Annabel Keenan dutifully chronicles environmental agency in the art world. Her success is predicated on the collective movement to a greener reality.
Annabel Keenan
Sarah Wagner Miller
Do not be fooled by her eloquence and discretion: art writer Annabel Keenan is ballsy. Her debut book, Climate Action in the Art World: Towards a Greener Future, launched with industry standard publisher Lund Humphries and Sotheby’s Institute this May, and decisively called the art world to action amidst a mounting climate crisis.
"The perception of our impact relative to other industries shouldn’t be an arbiter of whether or not to act," she implores in the introduction, admitting to writing during a heat wave. She unabashedly calls art fairs, "the elephant in the room."
The meaty 84 pages (106 including citations) creates a step-by-step guide to creating sustainable pathways in the art world. In an industry often accused of being superficial, or at worst, superfluous, Keenan’s book is gravely practical, self-referential and succinct.
1. Identify sustainability issues
2. Overcome roadblocks
3. Effectively use information
She touches on the cost of ephemeral exhibitions and packaging materials, highlights the work of activists, and cites powerful exhibits such as the Detroit air purifier, Detroit Remediation Forest, and melting ice blocks at the Tate, which, “undoubtedly created a smaller carbon footprint than if each viewer had flown to see the melting glaciers in person.”
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Olafur Eliasson, Ice Watch, 2014 Bankside, outside Tate Modern, London, 2018
Justin Sutcliffe
Perhaps directly because of this marked and class-averse professionalism, Keenan is a rare writer who has been acclaimed within the gallery and public relations network. Her book was endorsed by Guillaume Cerutti, president of the Pinault Collection and chairman of the board of Christie’s. More recently, Keenan has been able to leverage greater truths about coastal flooding at the Mystic Seaport Museum for the New York Times, and was recently announced as the American Australian Association's Beverly award winner, named for public relations agency Blue Medium founder John Melick's mother.
Keenan draws her interest in the environment from her upbringing in Easton, Connecticut. She sometimes muses that a career in meteorology would have been a good fit for her “obsession” with weather.
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM, MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES - 2020/09/12: The Thompson Exhibition Building is the newest addition to the Mystic Seaport Museum. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)
LightRocket via Getty Images
“I grew up in a rural area and at a time when things like generators weren’t common, so we often lost power and were well aware of the forces of nature,” she explained.
After leaving Connecticut, Keenan studied Art History and Italian language and antiquities at Emory, spending two years in Rome before moving into contemporary art in Los Angeles at the Broad Museum. She also holds an MA from Bard Graduate Center in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture.
“I’d say that 2020 was really when my interests in art and the environment began to overlap,” she reflected, “as this coincided with the creation of several collectives and organizations concerned with the climate impact of the industry. This was when many art world professionals began to ask questions and seek resources, which was when publications really became more interested in commissioning stories on the topic.”
2020 was the year that climate groups like Galleries Commit formed New York, predominantly by various art gallery employees collectively concerned with sustainability in the industry, including David Zwirner and Hauser and Wirth. On Earth Day that year, they distributed a letter “committing” to a greener future and to sharing best practices and resources, which Keenan signed as an "ally.”
Her background in art history lends itself to a less-than-instantaneous pace of environmental reporting and the slow burn of climate change. Curiosity is almost a like a science, didactic and patient.
“It’s not always about breaking news,” Keenan said. “I'm tracking things slowly as they evolve in real time. It's been rewarding to earn the trust of people and organizations working at the intersection of art and the environment and shed light on their great work or the challenges they face and the creative solutions they are exploring.”
As an art world insider, Keenan was quick to note that organizations like museums and galleries are pledging to climate action, with auction houses like Christie’s listing its sustainability pledge and activities online, but humility comes first.
“Everyone at every level has the power to ask questions, and asking questions can lead to change,” Keenan said passionately. “Small steps are just as crucial as major infrastructural and operational overhauls--if you are a front desk worker, you can ask to use QR codes instead of printing hundreds of checklists; if you’re an art handler, you can ask whether it's possible to save and reuse crates instead of building new ones.”
German gallery owner David Zwirner speaking during a press conference at his gallery in New York, USA, 12 January 2018. Photo: Christina Horsten/dpa (Photo by Christina Horsten/picture alliance via Getty Images)
picture alliance via Getty Images
With her broad scope on the highs and lows of the long hand of art and its creatives, Keenan remains brilliantly optimistic. Where others might see a niche and fraud-ridden sector, Keenan sees potential for innovation.
“The industry is unregulated (or beholden to local regulations and boards) so there’s great potential to be creative in reversing the effects because we have agency,” she said. “Museums are some of the most trusted organizations in communities according to the American Alliance of Museums, and artists can amplify science and advocate for sustainability. Leveraging the role of art and artists in society can help educate on climate actions.”
Jordan Weber's permanent installation, New Forest, Ancient Thrones, 2024, crowns the entryway to the Detroit Remediation Forest in East Canfield Art Park, East Canfield Village. Commissioned by Sidewalk Detroit and created in collaboration with Canfield Consortium.
Noah Elliott Morrison
Largely based in New York, covering Los Angeles and London, Keenan anticipates her upcoming fellowship in Australia will explore new avenues of climate change reform. She plans to study how Australia is implementing sustainable operations, including a particular focus on First Nations artists. Annabel Keenan underscores the overlap between environmental sustainability and Indigeneity, noting that many actions now considered climate friendly have their roots in Indigenous communities that live in closer harmony with the land.
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