CAN (Circular Arts Network)

We want to make CAN, a new mobile responsive website that helps those working in the Arts recycle and reuse materials and to share skills and transport. A cross between E-bay and Gumtree, it will help artists and arts organisations improve their environmental impact, reduce their Carbon Footprint and save money and resources. This is really important as there is a lot of waste generated by arts projects, exhibitions and events and no effective way to share materials and resource expediently. We know that CAN is needed as we undertook consultation with artists, arts professionals and organisations in November 2019. Through this we found:

  • Formal networks for artists and arts organisations to access and make such arrangements are very limited

-Existing systems are not suitable as they are found to be lacking in focus and too time consuming to use effectively

-That there is a desire for a tailor-made system

In response we also undertook a week-long Design Sprint with our team and a host of experts from the Arts, Recycling and Design fields. We developed a prototype of CAN and tested it with 5 users. According to the Design Sprint format, 5 testers will give you 85% of the feedback you need to assess the effectiveness of your design solution. The response to the prototype website was one of excitement and overwhelming positivity. All users said that they would use the website and that it was sorely needed. Testers said it would:

-Make them much more likely to recycle materials

-Make them more likely to use second-life materials

-Save money

-Form better and more resilient networks

-Save time in finding and recycling materials

We also want to use CAN to help other sectors recycle too, using it to make their waste materials available for people and organisations within the arts. By doing this, these sectors will also improve their environmental impact and bring much needed resources directly into the arts.

Financé par Glasgow (June 2020)