International public art exhibition brings climate crisis to nationwide billboards ahead of COP30

The fifth season of The Gallery, It’s Not Easy Being Green, opens across the UK on 7 October 2025 and in Brazil on 14 October, ahead of COP30 in Belém. Sixteen international artists, including Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, Hannah Starkey, and Uýra Sodoma, bring the climate crisis directly into public view. Instead of traditional galleries, their artworks appear on thousands of billboards and digital screens across both countries, reaching millions of people where they live, work, and travel.

Yinka Shonibare. Food Man

The Gallery, created by Artichoke in collaboration with Creative Director Martin Firrell, functions as a new kind of cultural institution, placing socially significant art in everyday public spaces. Firrell explains that billboards make art accessible to everyone, sparking conversation in spaces that people encounter daily. Artists respond to the theme “It’s Not Easy Being Green”, producing works ranging from photography, sculpture, and performance to land art and data visualisations, each offering a distinct perspective on climate change.

Venâncio Evensen Ulombe. Nature Cries for Help

The exhibition includes six commissioned works, one open-source piece, and nine selected from approximately 750 open-call submissions. Artists from twelve countries address the climate crisis through a variety of approaches and emotions, from sorrow and resilience to irony and rage. Curator Bakul Patki notes that the artworks bring the climate conversation into the public realm, encouraging people to reflect on one of the most urgent global issues of our time.

Justin Brice Guariglia. WE ARE THE ASTEROID

Part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture, the exhibition is produced in partnership with the British Council and media partners including Bauer Media Outdoor and JCDecaux. Since 2022, The Gallery has commissioned 43 artists and reached over 200 million people. The works from It’s Not Easy Being Green also become part of The Gallery’s permanent collection, ensuring that the discussion about climate change continues both in public spaces and online throughout and beyond the exhibition.

Discover more at thegallery.org.uk