Organisation
Southbank Centre
Theme
Adaptation
Goals
Resilient communities, Net-zero buildings, Green infrastructure
Originally posted on www.southbankcentre.co.uk (opens in a new window)
Context Statement
Opening in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain, the Royal Festival Hall was the first large-scale permanent public building to be built after the Second World War, a symbol of possibility and optimism for the future for the people of Britain. Since then, with the addition of the Hayward Gallery, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room and the Jubilee Gardens, the Southbank Centre has become the largest arts centre in Europe.
As a major arts institution in the Global West, we recognise our role and our nation’s role in the ecological and climate crisis.
Moreover, as a leading venue for London, the UK and the world, we recognise the platform that we can provide for mobilisation and action. The Southbank Centre has served as a democratic space for artists and for the people of Britain. As a platform for musicians, performers, writers, poets and more, we can move conversations and spark new thinking about the world today. As a venue on the doorstep of Lambeth and Southwark, we can create welcoming, open spaces for discussion and action within our own communities.
It is vital that we build on our existing response to the climate emergency. Radical Ecology, co-convenor of the Black Atlantic Innovation Network, recently published A Framework for Environmental Justice (opens in a new window) that explores how organisations are changing and evolving their structures, values and practices in pursuit of a just and sustainable future. The Southbank Centre is featured as a case study, detailing and analysing that response.
Declaration
We declare that the Earth’s life-supporting systems are in collapse, threatening biodiversity and human societies everywhere. The Southbank Centre is a part of this picture – as a major international centre for the arts and culture, we are conscious of our own impact on the environment, whether through the operation of our buildings or through the national and international programmes we enable.
As a major international centre for the arts and culture, we recognise too that we are uniquely placed to connect feeling and action: to bring our communities together in pursuit of climate justice, to platform the stories and messages of those most affected by climate change, and to create pathways to action through art and congregation.
As Declarers:
- We recognise that the impact of the the climate crisis is unevenly distributed, that it perpetuates and accelerates injustice and inequality, and that culture and storytelling is integral to the pursuit of climate justice;
- We commit to the work of change-making and care-taking on our site, in our communities and in the work that we programme and create;
- We commit to showcasing a regenerative future, re-greening our outdoor spaces and facilitating spaces for creation, conversation and activism;
- We commit to using our influence and our space to support our local communities as a convenor for local communities and environmental activists;
- We commit to transforming our own internal practices and minimising our own environmental impact.
Actions
- We will reduce our own environmental impact and advocate for others in the arts and creative industries to do so. We will continue our commitments to working towards our Net Zero target of 2035 (from our buildings) and 2040 (for all operations).
- We will continue to seek out, programme and commission work that responds to the climate emergency.
- We will establish the Southbank Centre as a Culture and Climate Hub for Lambeth and Southwark. This will involve the provision of space twice a year, free-of-charge, to artists, activists and community organisations based in Lambeth and Southwark, so that they can come together, organise and lead on climate action, devised and delivered in collaboration with Culture Declares Emergency (opens in a new window).
