Hans Ulrich Obrist: Art for Earth’s Sake

What is the role of an art exhibition space, if not a forum for ideas and a catalyst for change? That’s the view of Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries in London and one of the world’s most prominent curators. An inveterate globetrotter, Obrist was known as ‘the curator who never sleeps’ and until recently he probably spent more time on a plane than he did at his desk. But he has had a change of heart, and alongside a radical reduction in his personal carbon footprint Obrist has also created the Back to Earth project at the Serpentine. Out of that comes a new book, 140 Artists’ Ideas for Planet Earth, featuring drawings, recipes, experiments and gardening ideas from practitioners including Marina Abramovic and Olafur Eliasson as well as contributors from other disciplines such as Vivienne Westwood and Brian Eno. Obrist is joined by Manthia Diawara, Es Devlin, Daniel Fernández Pascual and Alon Schwabe - all contributors to the book - to discuss the imaginative proposals at the heart of the project.

This event was filmed live at the 2021 Edinburgh International Book Festival. The authors and participants in this event took part remotely.