I first encountered Artists Now within the early Nineteen Eighties when, as Artist’s E-newsletter—which was virtually instantly shortened to “a-n”—the organisation consisted of some photocopied sheets of helpful info pinned up onto studio noticeboards. As we speak it’s the UK’s largest artist’s membership organisation and final month it took the brand new title Artists Now to mark its present position as a robust skilled physique. By way of a complete web site, it connects a 36,000-plus membership—which incorporates the main artists Antony Gormley, Sonia Boyce and Larry Achiampong—to a variety of expertise, providers and alternatives.
Over 4 many years, what was initially a small grassroots outfit has additionally advanced right into a extremely efficient lobbying pressure. It offers voice to artist communities and campaigns on essential points starting from truthful pay, to incapacity rights and mental property; and is commonly to be discovered making the case for funding in artists and the visible arts by way of the UK’s All Celebration Parliamentary Group for Visible Arts and Arts.
As acknowledgment of this enduring mission to empower artists with each important info and highly effective advocacy, final month’s launch of the revamped Artists Now was additionally accompanied by the revealing of a Inexperienced Manifesto. “We see it as a name to motion,” declares Artists Now CEO Julie Lomax. “We wish to give artists the instruments not simply to outlive however to thrive in a fast-changing society, and we’re proud to be publishing a Inexperienced Manifesto to help artists who wish to make their apply extra environmentally pleasant.”
Again in September 1980 the very first challenge of a-n pledged to supply each “the knowledge aspect of artwork” and likewise to be “a way of elevating points vital to visible artists” and Lomax sees the manifesto as persevering with to honour each these strands by addressing a difficulty that’s momentously vital for us all. “We selected to relaunch with a Inexperienced Manifesto as a result of it’s one thing that everyone can do, no matter their circumstances,” she says. “It impacts us all and reaches out to everybody, throughout all of the artwork world and past.” Or, as one of many manifesto’s opening clarion calls declares: “What’s good for the planet is nice for artists.”
Larry Achiampong—who’s an Artists Now member—on the Worldwide Affiliation of Artwork Europe 2025 Symposium: Artists Make Change, co-hosted by Artists Now Photograph: ©Lewis Ronald
In line with the grassroots spirit that continues to underpin Artists Now, its Inexperienced Manifesto was developed by way of a collaborative analysis course of led by the artists Tom Pope, Alys Scott Hawkins and Melanie Wheeler. It additionally concerned plenty of artist’s studios throughout the UK. The general intention was to make the knowledge as accessible and user-friendly as attainable. “It’s been developed by artists for artists and is rooted within the actuality of their apply,” Lomax says. “Artists are endlessly resourceful and have lengthy been a driving pressure in supporting sustainability and elevating environmental consciousness and we wish to help this in a approach that works for everybody.”
To this finish the Inexperienced Manifesto divides up its sensible recommendation into classes, color coded in keeping with degree of problem: inexperienced being “straightforward”; amber “reasonable”; and purple “laborious”. Every class is then additional subdivided and knowledge given below topic headings of constructing, exhibiting, delivery, journey, admin and digital. Its creators describe the manifesto as a constantly- rising “residing useful resource”, freely accessible to each members and non-members on the Artists Now web site. All customers are invited so as to add and trade their very own sustainability suggestions and to share their experiences on-line by tagging Artists Now on social media in order that “we will proceed to studying from each other.”
All through, the tone of the manifesto is upbeat and reassuring moderately than militant, doom-y or finger-wagging. The emphasis is on engagement at no matter degree. “Not each motion will likely be related to each apply, so concentrate on what’s achievable and significant for you,” declares one manifesto assertion, whereas one other urges artists to “do what you may […] don’t really feel responsible: individually we will’t do every part”.
Nonetheless, collectively we will do an important deal. As Lomax factors out: “Only one motion from every of our members would quantity to greater than 36,000 actions—and that’s already quite a lot of change.” This can be a maxim that may be taken to coronary heart by all of us, artists or in any other case.
