With its most recent exhibition, the Smart Museum of Art hopes to show that sustainable technology is no longer a concern limited to environmental scientists and engineers. Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art explores the problem of sustainable design as imagined by a contingent of emerging international artists.

Sustainable design is defined as an attempt to “meet the needs of the present without compromising those of future generations,” and is concerned with aesthetic, environmental, and socio-economic issues, according to the museum’s website.

The exhibit is composed of new works and commissions as well as existing “recycled” pieces. Featured artists include Allora & Calzadilla, JAM, Nils Norman, Learning Group, and Andrea Zittel.

The Smart Museum will kick off the exhibit’s opening weekend with a reception at the museum on Thursday, October 6 from 5 to 7 p.m.

The evening will begin with a gallery talk at 5 p.m., led by the curator of “Beyond Green,” Smart Museum curator of contemporary art Stephanie Smith. Anthony Hirschel, Smart Museum Dana Feitler Director, and Judith Olch Richards, Independent Curators International executive director, will give remarks at 6 p.m., and various artists will discuss their work.

Events will be held throughout the opening weekend in conjunction with the exhibition, including a keynote address at the Chicago Architecture Foundation on Friday, October 7, and a community design workshop on Saturday, October 8.

The exhibit, co-organized by the Smart Museum of Art and Independent Curators International, will run from October 6 through January 15, 2006.