Greening the Gallery

Amid growing worries about the climate crisis, are cultural institutions doing enough to shrink their ecological footprint?

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The Global Climate Strike last September rallied millions of people around the world in loud and urgent calls for action on the climate crisis. Much more quietly, art galleries and other cultural institutions in Western Canada have been taking actions to make their own venues greener. 

On the rooftop of the building that houses Calgary’s Esker Foundation, a hive of honeybees is managed by a team from Alvéole, an urban beekeeping company. The bees boost pollination in the inner city neighbourhood and were the catalyst for a gallery talk last summer about beekeeping.

Meanwhile, the Alberta Craft Council has started using paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council – meaning it comes from responsible sources that meet strict environmental standards – when it publishes Alberta Craft magazine three times a year.

International scientists agree overwhelmingly that the world is facing a climate crisis caused by humans. Katharine Hayhoe, the director of the Climate Centre at Texas Tech University, doesn’t mince words. “The data tells us the planet is warming,” she says. “The science is clear that humans are responsible. The impacts we’re seeing today are serious. And our future is in our hands.” 

While the Canadian cultural sector is a small part of a complex global problem, large museums and galleries are heavy energy users, in part because they must stringently regulate heat and humidity to protect the treasures they house. While some new or renovated facilities meet industry standards for green building, the technology in older structures is often outdated and in need of retrofits. 

Climate experts, like Hayhoe, say everyone needs to work together to make the big changes needed for a more sustainable society. So, it’s fair to ask: Are galleries doing enough? 

Robert Janes, the founder and co-chair of the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice, a Canadian group working to promote awareness, mitigation and resilience in the face of climate change, responds in the negative.

A former CEO of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, he cites systemic challenges in the cultural sector, including organizational models with inflexible hierarchies that put too much power in the hands of too few. As well, he says cultural organizations, which typically rely on support from wealthy patrons and business sponsors, may feel pressure to remain neutral for fear of alienating potential donors. 

Hayhoe, whose 2018 TED Talk focused on how to roll back human-caused climate change, says a good first step is “talking about it” in order to get more people rallying to the challenge. Thus, another question also becomes relevant: Are cultural institutions telling the public enough about their green initiatives? 

It takes effort to pry information from Western Canadian galleries and museums, although some have boosted their energy efficiency – or are making plans to do so. For example, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s proposed $300-million purpose-built facility will use Passivhaus design to minimize its energy needs. 

“Sustainability is an area that was very much considered for the design of the new Vancouver Art Gallery building,” says Larah Luna, the gallery’s marketing and communications director. “The Passivhaus design is a rigorous standard for energy efficiency … that reduces the building’s ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling.” 

Meanwhile, in Winnipeg, the much-anticipated Inuit Art Centre is slated for completion in the spring. Michael Maltzan Architecture, a Los Angeles firm, and Manitoba’s Cibinel Architecture, designed the distinctive building, inspired by “the landscapes, light and peoples of the North.” 

The building, a project of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, will include an interactive theatre, learning spaces and a three-storey glass vault. Located next door to the gallery, it is described in some detail on a beautiful website. 

But there’s no information about how the building addresses sustainability, a particularly notable lapse given that the Canadian Arctic is suffering disproportionately from the effects of climate change. The territorial government’s Nunavut Climate Change Centre reports “almost every part of life in the region will be touched” as ice decreases, shipping increases and local economies shift. Maltzan’s communications director said key personnel were, regrettably, too busy to answer questions.

Meanwhile, almost all lighting has been switched to high-efficiency LED bulbs at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, says engagement supervisor Amy Harrison. As well, flow-tracking systems monitor water wastage and a new high-efficiency heating and cooling system is in place, she says. These details aren’t apparent online either. 

In the cultural sector, linkages can be made between efforts to become greener and the work institutions are doing to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing. “As galleries work towards Indigenization, environmental sustainability should be a main focus,” says Harrison. “Indigenous communities are deeply connected to nature and are leading the movement to protect our environment.” 

Meanwhile, in Saskatoon, the Remai Modern, designed by Canadian architect Bruce Kuwabara of KPMB, features variable air volume boxes, radiant floor heating and a low-temperature hot-water heating system that, along with other measures, reduce the building’s energy usage. 

The Remai, which opened in 2017, has been certified by the Canada Green Building Council as a Silver building under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, commonly known as LEED. The Remai uses about half the energy it might otherwise. But once again, this information is not readily available. We found it via online sites related to architecture and the building trades.

Given the growing public awareness about climate strikes, carbon footprints and sustainability, it’s surprising so few green initiatives are mentioned on gallery websites. One exception is the Art Gallery of Alberta, notable in Western Canada for the transparency of its sustainability efforts. Green features of the Edmonton gallery are highlighted in a multiple page document easily found on its website. 

The gallery, designed by the late Randall Stout, a Los Angeles architect the gallery describes as “a passionate advocate for environmental responsibility,” boasts a host of mitigating features. For example, about 90 per cent of the steel used in construction was recycled and energy-efficient glass maximizes daylight while minimizing solar-heat gain. The building envelope is energy efficient and dimmable lights also reduce power demands. The gallery has installed low-flow toilets and uses paints, adhesives and cleaners that are low in volatile organic compounds. 

In Winnipeg, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has been certified as a LEED Silver building. Special features include green roofs, rainwater harvesting, natural light and high-efficiency heating. A news release on the museum’s website also notes the downtown museum, which opened in 2014, sits on a large tract of replanted native prairie, a drought-tolerant ecosystem that requires less maintenance and irrigation.

“Human rights and environmental responsibility are interconnected,” the museum’s CEO, John Young, said at the time. “People have the right to live in health and safety, to earn a sustainable livelihood and to maintain culture.”

Two other recent buildings – Edmonton’s Royal Alberta Museum, which opened in 2018, and the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, B.C., which opened in 2016 – have achieved LEED Gold certification. The Audain, in a forest setting, is elevated a full storey above the ground to mitigate against its location on a floodplain. Designed by Vancouver architect John Patkau, it required the removal of only one tree. 

Janes, the author of two recent books, Museums without Borders and Museum Activism, is calling for a “global museum movement” to inspire and equip museum and gallery workers to take action. As community-based and knowledge-based organizations, galleries are ideally positioned to “act as a bridge between art and science,” he says.

Some international galleries offer examples of forward-thinking leadership. In Britain, for instance, the Whitworth gallery, at the University of Manchester, has a “Going Green” section on its website. It includes information on building features, passive environmental controls and green travel options, including financing for staff bicycles and public transportation. There’s also mention of landscaping for biodiversity, fair-trade produce, a recycling program and sustainability programming that has included a forest school and up-cycling workshops in conjunction with Green, a textile show.

Of course, the reality is that many cultural institutions have limited budgets, meaning staff members are stretched just managing day-to-day operations and organizing shows, outreach activities and fundraising events. But perhaps it’s time to find ways to create a new normal – an age of upfront discussions about environmentally conscious choices and well-publicized green initiatives.

As we approach a new decade, many questions remain: Are cultural institutions doing enough to shrink their ecological footprint? Are they talking publicly about what is being done and inspiring each other to do more? Are innovative exhibitions with environmental themes thoughtfully engaging communities? Are galleries leading in creative ways and making use of their public platforms? And are efforts to decolonize institutions helping to forge environmentally responsible paths for generations to come? 

It’s a tall order, to be sure. Yet galleries and museums are aptly thought of as leaders in cultural expression, innovation and critical thinking. Some spaces have histories as sites of protest against the status quo. Can they also help lead environmental literacy and awareness? The conversation has started. Galleries, it’s time to show the public what you can do.  ■

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