Yearly Archives: 2012

An Orange County Almanac, and other essays

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Cultura21, in association with WOLFoundation, has the pleasure to announce its 7th Volume in the Cultura21 eBooks series on Culture and Sustainability: edited by J. Zammit-Lucia

We need new ways of thinking about issues that affect how we interact with our environment. The authors whose work is collected here make some powerful calls for change. Some make them emotionally and metaphorically; others make them rationally and logically; but all make them passionately.

 ”These essays are fresh, unconstrained and thought-provoking. They bring new, sometimes quirky perspectives to the environmental debate.” David Pilling. Asia Editor, Financial Times

“There’s no single “right” answer to the challenges that we face in the world today. The assembly of citizens gathered in this volume takes strength from its dynamic polyvocality: its attention to more perspectives – and therefore, its access to more possible approaches – than any conventional environmental text could offer.” Randy Malamud, Professor and Chair of English, Georgia State University

 Dr Joe Zammit-Lucia is an artist, author and independent scholar and commentator. A self-proclaimed ‘intersectionist’, he works at the intersection of disciplines “which is where the action happens.” He is President of WOLFoundation.org, a Member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida International University, has served as Special Advisor to the Director General at IUCN, is a Board Member for the African Rainforest Conservancy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Click here to download the free PDF version of the eBook.

Visit your Amazon Kindle eBooks online store, to purchase a Kindle version of this eBook…

This post is also available in: German

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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The New Children’s Museum in San Diego: TRASH

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This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

TRASH, Photo provided by New Children’s Museum

The New Children’s Museum in San Diego is doing a major exhibition on trash.  The following is their introductory text.

The artists in TRASH, each with differing prerogatives and intentions, share the common desire to draw attention to an invisible issue that increasingly dominates our lives. Did you know that in the United States, annual production of waste has tripled since 1960? That the average American produces 4.5 pounds of trash every day? In this exhibition, our mission is to change how we see trash, and changing perspective starts by asking more questions.

How do we decide what is trash?
How does your trash impact the lives of others?
How can we imagine new possibilities, and a new future for our trash?

For nearly 100 years, artists have chosen to work with trash to create a tangible connection to everyday life and to reject the idea that making art requires precious or expensive materials. Today artists are also passionately interested in the environmental impact of their materials. Through their transformation of trash into art, our artists encourage you to envision trash as more than waste needing disposal. They want you to see possibilities where others see waste.

The future starts here at NCM. We want to empower kids to act as the agents of change at home, and we look to kids to find the new approaches, new ideas, and new solutions that will change our future.

TRASH is organized by The New Children’s Museum and is made possible by the generosity of Laurie Mitchell & Brent Woods, Farrell Family Foundation, SDG&E, Lynne & Glenn Carlson, Maryanne & Irwin Pfister and Fernanda & Ralph Whitworth. Support is also provided by The James Irvine Foundation, Nordstrom, the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the County of San Diego’s Community Enhancement Program, and NCM members and Annual Fund donors.

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.

It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
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COAL Prize Art and Environment 2013: Adaptation

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This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Application deadline: February 28th, 2013

http://www.projetcoal.org/coal/category/prix-coal-2013/

The Coal Prize Art and Environment rewards each year a project by a contemporary artist involved in environmental issues. Its goals are to promote and support the vital role which art and creation play in raising awareness, supporting concrete solutions and encouraging a culture of ecology. The winner is selected out of ten short-listed by a jury of well-known specialists in art, research, ecology and sustainable development.

The 2013 Coal Prize will reward entries that focus on adaptation issues. The award of the 2013 Coal Prize will take place in spring 2013 at Le Laboratoire, a private art center specializing in the blending of art and science.

The prize carries an award of 10,000 Euros. Launched in 2010 by the French organization Coal, the coalition for art and sustainable development, the Coal Prize is supported by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, theFrench Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, the National Centre of Fine Arts (CNAP), Le Laboratoire, PwC and a private benefactor.

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.

It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
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CO2 Green Drive on Earth Day 20-22 April 2013

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

In collaboration with the Danish Cultural Institute and partners around the world CO2 Green Drive is being prepared for Earth Day 20-22 April 2013.

CO2 Green Drive is an Art, Climate & Technology Project designed to promote climate awareness using art and culture as universal vehicles. Since the inauguration of the project in 2009 CO2 Green Drive has been performed 25 times in 21 cities on five continents.

On Earth Day 20-22 April 2012 CO2 Green Drive was performed with electric and hybrid vehicles in New York, bicycles and skaters in Dakar, electric vehicles and bicycles in Santiago and Denmark, and runners in Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Thane, Hyderabad, Bhopal and Yokohama.

CO2 Green Drive involves creating GPS based “paintings” using climate friendly transportation solutions as “brushes”, smarthone technology as “paint” and cities around the world as “canvases”.  Anyone using climate friendly means of transportation is welcome in CO2 Green Drive, eg. runners, bicyclists, pedestrians, soap box cars, stiltwalkers, electric, hybrid, bioethanol and hydrogen vehicles etc.

Get more information on how to participate in CO2 Green Drive on Earth Day 2013 on the CO2 Green Drive on Earth Day facebookpage.

The purpose and rationale of CO2 Green Drive is to:

-Promote healthy, sustainable and playful social dynamics through the combination of participation, art, climate and technology.

– Expose climate related products, activities and services while engaging a committed, global audience.

– Provide an experimental platform for all stakeholders to interact with fellow citizens, public institutions, civil organizations, businesses, academics and artists.

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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Understanding the Potential of L3Cs in the Arts and Culture

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On November 16, Andrew Taylor, the Artful Manager, moderated a panel discussion at Columbia University in New York City on the Low-Profit Limited Liability Company (L3C), and its potential for the arts. The panelists included two of the leading national experts on the business entity (Marc J. Lane and Rick Zwetch), alongside two masters from the theater world (Gregory Moser, Victoria Bailey), and one change agent from the arts business infrastructure (Adam Huttler).

Andrew Taylor is a faculty member of American University’s Arts Management Program in Washington, DC. An author, lecturer, researcher, and consultant on a broad range of arts management issues, Andrew specializes in business model development for cultural initiatives and the impact of communications technology on the arts.

Some basic information on the L3C can be found on wikipedia by clicking here:

A low-profit limited liability company (L3C) is a legal form of business entity in the United States that was created to bridge the gap between non-profit and for-profit investing by providing a structure that facilitates investments in socially beneficial, for-profit ventures while simplifying compliance with Internal Revenue Service rules for program-related investments, a type of investment that private foundations are allowed to make.

The video might require a little of your time, but is worth it if you have an interest in emerging models for production in the United States.

[iframe http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/newplay?layout=4&clip=pla_728700a0-97c5-4bfe-a227-7bb9a80624d7& 500 340]

Turkey limerick: melting glaciers

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Melting Glaciers in the Himalayas (Credit: top-10-list.org)

This post comes to you from Ashden Directory

Kellie Gutman writes: Unable to pass up the opportunity to submit an “Environmental Turkey of 2012” in the form of a limerick, to the Nicholas School of Environment contest at Duke University, I have chosen the epidemic of melting glaciers worldwide as my subject.  The contest, open to American citizens, ends at midnight Eastern Standard Time tonight.

My offering:

As the global temperature warms
Our planet reacts with fierce storms.
The impact is felt
When our glaciers melt
And the coastline around us re-forms.

“ashdenizen blog and twitter are consistently among the best sources for information and reflection on developments in the field of arts and climate change in the UK” (2020 Network)

ashdenizen is edited by Robert Butler, and is the blog associated with the Ashden Directory, a website focusing on environment and performance.
The Ashden Directory is edited by Robert Butler and Wallace Heim, with associate editor Kellie Gutman. The Directory includes features, interviews, news, a timeline and a database of ecologically – themed productions since 1893 in the United Kingdom. Our own projects include ‘New Metaphors for Sustainability’, ‘Flowers Onstage’ and ‘Six ways to look at climate change and theatre’.

The Directory has been live since 2000.

Go to The Ashden Directory

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Art installation (removal) leads to controversy at Wyoming University

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

British environmental artist Chris Drury´s art installation Carbon Sink: What Goes Around Comes Around created back in July 2011 on the Wyoming university campus, was originally intended to inspire a conversation about a prevalent environmental problem in the region. Global warming has, so scientists say, led to less pine beetles dying off by below zero temperature and thus more forest infested by the tree-killing beetles.

The sculpture features a 36-foot-wide circle of logs from beetle-killed trees, arranged in a circular pattern around a pile of coal and thus it points at the link between human induced climate change and dead forests. A big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions however is the burning of coal.

Plausible topic for an art installation, but in a state where the fossil fuel industry is a major economic driver as well as a known financial supporter of the University of Wyoming, some toes were bound to be stepped on.

Still, surprisingly the quiet removal of the installation after less than a year by university presidentTom Buchanan (it was supposed to stay till it decomposed) was confirmed to be the result of pressure by energy officials and their political allies. This stark display of interference by corporate sponsorship in the curatorial decision-making is just a more public and recent one of many and gives a gloomy outlook on the future of censorship in art institutions.

For more information:

http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/11/energy-donor-artistic-freedom-censorship/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-anne-hitt/university-of-wyoming-artwork_b_2018743.html

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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Call for applications for International Artists’ Residency: In Context: public.art.ecology, FOOD EDITION-II

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Deadline: 4 JANUARY, 2013 – Online applications only

Khoj’s international residency: In Context: public.art.ecology focuses on exploring ecological themes in and around public spaces in Delhi and is being carried forth into its fourth year. In continuance with last year’s trajectory, the residency, FOOD EDITION-IIwill once again have a special focus on examining the notion of food and its myriad articulations in art. The residency will be for six weeks duration starting in the first week of March until mid April 2013.

Applications are invited from individual artists and artists’ collectives, with proposals for art projects exploring the intersection between art and ecology through a critical examination of issues surrounding the politics of food. Food as artistic medium incorporating performance, art installations or interactive events that re-examine the significance and relevance of food in the social context, simply in its connection with the body or as a primary ritual that fosters engagement, interaction and collaboration.

The applications should include the following:

  • Artist biography & images of previous projects
  • Concept Note
  • Production & Installation Budget not exceeding INR 50,000 (USD 1,000) for the proposed project

Costs of travel, modest accommodation and daily allowance are separate from the above production budget.

Please send your proposals to applications [at] khojworkshop [dot] org. Mention ‘Food Edition-II’ Residency and ‘your name’ in the subject line.

Reposted from Khoj International Artists’ Association newsletter.

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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Call for Papers: Media and Climate Change

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Papers are welcomed for a special issue of the journal Environmental Communication: A Journal of Culture and Nature (Official Journal of IECA) to be published in March 2014 on the topic ofMedia Research on Climate Change.

Acknowledging the vast amount of academic research done over the past decade on the media coverage of climate change and its various results, questions of how to continue in this research field have risen. What conclusions can be drawn from the existing works and how can the research move into the next phase? In which direction should the field orient itself, theoretically and empirically speaking?

Possible themes papers may address include:

  • The development of theoretical and conceptual frameworks for media studies on climate change
  • (New) methodological procedures for media studies on climate change
  • Particularly important empirical aspects of future media studies on climate change, such as online representations and/or the role of communications campaigns/persuasive communication
  • Ways in which media studies on climate change can be integrated into interdisciplinary collaborative research aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts

Deadline for submissions: 28 February 2013

For more detailed information on the journal and how to submit the paper, click here.

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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