Many international firms headquartered in major financial districts play a key part in funding industries responsible for climate change and environmental degradation—such as palm oil plantations, deep-sea drilling, and tar sands mining. In the public imaginary, these activities are often thought of as problems unfolding in far-flung landscapes. This project highlights how they also take place within a planetary-scale market landscape at the centres of our cities, such as Central, Hong Kong and Canary Wharf, London.

Two walking tours, one of Canary Wharf, London, and the other of Central, Hong Kong, linked the workplaces of financial firms to the effects their activities have on the world. Features encountered at street level—like place names, plant species, public artwork, and architectural designs—revealed the paradoxes and contradictions of corporate global actions.

The events were led by the CCA’s 2018-2019 Emerging Curators, Sben Korsh and Maxime Decaudin.