded the publication series Journal du Thé – Contemporary Tea Culture. In 2021, Johanna founded The Gardening Drawing Club.
Tate Modern invited the artist to give a talk on her practice in 2023. Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck has collaborated with art institutions, including Camden Art Centre, The Hepworth Wakefield, Garden Museum, Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, Southbank Centre and Horniman Museum.
Katherine Chesson
Katherine joined CAG Oxfordshire in January 2022. Most recently, she supported a multi-disciplinary net zero research initiative at the University of Oxford as programme manager. Prior to that, she spent ten years at the US-based National Park Foundation supporting programs and partnerships that engaged people with their national parks. As part of the senior leadership team, Katherine provided strategic direction focused on creating equitable access to public lands for historically excluded communities.
Kieran Cox
Fusion Arts is incubating Green Arts Oxfordshire Network.