The term sustainability emerged in the late 1970s to remind the privileged world how unsustainable its way of living had been. Although originally it was used to address mostly environmental concerns, it soon became clear that the interrelationship between society, economy and the environment needed to be acknowledged. Nowadays and in the midst of the generalised crisis with people across the planet experiencing feelings of distress and climate anxiety, the call for sustainability measures and actions has become more urgent than ever. In these challenging
times, the art world seeks ways to raise awareness, to manifest and unfold the complexity of the crisis, and to locate alternative ways of acting and being. What, though, can really be expected from the artworld? What is its role in what the western word frames as progress, and what is its footprint? What is the impact and outreach of art projects and events, nowadays? Which examples can be considered as good practices with regard to a sustainable future. To respond to these questions, the article firstly presents how the current crisis is an outcome of the problematics of a constructed separation between culture and nature as found in western thought. Secondly, it
discusses positions and ontologies embracing systemic and holistic approaches opposing constructed divisions and hierarchies between human and more-than-human worlds. Thirdly, it presents specific cases, from artistic practices to institutional policies, that take in mind the principles of conviviality and interdependence proposing how claiming agency and provoking change is still possible.