An idea that germinated at the Museum of Vancouver has blossomed into a toolkit to help decarbonize the arts and culture sector. The SAGE: Sustainable Arts and Green Ecosystems online resource offers ways for museums and arts organizations to design and produce sustainable exhibitions and theatre sets.
“Not only is it the culmination of the work of all the partner organizations, but it also works towards fulfilling one of the Museum of Vancouver’s four engagement pillars, namely, the environment and sustainability,” the Museum of Vancouver’s SAGE lead Viviane Gosselin said in a December 9 news release. “I’m proud that the work of the MOV can contribute to the community and the sector to reduce our collective carbon footprint.”
The Museum of Vancouver is working with a dozen SAGE partners and allies to support the re-use and repurposing of materials in exhibitions and theatre sets. These partners and allies include Vancouver Civic Theatres, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver Maritime Museum, and Museum of Anthropology at UBC.
Last year, Museum of Vancouver CEO Mauro Vescera told Pancouver that a letter from a former Canadian heritage minister, Steven Guilbeault, set SAGE in motion. At the time, Guilbeault called upon museums and art galleries to address climate change.
“We went forward with a little grant called SEED to develop the concept,” Vescera told Pancouver. “Then we came up with this idea—Sustainability, Arts and Green Environments—and green ecosystems.”
SAGE includes case studies
From there, the Museum of Vancouver assembled arts administrators, environmental advocates, academic sustainability experts, and staff at Vancouver Civic Theatres.
As part of SAGE, the Museum of Vancouver is also connecting its Indigenous knowledge repatriation and engagement activities with existing assets.
On December 5, the new toolkit was launched at the Museum of Vancouver with local and global case studies.
To learn more about the Museum of Vancouver, visit its website. Follow Pancouver on Twitter @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
