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In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger initiated one of his ultimate major projects. Famed for creating art that erases itself, Metzger had dedicated his life to confronting human struggles from peace activism to vegetarianism. Via a concise video message, he requested support for a worldwide initiative to remember nature.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your involvement in this international summons for a day of action to commemorate our planet on the fourth of November, 2015,” he declared, inviting makers and thinkers to stand against the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “Our responsibility is to help the public recall of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into domains that are naturally imaginative.”

The Creation of Remember Nature

And so the Nature Remembrance initiative came into being, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who supported Metzger in his later life, recalls his drive for action. “There was a profound sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “My advice was – let’s not mess around. No need to pause for financial support or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

After Ten Years

After ten years, the initiative did not incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but organizers feel its legacy can still be observed in initiatives like cultural advocacy groups and environmental protests, as well as in how artists approach the eco-friendliness of their work. For this purpose she is relaunching it to mark its ten-year mark. Among the 18 lead artists taking part currently are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. All participants have created visual art, made video appeals, and developed pieces set to be revealed on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

When speaking to the artist, she is working outdoors in the countryside, cultivating apple trees that will grow to form a circular grove. Working with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and part learning experience. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already incorporated learning about measurements (spacing the gaps in the orchard), genetics (exploring the apple’s DNA), and history (mapping the backgrounds of how various cultivars were introduced to England).

Several the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that releases red juice

“A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases scarlet-colored sap. They all have background narratives. The ancient variety was brought over by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the influence we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was prompting them, next time they were out, to check the packaging and see what they’re called and their origin. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Across the Country

Within the city, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will engage visitors searching a major gallery on a journey to find the frozen formations that have been vanished in recent years. All formations will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using ultraviolet markers. When located, a chime will sound and a reading will be held to commemorate that specific ice mass.

Elsewhere, up in another location, an artist will be hosting a open display about our alienation from the environment, as well as hosting a communal feast, made using organic, local produce. In another city, Uta Kögelsberger is streaming her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which regional performers undertake a task to sing plants back to health in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, a featured creator will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is hoping to decorate a cultural venue in children’s artwork that capture their hopes and fears for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are impactful because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her public appeal. “Young people’s input to the world is something quite unique and perhaps it can inspire a feeling of duty from everyone. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But this shouldn’t be about worry – it should be about hope and making sure that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Paul Harfleet’s work also resonates for children. Drawing on past experience, his avian project involves drawing birds and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is intending to address a local symbol. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. This endeavor commenced following he experienced multiple occurrences of discrimination on a particular day. In response, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the site of each occurrence and record it – the project has since spiralled to cover events experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

He picked the pansy not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The intention on 4 November is to plant pansies at fresh spots and also refresh the memorials in places he has marked earlier, all the while discussing with those on the itinerant journey about the events and his personal experiences. “There’s been quite a few after my previous work,” he says mournfully.

Moving Forward with Hope

Harfleet hopes his work – and