People and Planet

Our artists at Artbox London made artwork responding to the theme People/Planet, allowing us all to consider our relationships to each other and our relationship to our environment.

At the centre of our thinking around People has been kindness, care, and community. The Artbox London studio is social community hub for our artists, volunteers, and staff. Many friendships have been established in the Artbox studio, and we believe in these caring relationships and that we should all be lovely to each other like one big family.

Artbox envisions a world where everyone is treated fairly, given the same opportunities and the ability to follow their dreams. Our artists have big ambitions for their work and Artbox supports them towards these aspirations. This is particularly meaningful for our community, as adults with learning disabilities and autism often lack regular activities, are excluded from employment opportunities, and generally have their talents overlooked.

Central to Artbox is that everyone has opportunities and activities that support good mental health. People with learning disabilities are more likely to development mental health problems, especially due to isolation and lack of inclusion. Some ideas that support good mental health that we have identified include being with friends, being part of a community, enjoying the therapeutic qualities of art, working towards goals, and achieving them, feeling valued and having activities at home as well as in the studio.

Our artists have also been responding to our relationship with our Planet. We are in a climate crisis, since the industrial revolution consumerism in the Western world has driven up GHG emissions at an alarming rate, we are now reaching a tipping point. We must limit global temperatures to 1.5 degrees or, if we carry on the way we are, there will be more floods, fires, earthquakes, poverty, homelessness, refugees. Countries and governments must create systemic change but as businesses and individuals we can also change the way we live on our planet.

The Artbox artists have thought about what differences they can make. We must live alongside nature to help it recover, living symbiotically so that nature can also look after us. We must learn to love and protect our wildlife and its biodiversity, to prevent extinction. We must demand less from our planet, living simpler lives and treading lightly.

Through thinking about People and Planet, our artists present their artworks considering our social and natural worlds in the exhibition People/Planet. We need to connect with people, our family, and our communities, and we must look after our planet so it can look after us. After all, we all depend on each other.