EST
2010
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
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We the artists of ReVision - the Art of Recycling Society create art in order to highlight the plight of our shared environment.
By repurposing discarded materials and found objects into art, we hope to kindle the spirt of conservation and stewardship urgently needed today.
ReVision had many successful shows on Granville Island in the past decade. After a hiatus we are now relaunching our non profit society to engage environmentally concerned Canadians.
ReVision promotes recycling through exhibitions and demonstrations of art made from recycled, salvaged, or found materials. Our mission is to provide a showcase for artists who upcycle materials and objects as a major component of their creative process. We aim to provide public venues to advance awareness of sustainability and a zero waste/circular economy.
The focus of ReVision goes far beyond promoting recycling. We make art to raise consciousness about the importance of environmental issues – plastic pollution, destruction of the biosphere and the global climate disaster. There is an urgent need to reform government and corporate policies at the highest levels.
We plan a series of art shows, workshops and seminars to work with other environmental groups, green companies and government bodies to improve how we live as a society. Attitudes and laws need to change.
It is ReVision’s objective to establish ReVision as a thriving non profit society based on grants and sponsorships so artists of limited means committed to environmental protection may exhibit their work. We need to pay professional artists’ fees and honoraria according to national standards including the CARFAC fee schedule.
Sincerely,
Ron Simmer
Emeritus Librarian, UBC
ReVision the Art of Recycling is a non-profit society of artists that design and create art to raise consciousness about the importance of environmental issues and global climate change. ReVision hosts art events within the Vancouver region, such as fashion shows, sculpture events, and art sales showcasing art made from repurposing recycled materials and objects. These events are used to educate the public on methods of increasing sustainability, the importance of a circular economy, and intelligent recycling techniques.
Why art from repurposed objects and materials?
Artists have long explored the creative potential of found objects. Starting with Picasso’s collages, artists began repurposing everyday items to create new meanings, deconstructing and reassembling common images into surreal, unexpected compositions. The Surrealists took this further, using unusual juxtapositions to produce art that was often bizarre and provocative.
More recently, the Steampunk movement embraced repurposed materials to create imaginative tributes to Victorian machinery, reworking odd mechanical devices into intricate, vintage-inspired constructions. Today, artists who work with repurposed materials are much like hackers—they break down discarded consumer products to create interactive, unconventional installations.
For many millennial artists, environmental and political issues are a primary concern, and their art reflects this urgency. Their work often combines disturbing or striking images, using twisted metal, plastic, and other discarded materials to make powerful statements. A notable example is "Cracking Art," a European movement highlighting plastic pollution with giant, temporary installations designed to inspire awareness and action on recycling.
At ReVision, our focus goes beyond simply promoting recycling. Our mission is to create art that raises awareness about critical environmental issues, including plastic pollution, ecosystem destruction, and the looming global climate crisis, which is already causing species extinction, ocean acidification, and massive wildfires. Now, more than ever, we need to push for bold reforms in government and corporate policies to protect the planet. Art, in this sense, becomes a tool not just for expression but for urgent action.
What is recycled art?
Ever wonder what becomes of discarded items like an old trombone, a forgotten stash of buttons, or a pair of vintage water skis left at the cottage since 1962? In the hands of an artist, these everyday objects and forgotten treasures are transformed into entirely new creations.
Recycled art is as stylistically diverse as the materials it reclaims—incorporating everything from old books and bottle caps to lobster floats, propane cylinders, and an endless array of junkyard finds. At ReVision, we celebrate this creative reuse through exhibitions and demonstrations, showcasing art made from recycled, salvaged, scrounged, or found materials. By repurposing the discarded, recycled art brings new life to what might otherwise be waste, promoting both creativity and environmental responsibility.
