Organizing a traveling exhibition that addresses the intersection between sustainable design and contemporary art poses particular challenges: how to be thrifty and environmentally conscious in presenting, interpreting, packing, and shipping works of art. This problem would be germane only to those of us in the business of art exhibitions if it did not also speak to the ways in which we as a society and as individuals consume resources in an increasingly globalized sphere of interactions. These days, we order furniture produced on the other side of the world and have the pieces shipped to us from distant warehouses, eat produce grown on different continents, and buy clothes made from fabrics woven and tailored across the globe. It takes effort to go past superficial understandings of “green living” in order to live in a truly sustainable way.

The artists in Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art bring these questions into the production and circulation of their own work. We thank them for creating a remarkable array of projects and for sharing them through this exhibition. These artists offer counterpoints to established forms of environmentally conscious art: rather than large-scale interventions, they explore sustainability at a more modest, portable level. Some adopt proven principles of “green” design. Others propose small-scale, alternative modes of living. Still others incisively highlight the problems and contradictions of the very discourse of sustainability. Absent from Beyond Green are more familiar forms such as community gardens, planning projects, or public art. Though all of the artists have, in fact, worked site-specifically, with particular communities, ephemerally, or outside the boundaries of art museums, the works presented in Beyond Green demonstrate a specific curatorial choice to feature another side of these practices: structures, objects, and processes that can be used and reused in a range of contexts and can be experienced directly by visitors at each exhibition tour venue. The curatorial approach to Beyond Green thus brings recycling—one strategy of sustainability—into the world of art.

Collaboration—another critical element of sustainable living—has permeated all levels of planning for Beyond Green. This complex exhibition has required intense levels of collaboration among curator, artists, and many others, and we thank Stephanie Smith for her curatorial vision and dedication as she knitted together not only the content of the show, catalogue, and accompanying programs, but also the networks of people and relationships that have shaped Beyond Green. Likewise, the partnership between the Smart and Independent Curators International has enabled us to leverage resources to make possible the exhibition, tour, and catalogue as well as related programs. In Chicago, where this project initially took shape, we benefited from the early involvment of several individuals, groups, and university departments. We are especially grateful to Dave Aftandilian of the University of Chicago’s Environmental Studies Program, the Chicago Architecture Foundation and its curator Ned Cramer, Ken Dunn of the Resource Center, Peter Nicholson of Foresight Design Group, and Kevin Pierce of the architecture firm Farr Associates, for their ongoing feedback, ideas, enthusiasm, and support, which significantly extended the range and reach of the exhibition. We are also grateful to the University of Chicago’s Green Campus Initiative, the Department of Visual Arts, the Environmental Studies Program, the Office of Community and Government Affairs, the University Community Service Center, and the Workshop on the Built Environment for pushing beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries to help us involve audiences in tackling real problems of art and sustainable design. Without them, most of the programs presented in conjunction with Beyond Green in Chicago would not have been possible. We extend special thanks to the artists who participated in several ambitious university programs inspired by the exhibition: a summer 2005 course on art and activism that artist Kevin Kaempf of People Powered taught for high school students in the university’s Collegiate Scholars Program; Nils Norman’s fall 2005 residency teaching an interdisciplinary course on art and environmental activism; and WochenKlausur’s intensive three-week residency during summer 2005 to create their exhibition project with the help of a team of university students (listed on page 142).