The collaborative practice Studio Orta was founded by Lucy + Jorge Orta (born UK 1966; Argentina 1953) in 1992. Before meeting in Paris in the 1990s, Lucy studied fashion knitwear design in England while Jorge studied fine art and architecture in Argentina.
Together they explore key 21st century themes including biodiversity, environmental sustainability and climate change, creating work with the power to inspire awareness and action. Solo exhibitions at leading institutions include HangarBicocca, Milan; Barbican Art Gallery, London; Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice; the Natural History Museum, London. The Ortas’ charitable focus on communicating an environmental message is on a global scale. The artists received the Green Leaf Award for artistic excellence by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2007. In the following years, they went on to develop a cultural heritage regeneration programme in the former industrial sites of Moulin de Boissy and the Moulin Sainte-Marie, and to found a non-profit centre targeting the preservation of in-situ artworks.