LASER Talks at Joint Research Centre (Ispra, Italy) On NaturArchy: Moving Towards a Natural Contract

This talk discusses the theme of the upcoming exhibition of the JRC SciArt project, in an attempt to weave through the intricacies of gauging the current situation as to the Rights of Nature, from an artistic, philosophical and governance point of view.

Moderated by: Adriaan Eeckels (project leader of the JRC SciArt project)

EVENT INFO

When: Friday, 23^rd of Feb 2024 / 12h CET. 

Where: Hybrid event [JRC Ispra + Webex]

Access Info: To be provided upon online registration 

EVENT CONTEXT

NaturArchy is a project and exhibition resulting from two years of artistic research at the interface of science-for-policy taking place at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. 

The provocation at the heart of NaturArchy is that we must extend Rousseau’s  social contract to nature if we really want to be successful in the fight against environmental degradation, extractivist practices, and socio-environmental injustice. Probing issues of deep ecology, sustainability and the decolonisation of nature from a transdisciplinary perspective that brings together artists, scientists and policymakers, the project aims to unlearn the social norms that determine our thinking, and propose new itineraries to re-connect with nature to overcome the blind spots of the dominant paradigms that brought us to dominate, extract, consume. 

This event wants to celebrate the power of imagination and of artistic practices in governance and complexity. In opening a space of play that unlocks new potentialities and ways of being-in-the-world, this LASER panel provocatively pushes us to reconsider identity, territory and stewardship, sense anew the deep entanglement of human and non-human, and relate global commons and local politics; materiality and the intangible; heritage and innovation; person and environment.

SPEAKERS BIOS

Roger Strand is Professor at Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities at the University of Bergen (Norway); he is also Co-Director at the European Centre for Governance in Complexity. His research interests are the philosophy of natural, medical and environmental science, the uncertainty and complexity in the science-society interface, and the ethical and social aspects of emerging science and technology. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6159-1586 . Latest publication (Open Access): Translations of Responsibility, with Thomas Völker and Rasmus Slaattelid, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003371229 

Born in Spain, Chus Martínez has a background in philosophy and art history. She is currently the Head of the Institute of Art of the FHNW Academy of Arts and Design in Basel, Switzerland, and Artistic Director of Ocean Space, Venice, spearheaded by TBA21–Academy, as well as curator at large at The Vuslat Foundation in Istanbul. She sits on the advisory boards of numerous international art institutions, including Castello di Rivoli, Turin; De Appel, Amsterdam; Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin; and Museum der Moderne, Salzburg. She has been the Chief Curator at El Museo Del Barrio, New York and Documenta (13) Head of Department. Previously she was Chief Curator at MACBA, Barcelona, Director of the Frankfurter Kunstverein. Martínez has organized numerous exhibitions and publications with contemporary artists. She lectures and writes regularly including numerous catalogue texts and critical essays, and is a regular contributor to international journals.  https://chusmartinez.ch/bio/

John Palmesino is an architect and urbanist, currently chief curator of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale. Palmesino established Territorial Agency together with Ann-Sofi Rönnskog, an independent organization that combines architecture, analysis, advocacy, and action for integrated spatial transformation of contemporary territories. Recent projects include Oceans in Transformation in collaboration with TBA21–Academy, Museum of Oil with Greenpeace, ZKM Karlsruhe and Chicago Architecture Biennial, Anthropocene Observatory with HKW Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin; He led the research at ETH Studio Basel—Contemporary City Institute, the MA in Research Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London, and was Research Advisor at the Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht. He has lectured and published widely and his work has been exhibited internationally. He is a founding member of Multiplicity. www.territorialagency.com 

Adriaan Eeckels is the project leader of the JRC SciArt project. A historian, humanist and semiotician, since his university years, Eeckels has been testing boundaries, also between art and science. As a thesis proposal, he investigated the epistemological properties of the narrative in historical research, by applying semiotics in historical research with a focus on the history of mentalities in Quattrocento Florence. He describes himself as an intellectual vagabond looking for the pattern that connects, and as pontifex minimus traveling along borders and interstices of various disciplines, with a great interest in knowledge acquisition and the history of sciences. Most of his career has taken place in the European Institutions: from the Schengen Secretariat, through the European Court of Justice to the European Commission, in Luxembourg, Brussels and Ispra, Italy Since 2016 he is leading the SciArt project of the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission. https://science-art-society.ec.europa.eu/team 

Dr Derrick De Kerckhove, PhD, is retired from the Department of French at the University of Toronto (Canada), where he was also formerly the Director of the McLuhan Program in Culture & Technology (1983-2008). He has participated in global art projects, such as Solstizio and ArtComTec. His research and publications have dealt with psychology, culture, art and communication technologies. His books have been translated into various languages and include: The Alphabet and the Brain (Springer Verlag, 1988), Brainframes: Technology, Mind and Business (Bosch&Keuning, 1991) and The Skin of Culture (Somerville Press, 1995). His next book, The Quantum Ecology, in collaboration with Stefano Calzati, is to appear next year at MIT Press. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_de_Kerckhove

Claudia Schnugg holds a PhD in social and economic sciences with an additional specialization in cultural sciences and media arts. Her practice is twofold: as scholar she is researching artscience collaborations, investigating effects and impact of such art-science exchange on actors, organizations involved and the relevance of the outcome. Thereby, she is also exploring new ways of employing artistic strategic strategies in scientific research. Claudia is principal investigator of the DIGI-Sense project at Johannes Kepler University Linz and realizes research on artscience processes for the Roots & Seeds XXI project. As curator, she supports artscience processes, projects, and programs, but also develops exhibitions at the intersection of art and science. Currently, she is curating artist-in-residence programs and artscience projects at European Space Agency/ ESTEC, Institute of Stem Cells and Epigenetics at Helmholtz Center Munich, Science Gallery Berlin, and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia. Her most recent book is Creating Art Science Collaborations (2019), published by Palgrave Macmillan.

SPONSORS:

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the Commission’s science and knowledge service and provides independent scientific advice and support to EU policy, in order to tackle the interlinked and complex challenges faced by our society. Operating at the interface between science and policy, the   JRC   wants to strengthen its capacity to be a key partner in helping to identify solutions to such challenges.Its Science and Art project (SciArt) brings together scientists with artists and policymakers to discuss matters of concern, not only to the   JRC   and the European Commission but also more widely to society. It brokers, curates and communicates transdisciplinary exchanges and encounters around given topics of interest. It operates on a bi-annual cycle, Resonances, during which the topics are elaborated jointly by artists and scientists. https://resonances. jrc .ec.europa.eu/front

The Leonardo/ISAST LASERs   are a program of international gatherings that bring artists, scientists, humanists and technologists together for informal presentations, performances and conversations with the wider public. The mission of the LASERs is to encourage contribution to the cultural environment of a region by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and opportunities for community building to over 50 cities around the world. To learn more about how our LASER Hosts and to visit a LASER near you please visit our website. @lasertalks