#GreenFests highlights: Edinburgh College of Art 2014 Masters Festival


This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

The Art, Space and Nature postgraduate course, situated within the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, provides an interdisciplinary perspective for the future of visual arts, architecture and environmental planning. The course, led by Ross McLean and Donald Urquhart, gathers postgraduate students from various backgrounds, including architecture, visual arts, ecology and technology. The Master of Art students are showing their thesis projects at the Edinburgh College of Art 2014 Masters Festival; the postgraduate students on the course produce outputs that are often inextricably linked to ideas of sustainability and ecology.

Christina Gråberg Røsholt is an early-career interior architect and visual artist, whose work primarily focuses on studies of natural light. Her thesis project is “Healing Pavilion” an outdoor architectural proposal for the North Ayrshire Community Hospital. The fantastic thing about Røsholt’s practice is its ability to be translated from a pure visual arts practice into a realised architectural work. Her contributions to the exhibition included architectural models and plans, but also immersive projections of some of the artist’s pinhole photography.

We asked Røsholt how sustainability has influenced the production of her work; the architect/artist replied-

“I always consider sustainability in my design proposals by making sure I choose local materials and materials that are robust and low maintenance. This doesn’t always work, but when possible I always go for the most sustainable alternative using local sources.” She also added “artists can influence people by making something that inspires and fascinates, but also has a story or a purpose to it, which can work as an eye opener for some.”

IMG_2672-webDiandra Pandu Saginatari “script: dunbar”

Other work in the Art, Space and Nature Masters Festival exhibition include “oOo,” an interdisciplinary collaboration between Sonia Ali and Cameron MacNair that involves audio-visual interaction revolving around algae and the “disequilibrium we as human facilitate through our environmental interventions.”  Artist Rachel Powell’s “The Fabric of Teesside- Portrack Marsh: Maze Park” included foraged weaving materials from the Portrack Marsh location. Powell has extensive experience using natural dyes and offers a refreshing eco-renewal to the traditional craft of weaving. Architects Akshaya Narsimhan and Diandra Pandu Saginatari both have created architectural responses to the landscape of Dunbar, addressing the conflicting elements of industrialism and environment in the Scottish town. Artist Elin Webb, whose background includes experience in outdoor education, has created an interactive kit bag assemblage, asking participants to “consider only what is absolutely necessary.”

This year’s class of MA Art, Space and Nature postgraduates shows an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm and creativity when responding to matters of ecology and sustainability. The various profound perspectives are proven by the outputs in the exhibition, and all the artists and architects show promise of influencing the future of their respective professions towards making more sustainable innovations.


The Edinburgh College of Art Masters Festival runs from 16-24 August 2014. More information can be found here.

Image: “Healing Pavilion” courtesy Christina Gråberg Røsholt

The post #GreenFests highlights: Edinburgh College of Art 2014 Masters Festival appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

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