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COAL, the French partnership between art and sustainability
In collaboration with the French Ministry of Culture and that of Ecology, COAL encourages contemporary artists to embrace the topic of environmental protection.
Although art is free and unconditional par excellence, it can focus on specific areas of interest or cooperate with other disciplines or branches of knowledge. Therefore, it can be used as an effective tool for supporting an inter-disciplinary culture of ecology , as it’s being happening in France since 2008 with the initiative of the association COAL (“Coalition pour l’art et le développement durable” ) that encourages artists, contemporary art professionals and experts in sustainability, as well as institutions, non-governmental organisations, scientists and enterprises to cooperate in order to promote through art a widespread awareness on the most important environmental issues and the concrete solutions that can be found.
These initiatives include above all the annual contest for the Prix Coal Art et Environnement, an international recognition awarded by a prestigious panel of art critics under the patronage of the French Ministry of Culture and that of Ecology as well as the Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP) to the best art project focused on the environment, nature and sustainable development. The project is judged regarding the effectiveness or originality of the message and the use of eco-friendly materials and building techniques.
Moreover, COAL incoraggia dibattiti, scambi di idee e tavole rotonde ad hoc attraverso l’apposita piattaforma on line RessourceO, concepita come crocevia di informazioni e risorse documentali per tutto ciò che attiene alle molteplici dimensioni estetiche, giuridiche, sociali, scientifiche, politiche etc. che gravitano attorno al complesso dialogo tra arte ed ambiente.
COAL encourages debate, exchange of ideas and ad hoc panel discussions through the online platform RessourceO, which includes information on the aesthetic, legal, social, scientific and political issues related to art and the environment as a whole.
And in view of the 21th United Nations Conference on Climate in December, COAL is organising the ArtCop21, a cultural festival taking place from November 30 and December 10 in Paris, featuring a varied programme of exhibitions, majestic installations, concerts, readings, workshops and artistic performances aiming precisely at combining creativity and environmental safeguard.
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