Recommended by IDW: Smith’s Row, Contemporary Art Gallery, Bury St Edmunds
Sustainability runs through the veins of this house of creativity and despite the recent cuts to funding, they are more determined than ever to deliver an entertaining and uplifting service to their visitors.
If you’re ever in the vicinity, be sure to plot a course to the centre of town to enjoy their convivial ec0-space.
In 2010 Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery received two awards by Creating the Greenest County for its work in reducing its carbon footprint: The Gallery was awarded greenest community building and their Director, Alison Plumridge, was awarded Green Business Hero.
This was awarded in recognition of the work that the all the staff and volunteers have done in reducing our carbon footprint. This has been carried out across all areas of our work from building and office management, exhibitions, events, education and shop to marketing.
This has been achieved by cutting our use of gas and electricity, recycling, reusing and pre-cycling. We have reduced the amount of waste that would have gone into landfill by at least 50%, including reducing compostable waste by 90%, cut our energy bills by 24% and car use by 10%.
For the public we have run workshops for adults, children and family groups encouraging the innovative recycling of everyday materials sourced from scrap stores, freecycle, cardboard from manufacturers and sample books from interior designers.
Exhibitions such as Making and Mending have promoted an interest in recycling and reinventing discarded objects into valued works of art.
In Smiths Row shop we sell contemporary craft, cards and books by UK makers who run small sustainable businesses from home.
We are an advocate too, providing examples of good practice and encouraging other arts organisations, charities and businesses and the public to change their behaviour. As part of this work it sits on a national panel for climate change in the visual arts led by VAGA.
We are also delighted to announce that from September 2010 Tracey Smith,green campaigner and author has agreed to be our Green Champion, supporting the Gallery in further reducing our carbon footprint and working with us as an advocate.
