The Third Paradise Forum was first created in 2003 by Italian master, Michelangelo Pistoletto, to build a platform for community dialogue on sustainable practice in communities around the world. This contemporary artwork was devised using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to underpin the framework for discussion generated at each Forum, which then culminates in the creation of the Third Paradise symbol. The symbol is created using materials that is unique to the location of the forum, and is shown as three linked circles, like an extended infinity symbold. It signifies the need to rebalance and restore harmony to the earth.

Students participating in the creation of this community-based artwork can share their ideas of how sustainable practice can be generated in their school community and benefit the wider community. Students can observe and participate in the production of this large-scale, collaborative artwork, and consider the important role that artists play in people’s lives by communicating values, ideas and beliefs. They can engage with the idea that art can be a platform for positive change at personal, social and global levels, which can build healthy social, economic and ecological systems.

Learning Outcomes:

• how collaborative practice has changed the role of the artist
• how concerns such as environmental and social issues are expressed through an artist’s practice.