Creating a network of artists, thinkers, activists to rephrase the relationship between humans and nature through art.
Context
Today, we are facing a climate crisis of immense proportions. We are on the verge of transforming Mother Earth into an uninhabitable space for ourselves and other creatures. The American historian and philosopher Donna Haraway argues that we face a radical change in the interrelationship of all beings and inanimate entities on our planet based on a new form of “responsibility.” Humans have long considered themselves superior to other beings, and this has caused “Suddenly, the Earth is full of refugees, human and non-human, without shelter,” writes Haraway in “Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. The historian also asserts that today we need new refuges and common spaces that allow us to rethink and re-live the world. The project Future Narratives for Planet Earth aims to support this journey by creating an artistic platform in close and reciprocal exchange between authors, theatre producers, and experts in the fields of philosophy, natural sciences, and technology. A concert of experts eager to work concretely on the “narratives of tomorrow” concerning the relationship between beings and planet Earth.
Objectives
- To create a network of cultural, and artistic institutions and activists capable of critically reformulating the relationship between humans and nature
- To provide suggestions for new dramatic texts and theatrical works that aim to promote new narratives on the relationship between humans and nature, humans and animals, as well as among humans themselves
- To use artistic languages as a means of bringing together artists and theatre audiences
Activities
- Seven research labs aimed at activists, researchers, thinkers, playwrights, and theatre producers to jointly discuss the key themes of the project
- An initial international conference in Palermo, Italy to evaluate the outcomes of workshops conducted locally in the seven partner countries
- A second international conference in Graz, Austria to assess all the outcomes of the project
- An international call for Artists the presentation of ideas conceived in collaboration with directors and playwrights
- An international Artistic Lab “Art – Human – Nature” in Copenhagen lasting 5 days for the selected artistic teams
- Production of seven full length artistic productions in Marburg (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherland), Leuven (Belgium), Copenhagen (Denmark), Graz (Austria), Pristina (Kosovo) and Kharkiv (Ukraine)
- International Touring
- Thematic workshops using theatrical languages to develop greater awareness of the project’s themes among the involved audience
Resources
- Manifesto on the relationship between Art – Humans – Nature
- A Workbook that will map the project in all its phases: the research labs, the manifesto, the performances, the opinions of the audience who will attend the workshops too
- A short video presentation of the project
- A video presentation about the I international conference held in Palermo with some of the project’s main actors being interviewed
- Launch of the international call for artistic projects
Impact
- 21 research labs (3 for each partner country) organized between April and May 2024 addressed to experts in the artistic field to gather insights on a new relationship between humans and nature
- 100 workshops accompanying the performances where citizens will be learning new ways of thinking about the different relationships between humans and nature
- 80 professional participants belonging to the artistic field who will be attending the II International Conferences II in Graz, Austria
Partners
- UniT Graz (Austria, Coordinator)
- Het Nieuwstedelijk (Belgium)
- Theatre Bellevue (Netherlands)
- Qendra e Arteve Vizuele Multimedia (Kosovo)
- CESIE ETS (Italy)
- The Hessisches Landestheater Marburg GmbH (Germany)
- Mhtconsult (Denmark)
