Francesca Busca

Eco-artivist, Rubbish artist. Mosaicist. Pioneering sustainable art, turning waste into art. Founder of Art for Trash© and payment in Kind(ness)©.

Since 2017, I've pioneered sustainable art by creating works entirely from waste materials—my "trashure." I exist in tension between optimism and surrender, concerned about humanity's self-destruction yet believing in our capacity for resourceful innovation through systemic rethinking.
My art embodies this hope. While I believe art should be meaningful rather than merely beautiful, in my work these qualities converge—the more beautiful my pieces, the clearer their message becomes. Each tessera I create protests our disposable culture, offering new perspectives on waste and embodying possibility. In my artistic world, rubbish gains new value, transformed from waste to wonder as the protagonist of my creations.
I embrace both the ethical and material constraints of working with discarded items, often collecting materials over years. My 3D artworks frequently evolve into multi-layered narratives through staged photography.
My eco-activism is a complete Gesamtkunstwerk encompassing my entire lifestyle: I'm vegan, use renewable energy, wear second-hand clothing, avoid plastic, seek local fo...

My background is in the Classics and Law, which I studied (and/or practiced) in Italy, France, England and NYC.

Ex-City solicitor, I graduated at the London School of Mosaic in 2019, where I also lectured Fabrication in 2021/22.

Internationally, I exhibited in 100+ venues, was published in 90+ articles and textbooks, and won 2 dozen+ awards.

I am the founder of the Payment in Kind(ness)© initiative, whereby I accept eco-friendly actions as payment toward my artwork, and of ArtforTrash©, whereby I use the clients’ own waste to create artwork for residential, institutional and corporate settings.

I run pro bono art projects on eco-awareness and sustainability. To name a few, I collaborated with Living Streets, Salon Sustainability, Fernando Montaño and the London International Gallery of Children’s Art (LIGCA).

Following my recent year-long collaboration and consequent residency with the Institute of Marine Sciences in Venice, I will be on a non-exclusive retainer with the Institute from September, collaborating with some prestigious art institutes over the next few years. I also teach eco-artivism as the art teacher at the Italian School in London (SIAL).

On permanent display at:
SimarJoinery, 51a/b Cleveland St, Fitzrovia, London
Halcyon Interiors, 120 Wigmore Street, Marylebone, London
the Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR), Arsenale Tesa 104, Venice
The Mindsports Centre, 21 Dalling Road, Hammersmith, London
Re’Store, 98 Churchfield Rd, Acton, London

2025

Earthfest 2025, Speaker on the art panel, 7 June 10-10:40am, King’s Cross, London

London premiere of Ocean with David Attenborough, ActOne Cinema, London. Exhibition 8-11 May, Eco-artivist Talk on 11 May

SOLO: ParaFLORnalia, Simar Joinery, London, 8-25 May. PV on 8 May 6-9pm

Art Forum: Can Art Be Found? Seeking artistic concepts in the unexpected, 6 May, 7-8pm, the (previous) United Reformed Church, Oxford

Mini SOLO with Artification for the Community Hub Launch at Acton Town Hall Library, London, 5 April

SOLO & RESIDENCY: Remorphed: Unframed Art from Waste, W3 Gallery, London, 13-30 March

Salon Comparaisons, Grand Palais, Paris, 18-22 Feb

Harmonia, Echoes Studios, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 15-28 Feb

2024

Echoes, Insights Of An Eco Artist, 4 artists’ residency exhibition: with David Bickley, Rebecca Odessa & Kenny Ros, 7 Dec

Instante, Echos Studio, São Paulo, Brazil, 7-20 Dec

For Your Convenience, Norman ...