Beyond the Edge 2023.
A project by UreCulture and Álvaro Laiz.
A project by UreCulture and Álvaro Laiz.
This project was possible thanks to National Geographic Society, Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Museo Universidad de Navarra.
Beyond the Edge is a collaboration between Álvaro Laiz and UreCulture, made possible thanks to the support of the National Geographic Society, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Museo Universidad de Navarra.
Álvaro Laiz (b.1981) is a multidisciplinary artist working with photography, text, video and sound. His work is based on meticulous research and deals with narratives where traditional culture, nature and technology converge.
In 2017 he published his first book, The Hunt (Dewi Lewis/RM), a reconstruction of a Melvillesque story of man against nature’s most fearsome and efficient predator in the Boreal forest: the Siberian tiger. It was presented at Les Rencontres d’Arles 2017 and selected by the British Journal of Photography as one of the best of 2017. Álvaro’s work has been recognised and funded by a number of institutions, including the Sony World Photography Awards, World Press Photo and the Magnum Foundation. He became a National Geographic Fellow in 2020.
His works, in both photography and large-scale video installation, reside in public and private collections, for example at the Museo de América and Fundación INELCOM (curated by Vicente Todolí), and have been exhibited at museums and art fairs such as the Musée d’Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne (MAC/VAL) in Paris and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC). His editorial clients include National Geographic, The New York Times, Traveller and Forbes.
UreCulture supports the culture sector in achieving its mission through the lens of sustainability. Our goal is to encourage and support cultural actors to become the sustainability leaders of the future, maximising the potential of the arts as a catalyst for change. UreCulture is an active member of the Gallery Climate Coalition and is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030. You can see our footprint and sustainability metrics here. We are also proud members of 1% for the Planet.
UreCulture works with a wide range of artists, NGOs, cultural institutions and projects across the Middle East and Europe, from the tangible and permanent — governmental bodies, museums, public art and heritage sites — to the intangible and ephemeral — cultural programmes and safeguarding of oral histories.
The UreCulture team includes cultural and environmental experts and storytelling professionals. You can read their profiles below.
Nicky Ure is the Managing Director of UreCulture and has 15 years’ experience working on high-profile arts projects for institutions and public-sector bodies. Today, she specialises in supporting the actors in the culture sector become sustainability leaders, working with museums, artists, galleries and NGOs. Nicky is a founding member of Gallery Climate Coalition Spain and has been invited to speak on sustainability issues in the arts at the Art Business Conference at Art Dubai 2023, Central Saint Martins (London), Campus Art Dubai by Dubai Public Art and the Instituto de Empresa (Madrid).
Nicky worked at the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi from 2008 to 2015, where she was Director of Programmes Department (Culture) and contributed to the development of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, the Saadiyat museums, Abu Dhabi Art, Manarat Al Saadiyat and various other programmes. Before moving into the culture sector, Nicky was a banking lawyer at UK law firm Simmons & Simmons. Nicky holds an MA Hons. from the University of St Andrews, a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the University of Law, London and a Certificate in Business Management Sustainability from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Danny Chivers is a freelance environmental researcher and climate change consultant with over 15 years’ experience working on sustainability projects for small and large businesses, national and local government, the education sector, NGOs, large public-sector bodies and the media.
Danny is a sustainability advisor to the Gallery Climate Coalition, an art industry group whose goal is to facilitate a more sustainable art world, as well as a codeveloper of their online carbon calculator, created specifically for art galleries. He was a lead analyst at the highly respected footprinting consultancy Best Foot Forward, working on a wide range of footprinting projects including electrical product manufacture, agriculture, food processing, local authority carbon monitoring, retail, offices and national government. He has acted as the lead external carbon consultant for Oxfam GB, Christian Aid, Trócaire and ActionAid. He has also carried out carbon footprinting work for Concern, CAFOD, Anthesis Ltd, DECSY and The Guardian, among others.
He is the author of the “No Nonsense Guide to Climate Change” (2011) and “No-Nonsense Renewable Energy” (2015) and writes a regular climate change column for New Internationalist magazine. He holds a BSc in Environmental Biology, an MSc in Nature, Science and Environmental Policy and an MProf in Leadership for Sustainable Development.
Cristina brings over 20 years of global experience in sustainability, with a focus on the energy transition, waste management, design for circularity and future-proof cities. After holding senior positions in the consulting, non-profit and corporate sectors, she founded The Next Sustainability in 2016, where she designs and implements sustainability innovation frameworks, carbon-neutrality roadmaps, circularity strategies and positive impact approaches for corporate environments, public bodies and start-ups. She collaborates with a wide network of changemakers in Europe and beyond and conducts training sessions and workshops on the themes of corporate social responsibility, circularity and creating a positive impact. Cristina holds a Master’s in Environmental Sciences with a Specialism in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, an Executive Master’s in Environmental Engineering and Management from the EOI Business School and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program at the THNK School of Creative Leadership in Amsterdam.
Daniel Suarez Pousa is an art conservator with a degree in Conservation and a Master’s in Cultural Heritage Management from the Universidad de Vigo. After 15 years working for the Spanish Government, Daniel worked for the Saadiyat Cultural District Museums from 2010 to 2019, contributing to the development of permanent collections and temporary exhibitions at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Zayed National Museum, among other cultural projects. Daniel continues to consult on museum development projects such as the A Coruña Contemporary Art Museum, under the auspices of the Amancio Ortega Foundation (under development).
This project was possible thanks to National Geographic Society, Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Museo Universidad de Navarra.