"Im convinced the so-called culture sector in our society is more likely to create change than the public sector, the politicians, or the private sector. Because the private sector is driven by profitability primarily. And currently, the public sector is corrupted by populism. That leaves the cultural sector, which is very close to the civic sector. It enjoys the fact that it has a lot of civic trust and loyalty. That means people kind of trust the culture sector, also because it reflects people’s emotional needs. When people engage in the cultural sector they see themselves being reflected. This means the cultural sector is about the people. It’s not about profitability or egoism. I also think the culture sector successfully combines being emotional with being rational. The private sector is only about profitability and rationalism, McKinsey-fication of the world. And the public sector is only about populism, which is over-emotional, like Trump. It has no data, no science, it’s completely irrational. It’s just emotional. Culture actually has a commitment to academia, to history, to identity, to psychology. The culture sector is both emotional and rational. Little Sun – which I, as an artist actually did together with a scientist, a solar engineer – is in a way, the emotional holding hands with the rational. And it’s about showing that the culture sector has tools to change the world." Olafur Eliasson in an interview with Dazed

A view of things to come, Elvira Gonzales Gallery, Madrid

Albatross birds on Midway Island whose bodies are filled with plastic. This sequence of images is from Chris Jordan’s film Albatross - none of the images have been manipulated! Plastic is suffocating our oceans and wild life, but many great initiatives are seeing the light of day at the moment concerning our plastic problems. Lots is being done creating solutions for re-use and recycling waste plastic into new products and within the field of finding and innovating new alternatives to plastic. But you can also start by easily eliminating unnecessary plastic in your everyday life by stop sucking (on plastic straws), not using disposable plastic bags, single use plastic wraps, and many more small steps that in the longer run will have a big impact.

Mirror tunnel taking shape in the studio. Initial tests for work that will be part of Una mirada a lo que vendrá, Galeriá Elvira González, Madrid. Opens February 13
Click on image for more

Girls and women play to change the world one (global) goal at the time. Congratulations to all participating teams at the The Global Goals Cup last week in Dubai! And special congrats to the winners – the Diamond Divas who played for SDG11, Sustainable Cities and Communities. Photos by Emil Lyders. Click on image for more

#brickbuilding #vejle #soon

#brickbuilding #vejle #soon

In the wake of Hurricane Maria’s crushing devastation of Puerto Rico – curator Klaus Biesenbach and Christopher Gregory, a Puerto Rican photojournalist, traveled together to see how artists were facing the challenges of a post-disaster island. The art world in Puerto Rico has had to learn to survive during financially difficult times through a new artistic “sharing” economy — sharing knowledge; resources; and access to infrastructure, materials and spaces. Might these artists now serve as an example — and catalyst — for other communities?

Read the interesting feature in New York Times and go to mariafund.org to learn how you can support.

Una mirada a lo que vendrá (a view of things to come) opens at Galeriá Elvira González, Madrid on February 13 (image: Collective evolution, watercolour on paper)

Seeing plants - at Stúdíó Ólafur Elíasson, Marshall House, Reykjavik. Photo Vigfus Birgisson

Everything is connected by the sun. #studio

Little Sun Diamond