The Contemporary Austin, Austin, TX
Alex Klein and Rute focused on Klein’s Teiger-funded exhibition Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses. As Alex says, “Carl Cheng’s work deals with fundamental questions about the intersection of humans, technology, and the natural environment. We really wanted to embed a layer of sustainability into the project’s structure—to align our show with Cheng’s ethos as an artist, with the materials he chose and the content of his work. So it was phenomenal for us to have a partnership like this.”

The yearlong relationship with Rute expanded quickly from calls with Alex to calls with the chief preparator, registrar, and other colleagues on the curatorial and operational teams at the museum. As Klein noted, “This can’t be seen as a directive from above, but something we’re all committing to. It’s not just, ‘We got this grant, now we have to do this work.’ It’s everyone recognizing they have a role to play in a bigger and important process. It’s informed the way we’ve proceeded, given me a way to hold my colleagues accountable (and for them to hold me accountable), and given us new tools as I build my curatorial department’s infrastructure. It’s been very collaborative.”

The team committed to creating a guide documenting the sustainability efforts of a large-scale touring exhibition, with a focus on the energy usage in the venues’ buildings, decision-making processes when it comes to material use and reuse, and tracking the carbon emissions generated by exhibition-related travel and shipping. Along the way, they tested an early prototype of a new exhibition carbon calculator from the Gallery Climate Coalition, offering feedback that shaped the product (which is launching in fall 2024). 

The guide will report on more than just the numbers; it will also offer stories about choices and collaborations from institutions across Europe and North America so that there is a baseline for future decision-making. “I don’t think we’ll be able—or want—to say that it’s a carbon-neutral show,” Klein says. “But we also made really specific changes that I hope will continue with future exhibitions. The program has opened the door and made it possible for me to bring to the table wider infrastructural possibilities.” Indeed, the Teiger grant money will be used to kickstart the transition to LED lighting in The Contemporary Austin’s downtown Austin anchor, the Jones Center, and to make progress toward assessing conservation opportunities at The Contemporary’s sculpture garden. In addition, the yearlong partnership with Rute dovetailed with the museum’s broader strategic-planning process, which created opportunities for sustainability to be more quickly brought into the center of the institutional leadership’s thinking.

This story comes from interviews with Alexa Steiner, founder of Rute Collaborative, and Alex Klein, Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Contemporary Austin.
The Contemporary Austin, Austin, TX


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    The Contemporary Austin, Austin, TX. Alex Klein and Rute focused on Klein’s Teiger-funded exhibition Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses. As Alex says, “Carl Cheng’s work deals with fundamental questions about the intersection of humans, technology, and the natural environment. We really wanted to embed a layer of sustainability into the project’s structure—to align our show with Cheng’s ethos as an artist, with the materials he chose and the content of his work. So it was phenomenal for us to have a partnership like this.”

    The yearlong relationship with Rute expanded quickly from calls with Alex to calls with the chief preparator, registrar, and other colleagues on the curatorial and operational teams at the museum. As Klein noted, “This can’t be seen as a directive from above, but something we’re all committing to. It’s not just, ‘We got this grant, now we have to do this work.’ It’s everyone recognizing they have a role to play in a bigger and important process. It’s informed the way we’ve proceeded, given me a way to hold my colleagues accountable (and for them to hold me accountable), and given us new tools as I build my curatorial department’s infrastructure. It’s been very collaborative.”

    The team committed to creating a guide documenting the sustainability efforts of a large-scale touring exhibition, with a focus on the energy usage in the venues’ buildings, decision-making processes when it comes to material use and reuse, and tracking the carbon emissions generated by exhibition-related travel and shipping. Along the way, they tested an early prototype of a new exhibition carbon calculator from the Gallery Climate Coalition, offering feedback that shaped the product (which is launching in fall 2024). 

    The guide will report on more than just the numbers; it will also offer stories about choices and collaborations from institutions across Europe and North America so that there is a baseline for future decision-making. “I don’t think we’ll be able—or want—to say that it’s a carbon-neutral show,” Klein says. “But we also made really specific changes that I hope will continue with future exhibitions. The program has opened the door and made it possible for me to bring to the table wider infrastructural possibilities.” Indeed, the Teiger grant money will be used to kickstart the transition to LED lighting in The Contemporary Austin’s downtown Austin anchor, the Jones Center, and to make progress toward assessing conservation opportunities at The Contemporary’s sculpture garden. In addition, the yearlong partnership with Rute dovetailed with the museum’s broader strategic-planning process, which created opportunities for sustainability to be more quickly brought into the center of the institutional leadership’s thinking.

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