ABSTRACT
This article argues that museums and galleries, as institutions with a long-term perspective, have a particular voice in the climate and ecological crisis. Artists can be especially prescient in warning about the dangers and consequences of inaction, and we must listen to them. Museums need to fundamentally shift their outlook by recognising that the preservation of collections does not take priority over the preservation of the planet. As part of this, they need to urgently take steps to decarbonise their operations, relax environmental parameters, move art differently, and cease enabling fossil fuel interests through sponsorship. Fundamentally, they need to use their significant reach to engage the public and make active changes.
