For the exhibition  Jetses. Kunst voor de klas at the National Education Museum, I worked with a limited budget. At the same time, the goal was to generate as little waste as possible and make the exhibition as sustainable as possible. But how can you implement sustainability on a small budget? What are the consequences of doing so, and how do you deal with them?

 

In this project, we aimed for the highest achievable level of sustainability. But what exactly does that mean? The design and implementation were developed and carried out based on intuition and existing knowledge. However, after the project was completed, I, Lotte, became very curious about the answer to an important question: how much did we actually save? And were the choices we made truly the right ones from a sustainability perspective?

 

For this reason, Marije Remigius conducted a CO₂ calculation based on the final project data and cost analysis. As Marije herself says, “you can't know without measuring..” The final result is shown in this infographic:

 

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By laying out all the data side by side in a clear and structured way, a surprising number of new insights emerged. One of the most notable findings was that reusing materials from previous exhibitions proved to be highly effective. Presenting objects using standard plexiglass sheet sizes also allowed us to work efficiently and intelligently, without purchasing unnecessary new materials.

The collaboration with the technical team played an equally important role. By repurposing existing furniture, we were able to make adjustments during installation and design solutions on site whenever needed. This flexibility enabled us to work in a way that was both more sustainable and more creative.

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At the same time, the analysis highlighted areas where further improvements can be made. Because the primary focus was on material use, less attention was given to transportation. As a result, transport accounted for a relatively large share of the project's CO₂ emissions. This was a valuable lesson and a reminder to consider transportation more carefully in future projects.

Jetses. Kunst voor de klas demonstrates that sustainability does not have to be expensive. By consciously choosing reuse and embracing creativity within those constraints, it is possible to make a significant impact!

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Click here to discover more of  Jetses. Kunst voor de klas.