I am an upcoming visual artists and graphic designer and in my studies I see how much material we waste and consume.
The cost is great for me, being on a student budget but the cost is much greater for the planet. I feel guilt, but these materials are “required.”
For my future career, I would like to create installations and design with as little environmental impact as possible. Do you think this can be done?
Kristina
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Hey Kristina-
There are a great many requirements and standards that I suspect will need to change in the near-future, in every field, and although it's possible to change them by petitioning or protesting or otherwise changing the rules as they apply to you individually, these current realities are also sometimes unavoidable—at times you may just have to gut-check yourself to see if you're okay making that sacrifice in order to get to the next stage of things. Which in this case potentially means going with the flow so you can graduate.
It may be that it's worth ceasing your studies over these requirements, but it's also possible that it will be worth doing as instructed for now, perhaps under protest, so you’ll be in a better position to instigate change later, when you have more prestige/perceived legitimacy/resources with which to do so.
It’s also possible that, in the meantime, you can technically adhere to what’s required of you, but make tweaks that allow you to be less wasteful and thoughtlessly consumeristic as you work.
Making use of cast-offs or scraps, for instance, from other students or from public sources of such things, could help ameliorate some of what you might otherwise produce in terms of waste.
You might also see if there are resources available that lend or rent tools, so that you can utilize existing stockpiles of these items, either from someone else who isn’t using theirs or from a library-like piece of infrastructure that exists in some places, reducing the number of use-once-then-discard items you have to purchase.
Ultimately, there’s no right or wrong answer in terms of how you approach this situation: it’s wonderful that you’re thinking about it to begin with, but there are few 100% effective and accessible options when it comes to avoiding environmental costs at the moment. So try things, figure out what works for you, and then consider sharing what you learn so that others will be able to benefit from your experiments and experiences.