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Back in 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger initiated one of his final important works. Known for pioneering art that erases itself, Metzger had dedicated his life to addressing societal issues from anti-nuclear advocacy to plant-based living. Through a short video message, he requested support for a global day of action to celebrate the natural world.

“I call upon you for your participation in this global appeal for a day of action to commemorate our planet on the fourth of November, 2015,” he announced, inviting makers and thinkers to oppose the continuing disappearance of flora and fauna. “Our task is to help the public recall of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into domains that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Inception of Remember Nature

Thus Remember Nature was established, a day when artists across the country developed works to the ongoing environmental crisis. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, notes his feeling of immediacy. “There was a great sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I just said – let’s not mess around. No need to pause for financial support or for anyone to green light this. Take action immediately.”

A Decade Later

A decade on, the initiative may not have sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but Joelson believes its legacy can still be observed in movements like cultural advocacy groups and climate activism networks, as well as in how makers handle the eco-friendliness of their work. For this purpose she is relaunching it to commemorate its ten-year mark. Part of the featured creators involved this time are Yu-Chen Wang and other notable figures. Each has created visual art, recorded calls to action, and produced installations set to be presented on November 4, 2025.

Planting Hope

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is on site in a rural area, helping plant apple trees that will create a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and somewhat instructive. As she explains, the planning and planting sessions have already incorporated learning about measurements (calculating the planting intervals), genetics (studying the hereditary traits), and origins (mapping the journeys of how various cultivars came to the UK).

Several the apples were selected because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that releases red juice

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Duck’s Bill,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries histories attached. The decio apple was imported by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and hit the scientist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more actively aware of the natural world and the influence we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, when they go shopping, to look on the bag and see their names and their origin. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Cultural Projects Nationwide

At the capital, Youngsook Choi’s Book of Loss will include attendees exploring Tate Modern on a quest to find the ice masses that have been disappeared in recent years. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the museum surfaces using special pens. When located, a alert will occur and a recitation will be performed to remember that specific ice mass.

Elsewhere, up in a northern town, a creative will be putting on a free exhibition about our separation from nature, as well as hosting a shared meal, prepared with regional food. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is broadcasting her environmental performance, in which community vocalists begin a project to sing plants back to health in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Young Insights

Similar to other artists, a featured creator will be engaging schoolchildren – on the day itself she is planning to cover a cultural venue in children’s artwork that document their hopes and fears for the years ahead. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as trammelled as grown-ups’,” she says in her public appeal. “The contributions of youth to the world is something distinctive and hopefully it will provoke a awareness of obligation from each person. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But let’s not make it about fear – it should be about optimism and our responsibility that they get a future.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also connects with children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is intending to address Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also organizing a guided walk of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his long-term work over the recent decades. That ongoing series commenced following he faced multiple occurrences of prejudice on a one occasion. To counter this, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the spot where it happened and document it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “It seems birds consume them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The plan on the event day is to place blooms at new locations and also renew the tributes in places he has marked earlier, all the while discussing with those on the itinerant journey about the events and his personal experiences. “There’s been quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

Harfleet hopes his work – and