Francesca Busca

I am an eco‑artivist by philosophy and mission, a rubbish artist by identity, and a waste mosaicist by technique. My practice emerges from the intersection of art, activism, and environmental urgency, where aesthetics meet ethics and discarded materials become catalysts for change.

Since 2017 I have pioneered sustainable art, creating works entirely from waste - my 'Trashure'. I transform society’s refuse into environmental testimony, reworking discards into tesserae for mosaics, a technique unique to my practice. Waste is my prime material: minimising environmental impact whilst maximising the message.

Torn between optimism and surrender, I am haunted by humanity’s self‑destructive trajectory yet sustained by belief in our capacity for resourceful innovation through systemic rethinking. My mission is to inspire empathy for the entire web of existence - not only human life, but every creature, ecosystem, and interconnected process that sustains our planet.

I believe art is the closest thing to a universal language - the fibre of empathy and connection, and the most immediate and efficient means to communicate urgency for systemic change. My quest is to explore how to use art to quantify new values based on nature, rethinking our...

I have always practiced art as a way of life. From selling drawings on the street and collecting candle wax from churches as a child, to sketching medieval scenes for fairs as a teenager, or modelling clay frantically while working as a solicitor, art has always been essential. Yet my classicist background led me into Law, which I studied and practised in Italy, England, France, and NYC, convinced art was “too enjoyable to be a job.”

My career spanned interior design, in-house legal work with ex-CIA and ex-SAS agents, City Solicitor, mosaicist, and lecturer. Unconventional paths and pioneering endeavours have been my constant theme. Despite success, I often felt like I was inhabiting someone else’s shoes. After having children and a striking visit to the mosaics in Aquileia, I finally gave in to my nature and graduated with distinction in Mosaic and Fine Arts from the London School of Mosaic in 2019, where I also lectured in 2021/22.

I founded Payment in Kind(ness)©, accepting eco-friendly actions as payment, and ArtforTrash©, creating artworks from clients’ waste for corporate and institutional settings, donating 10% to environmental charity. More recently, I founded GREENψ bastARTs, an international eco-activist collective brid...

Permanent Displays

Britton Scotland, Dornoch, scotland

Gallery Grounds, 1 Vincents Walk, Southampton

Halcyon Interiors, 120 Wigmore Street, Marylebone, London

Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR), Arsenale Tesa 104, Venice

The Mindsports Centre, 21 Dalling Road, Hammersmith, London

ActOne CInema, The Old Library, 119-121 High St, Acton, London

2026

Paris Capital, Abstract Expressionism Group, 12–15 Feb, Paris

SOLO: Ripples of Change, Britton Scotland, Dornoch, 8–28 Feb

2025

Aqua Miami, Abstract Expressionism Group, FL, USA, 4–7 Dec

RESIDENCY: 3 months, HAUS-A-REST, London, Nov–Jan (Fabric Frenzy | Paper Propping | Aluminium Assembly)

Festival of Light Exhibition, Rockaway Park, Bristol, 15 Nov

New Voices, Boomer Gallery, London, 10–15 Oct

VAO 2025 Finalist Exhibition, The Minster Building, London, 9–12 Oct

Ealing Climate Week, Parkside Yards Summit, Southall, 24 Sept

Camden Inspire: Eco-artivist Talk + The Trashurables Workshop, Camden Collective, London, 20 Sept

ArtGemini Prize Finalist Exhibition, The Exhibitionist Hotel, London, 11 Sept–2 Oct

BEAT Art Trail, Solo at ActOne Cinema, Acton, London, 6–7 & 13–14 Sept

Sea Change, Marin...