Image: Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, Untitled, 2011
in collaboration with Zabriskie Buchladen für Kultur und Natur
During the last two sessions, reading together in the ‘Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet‘ anthology, we started our exchange on ecological loss and grief in general.
Now, not only ecological but all kinds of societal changes are omnipresent due to Covid-19:
How can we begin to find one another to act compassionately and collectively together in a struggle to arrive on the other side of this pandemic in a world not structured by abandonment, isolation, and acceleration but by the inextinguishable dignity and value of life itself? Each of us must dedicate ourselves to begin not only articulating but living answers to these questions in all of the varied situations we find ourselves living within. Ian Alan Paul, The Corona Reboot
With so many uncertainties and questions in mind, let’s turn to ecologies for inspirations in our thinking and doing:
Although we have only just begun to understand collective behaviour in a few systems, we already see analogies in the forms of collective behavior used by neurons, other types of cells, and ant colonies. This suggests to me that the number of forms of collective behavior used in different systems is not infinite, and so there is some hope if we look at ecologies associated with the forms of collective behavior, we will see trends. Deborah M. Gordon: Without Planning - The evolution of collective behavior in ant colonies. IN: Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet – Ghosts and Monsters of the Anthropocene, Anna Tsing, Heather Swanson, Elaine Gan, Nils Bubandt (Eds.), 2017, University of Minnesota Press.
In ‘Between Us and Nature – A Reading Club’ we read texts together related to natural sciences, art, anthropology, postcolonialism, and (post)anthropocene, chosen from a female perspective looking beyond disciplines.
Come and join us with an open mind here:
What: The Reading Club is in English language with a limited capacity of 8 participants
Where: Online via Zoom : Please install the app on your device beforehand
When: Wednesday April 22, 2020, 19:30 (sharp!)
Who: small group of lovely, people who would like to meet you (rsvp is necessary: please confirm your attendance)
Why: to read together, be inspired and meet people
Note: as there is a limited capacity, if after confirming your attendance you find out that you are not able to connect, we ask you to be kind to others and to cancel as soon as possible
Hosts: Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, artist, and Sina Ribak, researcher for ecologies and the arts
In collaboration with Zabriskie Buchladen für Kultur und Natur
Image: Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, Untitled, 2011