Four Artists Discuss Art's Role in Saving the Planet for Earth Day

For Earth Day 2021, Artribune convened four Italian artists via Zoom to discuss how art can address environmental issues. Andrea Conte (Andreco, b. 1978, Rome), an engineer turned artist, creates wall paintings, performances, videos, and installations exploring urban-nature relationships and runs the Climate Art Project blending climate science with activism. Debora Hirsch (b. 1967, São Paulo), also an engineer, uses painting and video to probe representation limits and environmental themes through her curatorial project Eco Shifters. Federico Massa (Iena Cruz, b. 1981, Milan) creates street art focused on oceans and marine fauna, using smog-eating paint; his mural Hunting Pollution in Rome's Ostiense district is considered Europe's largest eco-friendly mural. Francesco Simeti (b. 1968, Palermo) works with ceramics, collage, and video, drawing on botanical and zoological illustrations to highlight nature's fragility; his installation Swell examined human and industrial impact on New York waterways. The conversation covered art-science dialogue, conveying complex environmental concepts without didacticism, socially engaged art, and expressive freedom.