BIG ARTiViSM

Turning creative ideas into community action and environmental impact.

BIG ARTiViSM is a collaborative eco-art and environmental education model developed through my experience conceiving, building partnerships for and delivering ambitious community projects.

My pilot projects in Brighton & Hove brought together children, artists, volunteers, schools, businesses, community organisations and civic leaders. The Big Caterpillar became a prominent public artwork, communicating environmental messages through creativity, participation and community collaboration. Its metamorphosis into a Butterfly continued the project into a second year.

Now I’m making that experience available to organisations and individuals who want to develop projects of their own.

Collaborate with me. Commission me. Let’s create something that makes a difference.

I welcome partnerships with schools, charities, community groups, businesses, local authorities, artists, educators and people with ideas that deserve to become reality.

I can collaborate as a project partner or provide commissioned project development and management support, helping turn an initial idea into a deliverable project with clear objectives, engaged partners and a plan for measuring its impact.

What we can achieve together

• Engage children, families and communities in environmental education through creative participation.
• Turn environmental messages into memorable, visible public experiences.
• Build partnerships between schools, artists, businesses, charities, community organisations and civic leaders.
• Mobilise volunteers and encourage intergenerational collaboration.
• Bring organisations and communities together around shared objectives.
• Make sustainability tangible through creative reuse, environmental materials and practical learning.
• Extend a project’s reach through public displays, events, organisational networks and communications.
• Develop projects that can be adapted, replicated and delivered in other communities.
• Plan for meaningful outcomes and assess reach, engagement and wider social impact.

The pilot: from Big Caterpillar to Butterfly

The original BIG ARTiViSM pilot in Brighton & Hove demonstrated how a creative environmental project could grow beyond the people who made it, connecting schools, workplaces, community networks, public spaces and civic participation.

The Big Caterpillar — key figures

• 11 metres long × 3 metres high: the scale of the giant Caterpillar artwork.
• 90+ schoolchildren: reported as contributing to its creation.
• 1 artist: Brighton Wall Art.
• 6 volunteers: involved in the project.
• 20 teaching and school staff: involved in supporting the educational work.
• 200+ children: reached through school-based environmental education and assemblies, with handouts taken home to share the message with families.
• 150 additional participants: at the separate Big Draw event connected with the project.
• Multiple public and community settings: including St Andrew’s Church, the seafront lawns, Queen’s Square, Goldstone Primary School and St John the Baptist School.
• Business and civic partnerships: including Domestic & General, Barclays, The Big Lemon Bus Company, PurePaint, Colourfast Printers and Brighton & Hove civic representatives.

The Butterfly: extending the model

The following year, the Caterpillar’s retirement and transformation into a Butterfly continued the creative environmental project through further community engagement and the Big Draw event. The partnership network and project activity extended across both years.

The full reach and impact figures for both phases are being developed, including school and household networks, workplace engagement, public displays, partner communications and wider community exposure. Estimated reach will be distinguished from confirmed participation and measured outcomes.

Bring your idea to life

You may already have a concept, a community that needs engaging, an environmental message to communicate or a partnership opportunity waiting to be developed.

I can help you explore the possibilities, build the right relationships, design a workable project and manage its delivery—or collaborate with you to create something new.

If you have an idea, a project to deliver or a community you want to engage, let’s talk.

Visit www.bigartivism.org to explore the model and discuss working together.