Hard Art

Launched by over 150 internationally celebrated artists in 2022, including Brian Eno and Danny Boyle among many others, Hard Art is a cultural collective standing in solidarity in the face of climate and democratic collapse occurring around the world. Hard Art unites globally-dispersed artists, activists, scientists, and thinkers to address the increasingly interlinked and transnationally circulated climate and democratic crises through collaborative creative action. The initiative was initially conceived at Eno’s London studio in which a formal, invitation-only forum for discourse opened, giving entertainment industry leaders a chance to participate in roundtable conversations about a range of topics, including geo-engineering, alternative forms of economics, the globally growing pressures on democracy, the international climate disaster, and much else. Music played an essential part in the group’s gatherings, merging art and activist discourse.

Acclaimed conceptual/social-practice artist and Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller spearheaded Hard Art’s first public release in April 2024, a zine titled, The WORK We Need to Do. This 24-page publication serves as a manifesto for the collective, emphasizing the necessity for active participation in climate awareness. The zine features illustrations and a statement advocating for nonviolent climate action, accompanied by an open letter signed by notable figures such as Emma Thompson, Thom Yorke, Peter Gabriel, Stephen Fry, and Olafur Eliasson. All of Hard Art’s publications, including their inaugural zine, The Work WE Need to Do, are sold on a “pay what you can” basis. The proceeds are then allocated to a collective treasury to support future projects, or donated to various organizations depending on the content and emphasis of the respective project. For instance, proceeds generated from The Work WE Need to Do were donated to the Restore Nature Now march, an initiative aimed at advocating for climate action.

At the core of Hard Art is the belief that a small portion at the top of society should not be able to destroy the planet and our societies while the rest of the population must pay the cost. Hard Art encourages the public to reconsider alternatives to the rise of populism and to see the many entanglements between anti-democracy efforts and the global climate emergency, including the right-wing “war on science.”