At the Plastic Health Summit on October 21st, 2021 in Theater Amsterdam, students from across the participating EU schools of the Plastic Justice pan-European educational collaboration, presented a selection of works in which they examined topics like marine debris, aeroplastics, scientific vocabulary and recyclable materials among others.
Project participants have examined questions like “Who is responsible for the environmental damages or threats caused by microplastics?”, “What impact does plastic pollution in the Arctic have on the global ecosystem?” and “How can we visualize new terms related to plastic in order to understand its impact on human life?”
The final student outcomes were developed after one semester of independent field work and interviews conducted with experts in the field of science, biology and geology. Using storytelling skills from the practices of filmmaking and design, students translated their quantitive findings into time-based and interactive works that offer a personal, accessible, often non-linear reading of the complex problem of micro-plastics.
Photos by Roel Backaert
About Plastic Justice
Plastic Justice is a pan-European educational collaboration between five art and design academies in The Hague, Reykjavík, Barcelona, London and Vilnius. Together with regional environmentally engaged NGOs and scientists, the educational programme includes a conference, exhibition and website, and focusses on the long-term impact of invisible micro-plastics on the human body. The collaboration aims to create new knowledge through cross-academic exchange and field-research promoting conscious design education for an upcoming generation.
The participating schools are the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Iceland University of the Arts in Reykjavík, Elisava in Barcelona, Central Saint Martins (UAL) in London and Vilnius Academy of Art. Plastic Justice is funded by the Strategic Partnership programme of the European Union. For more information please visit
Student participants
Iceland University of the Arts, Reykjavík:
Rakel Gróa Gunnarsdóttir, Jakob Hermannsson, Jóhanna Guðrún Jóhannsdóttir, Þórir Georg Jónsson and Sigrún Hanna Ómarsdótttir Löve
Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Hague:
Jeroen van de Bogaert, Jan Johan Draaistra, Camilla Kövecses, Coco Maier, Paul Mielke, Blandine Molin, Niels Otterman, Daan Veerman, Talita Virgíni de Lima and Thais Akina Yoshitake López
Elisava, Barcelona:
Silvia Giménez Puig, Sara Maestro Gómez, Diego Quílez Garcés, Jaume Sans Llorente and Natalia Soto Ceballos
Vilnius Academy of Art:
Evelina Germanovic and Emilis Jonaitis
Central Saint Martins, London:
Jasmine Key, Georgia Morrison, Libby Higgins, Zac Procter, Max King and Jordan Sterry
Supervision
Lauren Alexander, Ragnar Freyr Pálsson, Raúl Goñi Fernandez, Peter Hall, Audrius Klimas, Lizzie Malcolm, María Isabel Ordóñez Pizarro, Dan Powers, Alisa Raides, Niels Schrader and Abbie Vickress
Coordination
Aparajita Dutta, Femke de Haan, Simcha van Helden, Þorgerður Edda Hall, Louise Rietvink and Judy Wetters
Associate partner
Plastic Soup Foundation
