Thanks Nesta and National Gallery X for being bold in putting on this commission. We have to tackle both climate change and generation rent, and that can only best be done by bringing diverse voices into the conversation. The National Gallery is such a beautiful setting so I’m excited to share this experience with as many young people of colour and from marginalised backgrounds as possible. Without hierarchy and through the power of art, music and understanding.
Love Ssega
07 February 2022
Meet the Home-Zero winners
The winning projects aim to ignite a public conversation about the relationship between household emissions and climate change.
Today Nesta and National Gallery X (a National Gallery and King’s College London collaboration) announce the winners of HOME-Zero, a creative research and development project to help ignite a public conversation about the relationship between household emissions and climate change.
The successful artists are Love Ssega, musician and climate activist, and Makers of Imaginary Worlds, a Nottingham-based art installation studio. Over the next few months Nesta, The National Gallery and researchers and students from King’s College London will work with the creative teams to develop new immersive experiences that blend science, technology and art.
"We need new ways to help us adapt to sustainable living and are excited to be part of this important collaboration and connect King’s research and students to these incredible artists", said Beatrice Pembroke, Executive Director, Culture, King's College London.
In collaboration with Shadwell Ensemble, Love Ssega will create an immersive musical experience that aims to highlight the need for sustainable social housing. Opening up a conversation with young diverse voices (18-35) and people of colour.
Love Ssega is a British-Ugandan musician, performing artist and songwriter. He has built a varied career collaborating across art forms, whilst also speaking up for environmental, social and educational issues. Ssega’s music blends New Wave, Hip-Hop, African polyrhythms and Disco into smart modern Pop. Using music as a tool for change, Ssega’s most recent campaign ‘Airs of the South Circular’, in which he released his single Our World (Fight for Air), highlighted the toxic effects of air pollution around the London South Circular.
In collaboration with Lakeside Arts, writer Sam Redway and the Mixed Reality Lab, University of Nottingham, Makers of Imaginary Worlds will create an interactive installation that aims to address the value-action gap in behaviour around climate change and encourage families to make sustainable choices in their homes.
Makers of Imaginary Worlds is a Nottingham-based installation studio and performing arts company that designs immersive experiences and storytelling spaces for families and children 0-10 years. Their installations offer high-quality immersive experiences that tour around the UK and have been visited by tens of thousands of children and families.
We are delighted to have been awarded this national commission and look forward to working collaboratively with colleagues at The National Gallery, Nesta, Lakeside Arts, Mixed Reality Lab and the Department of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Nottingham to develop a truly memorable experience where children and families will take centre-stage in re-imagining a climate-safe future.
Dr Roma Patel, Director of Makers of Imaginary Worlds
Nesta’s Sustainable Future Mission aims to significantly reduce household carbon emissions by 2030. To help make this happen, we need art and creativity to inspire new behaviours and help catalyse change. Nesta’s own research shows that, although 85% agree climate change is one of the most important issues to address, just 35% have adopted or are planning to adopt energy efficiency measures in their own homes.
There is an urgent need to engage the UK public in understanding the significance of household emissions; this project seeks to draw on the power of the arts to engage, inspire, shift mindsets and motivate change.
"Home-Zero offers an exciting collaborative opportunity to explore how the arts can help to inform public debate, shift perceptions, change behaviour and catalyse the urgency of change required to reduce our household carbon emissions", commented Deborah Fox, Head of Creative Innovation at Nesta.
Lawrence Chiles, Head of Digital, The National Gallery said: "We're really excited about the two commissions that have been selected. This is a big issue that faces us all and being able to explore them in this way - through a creative R&D process working with the Gallery's collection and stories - we hope will produce some really compelling experiences."