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Back in 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his ultimate major projects. Recognized for pioneering auto-destructive art, Metzger had devoted his career to responding to societal issues from nuclear disarmament to plant-based living. In a brief video message, he requested support for a global day of action to honor the environment.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your engagement in this international summons for a day of action to commemorate our planet on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, encouraging makers and thinkers to oppose the ongoing loss of living beings. “Our task is to remind people of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore realms that are inherently creative.”

The Birth of Remember Nature

In this way Remember Nature was established, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his later life, notes his sense of urgency. “There was a profound sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – don’t delay. No need to pause for sponsorship or for anyone to approve this. Take action immediately.”

After Ten Years

A decade on, the initiative hasn’t quite incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its impact can still be felt in initiatives like artist-led declarations and climate activism networks, as well as in how artists approach the environmental impact of their practices. For this purpose she is reviving it to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Among the 18 lead artists taking part currently are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. Each has designed posters, made video appeals, and produced installations set to be unveiled on 4 November 2025.

Planting Hope

Interviewing the artist, she is working outdoors in a rural area, helping plant apple trees that will develop into a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and somewhat instructive. According to her, the preparation and sowing sessions have already included learning about mathematics (calculating the gaps in the orchard), genetics (discussing the genetic makeup), and history (tracing the backgrounds of how different apples were introduced to England).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that produces scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that releases crimson liquid. Each has stories behind them. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that dropped off a tree and struck the physicist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of nature and the influence we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was prompting them, when they go shopping, to look on the bag and see their names and their origin. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Cultural Projects Nationwide

In London, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will include attendees searching an art institution on a journey to find the frozen formations that have been disappeared in recent years. Each glacier will be drawn on the gallery’s windows and walls using invisible ink. When located, a bell will ring and a recitation will be conducted to honor that particular glacier.

Meanwhile, up in a northern town, an artist will be presenting a public show about our disconnection from the land, as well as holding a communal feast, cooked from organic, local produce. Further north, an artist is broadcasting her musical project, in which local singers begin a project to perform for vegetation in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be engaging schoolchildren – on the day itself she is planning to fill Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in children’s artwork that document their aspirations and concerns for the future. “Children’s words and images are powerful because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her public appeal. “What children have to offer to the world is something quite unique and it may stimulate a feeling of duty from us all. Kids are unbiased. They have fears about the future. But let’s not make it about fear – it should be about hope and making sure that they get a future.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Paul Harfleet’s work also resonates for children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves drawing birds and then embodying them – and for the event he is intending to tackle an iconic figure. He is also conducting a itinerant journey of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the last two decades. The project started after he faced three incidents of prejudice on a single day. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the location of every incident and record it – the project has since expanded to include incidents shared by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “It seems birds consume them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The plan on 4 November is to sow flowers at new locations and also renew the tributes in places he has marked earlier, all the while conversing with those on the guided walk about the incidents and his memories of them. “We’ve seen quite a few after my previous work,” he says mournfully.

Progressing Optimistically

He desires his work – and