Project Description

Eco-design Art Prize

(Prix Art Éco-Conception)

Supporting artists in reducing their environmental impact

Since 2014, the association Art of Change 21 links contemporary art and major environmental issues. In 2021, Art of Change 21 awarded the “Planet Art Solidarity” Prize with an endowment of €42,000, thanks to the support of Maison Ruinart. This prize rewarded 21 young artists working on the theme of the environment and impacted by the pandemic. The choice to have 21 laureates (each receiving €2,000) supported a more collective and less competitive approach, dear to the association and to the artists of this movement. 

After the success of this Prize, Art of Change 21 continues its commitment to artists through the Eco-design Art Prize. It aims to promote the culture and practice of eco-design in artistic creation and brings together for the first time artists and experts in this field.

Supported by Maison Ruinart, the Eco-design Art Prize is organised in partnership with the contemporary art center, Palais de Tokyo. Its institutional partners are the Ministry of Culture and ADEME (the Agency for Ecological Transition), Maison Guerlain is a sponsor.

Its aim is to help artists reduce their environmental impact. It was open to artists living in France and covers all artistic practices (sculpture, painting, video, digital, performance, photography, etc.). Having an environmental approach is not a selection criteria. 

The award consists of a coaching in eco-design on-site, at the Palais de Tokyo, by professionals and experts recognized and invested in the art sector, over a period of three days and in groups. In addition, two of the twelve artists among them will also benefit from a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Calculated by eco-design engineers, the LCA provides a complete scientific evaluation of the impact of a creation on the main environmental issues. The reward (the coaching and the two LCAs) is worth €40,000 in total. In addition, at the end of their support, the artists will be able to request a bonus of €1,000  for their time commitment.

The eco-design method goes further than just calculating the carbon footprint by including other environmental issues, such as biodiversity, water, climate, scarcity of resources, etc… It intervenes  at the beginning of the creation process, at the time of the design and production of the work, all the way until the eventual “end” of the work i.e. the full life cycle.. While the acceptance and diffusion of more ecological practices is spreading rapidly in the art world, the aim here is to provide a genuine scientific and technical expertise.

Within the framework of this accompaniment, materials, production techniques, transport, display systems and conservation will be all explored in order to identify innovative and less impactful alternatives. 

At the end, the main results of this process will be made public. A document for sharing expertise and experiences will be published by Art of Change 21 and accessible to all. 

The objective, beyond this Prize, is to catalyse a more global dynamic, through further, more wide-reaching editions. Amongst the follow-ups to this initiative, exchange days, the publication of a guide, a webinar and an online calculation tool will be explored. 

This Prize is just the first step in a movement that aims to equip French artists with an environmental culture that will enable them to adapt and anticipate the major changes to come. 

AGENDA

1 November – 4 December 2022 : Call for applications
12 December 2022: Jury Deliberation
10 January 2023: Award ceremony
27 January – 26 May 2023: Coaching
1 February – 1 June: Life Cycle Analysis
July 2023: Publication

Presentation of the Prize and the winners

The international version of this project will come soon!

More informations on the prize (in French) here