THE LICHEN MUSEUM By A. Laurie Palmer University of Minnesota Press | 184 pages | February 2023 ISBN 978-1-5179-0867-6 | paperback | $24.95
Art after Nature Series The Lichen Museum explores how the physiological characteristics of lichens provide a valuable template for reimagining human relations in an age of ecological and social precarity. Using this tiny organism as an emblem through which to navigate environmental and social concerns, Palmer implores us to envision alternative ways of living based on interdependence rather than individualism and competition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR A. Laurie Palmer is an artist and professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
PRAISE FOR THE LICHEN MUSEUM “The Lichen Museum is a deeply engaging, provocative, humorous, and moving account of why we should pay more attention to lichens. As lichens can be found anywhere, the entire surface of the earth becomes the lichen museum. A. Laurie Palmer weaves together personal anecdotes, theoretical interventions, photography, and detailed research to draw attention to how lichens can offer new ways to think through questions of relationality, life and death, and our mutual obligations to each other.” —Heather Davis, author of Plastic Matter
Calling all sustainability-focused performance design (set & costume) & technical theatre production students/recent graduates! You are invited to apply for The Magic Flute: Upcycled, an industry placement opportunity for Germany’s first Living Stage project (July/August 2023).
The Living Stage is a global initiative by Austrian-Australian designer Tanja Beer. The project combines stage design, horticulture and community engagement to create recyclable, biodegradable, edible and biodiverse performance spaces. Part theatre, part garden and part food growing demonstration, The Living Stage engages people from all walks of life in developing a greater understanding and appreciation of the more-than-human world. Since making its debut in Castlemaine (Australia), the concept has travelled to Cardiff (Wales), Glasgow (Scotland), New York (USA), as well as Armidale, Lorne and Melbourne in Australia. At the crux of the project is the notion of community-engaged and place-based design processes to foster equity and togetherness on global-to-local issues. The German Living Stage and costume design will be centred around the creation of an Eco-Opera production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, entitled The Magic Flute: Upcycled (19th/20th August).
The Eco-Opera will be the 8th Living Stage and the first to be developed in Central Europe. The project will be developed as part of a new public space initiative in Graben-Neudorf from mid-July to late-August (approx. 6 weeks on the ground) with some online meetings prior to this time. This is a low-cost grassroots community initiative, with the locals very much joining in the creation and realisation of the event, alongside professional artists. While it is an unpaid position, all successful applicants will be provided with homestay accommodation for the duration of the project to also assist in facilitating community integration and cross-cultural exchange.
The opportunity would suit students or recent graduates who are interested in engaging in this experience as part of their studies (i.e. Work-Integrated-Learning) or early career development. We are looking for candidates based in Europe or those that are already planning to attend the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space in June. All Summer Interns will be provided with mentoring support to further their education and development in sustainable theatre production. German language proficiency is an advantage but not mandatory.
To apply for this opportunity, please send the following to tanjabeer.design@gmail.com by the 12th of March 2023:
A letter introducing yourself, explaining your interest in the project and area of expertise (i.e., set building, prop making and costume construction)
CV/Resume detailing any previous experience, current skills and referees (including one of your teachers or mentors)
PDF portfolio or link to portfolio of selected works and/or website/social media page
Successful candidates will be confirmed by April 2023.
In particular, I took to heart how the article begins:
We chose the word “gesture” for the title of our collective to underscore the fact that decolonization is impossible when our livelihoods are underwritten by colonial violence and unsustainability. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, our health systems and social security, and the technologies that allow us to write about this are all subsidized by expropriation, dispossession, destitution, genocides and ecocides. There is no way around it: we cannot bypass it, the only way is through. …
How we fail is important. It is actually in the moments when we fail that the deepest learning becomes possible and that is usually where we stumble upon something unexpected and extremely useful. Failing generatively requires both intellectual and relational rigour.
Like falling off a bike and getting back up again?
What did I learn since my last blog? For example, I wrote in the January 29, 2023 conscient newsletter :
One of my learnings from this project is letting go of expectations and the need for validation. Rather, without pretence and with humility, it is better to present one’s artwork as an offering and through this creative work, to deepen connections and relations.
I also learned to be (more) patient this week.
A good friend told me that my podcast does not take 5 minutes in one’s life, it requires much more: time to prepare, absorb and reflect on the content and even more time and energy to respond. This friend mentioned that we are already over solicited and our attention is precious. they said, ‘I don’t have the headspace’…
Message received and thank you.
e104 time
from Flora Gomez in Toronto
I really appreciated the train sound and the invitation to reflect on what it means to be a small moment in a much larger space. A lot to unpack there in such a very subtle proposal.
My response:
Yours is the first comment on this episode, which so far, is closest to what I originally intended with this project, e.g. a field recording that sounds and feels like modernity (train passing), followed by moment of transition (revealing an urban space after the train passes) and concluding with a point of arrival (mountain forest) accompanied by the wise words of France Trépanier. Thanks for your feedback and for the opportunity to ‘unpack’ this episode.
My friend and colleague in music, Peter Hatch (Saltspring Island BC) writes:
Congrats on your new initiative – I liked e104 especially I tried e105 as audio only first – it was much more intriguing with video added, for me. I love your use of ‘incidental text’ (or none) in these, and their brevity. (Who can’t afford 5’?)
Peter goes on to add my first audiovisual response to an episode:
A couple of weeks ago I made a train recording that I was happy with (using Rode Go II mics) in Bellingham. Related to your topic, it seemed a nice metaphor for our western (linear) view of time. Fittingly, it was a coal train. Here it is if you’re interested: https://vimeo.com/792706570/602c02ba6c.
Peter also adds that e104 time reminded him of a passage (important to him) from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass:
Time as objective reality has never made much sense to me. It’s what happens that matters. How can minutes and years, devices of our own creation, mean the same thing to gnats and to cedars? Two hundred years is young for the trees whose tops this morning are hung with mist. It’s an eyeblink of time for the river and nothing at all for the rocks. The rocks and the river and these very same trees are likely to be here in another two hundred years, if we take good care. As for me, and that chipmunk, and the cloud of gnats milling in a shaft of sunlight—we will have moved on.
Thanks for setting the pace on creative responses, Peter!
e105 rope
From France Trépanier, artist (desert sonora, usa)
This morning I listened to episode 105 ‘rope’ of the conscient podcast. I listened to it while walking in the Sonora Desert and looking at the impressive San Jacinto Mountains. I felt the tension of the rope with the movement of the water. I also felt the immense tension that the mountain created, pushing a large layer of land upwards. Then the silences… like the silences of the mountain that occupy a completely different temporal reality and which, in this moment, cultivates immobility in its meditative state. In short, a very inspiring episode! Thank you.’
My response:
Glad to read about your experience with é105. é105 is open to all interpretations. By the way, it reminds me of… e104 time, where you said:
‘with hindsight, we will realize that this was a very small moment in a much larger space, and that we are returning to very deep knowledge.’
Thank you for this reminder that there are much larger spaces and silences whose temporal reality eludes us.
The post blog – the gift of failure appeared first on conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.
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About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer
The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.
I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.
The term “conscient” is defined as “being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations”. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016-2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.
season 1 (may – october 2020) : environmental awareness and action Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie”s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.
season 2 (march – august 2021 ) : reality and ecological grief Season 2 (March 2021 ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that “I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, “the state of things as they actually exist”, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way”. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.
season 3 (october 2021 – february 2022 ) : radical listening Season 3 was about radical listening : listening deeply without passing judgment, knowing the truth and filtering out the noise and opening attention to reality and responding to what needs to be done. The format is similar the first podcast format I did in 2016 with the simplesoundscapes project, which was to ‘speak my mind’ and ‘think out loud’. I start this season with a ‘soundscape composition’, e63 a case study (part 1) and e64 a case study (part 2), a bilingual speculative fiction radio play, set in an undergraduate university history seminar course called ‘History of 2021 in Canada’. It concluded with a soundscape composition ‘Winter Diary Revisited’.
season 4 (1 january – 31 december 2023) : sounding modernity
About
I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I”m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation :
Climate action is at the heart of combating climate change because climate change is no longer a travesty. Between 31 October-13 November 2021, world leaders converged at the United Conference of the Parties (COPS26)—the supreme body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to “revisit and strengthen their 2030 emissions reduction targets, to align with the Paris temperature goal, and to do that by the end of this year”. At this global event, developed countries were urged to scale up climate finance, specifically to double finance for adaptation by 2025. Less than a year after this summit, Hurricane Ida stroke in the United States, and the world continued the gradual shrinking of the River Euphrates and the incessant forest burns, glacier melts, floods and heat waves in various geographical spaces on the African continent. As COPs 27 held in November 2022 in South Sinai, Egypt, environmental activists and scholars know that the agenda would stand on the shoulders of agendas of previous conventions. Resolutions at previous COPS-such as the 1995 Berlin conference, the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, have always fallen short of their capacity to combat the depletion of the environment and create livable cities.
Could this be a result of the overemphasis on capital? The ongoing planetary crises has led to a critique of capital and a call to end the extraction-based economy, particularly from the Global South (Bassey, 2012). The resource-based system and over-reliance on finance continue to create more room to extract rather than build. The argument is that the continuous acquisition of capital is responsible for the complexity of the quest for world leaders to create liveable societies devoid of climate crises. Scholars such as Lisa Woynarski (2020) looked at bio-performativity as a direction toward rethinking man’s relationship with the environment and giving agency to non-human species. John Forster and Brett Clark (2016) analyze the global environmental crises as caused by capitalism, globalization and neoliberal practices and therefore advocate for ecological revolution driven by anti-capitalist methodologies. The contention here is that the focus on capital by climate change stakeholders (Forster and Clark 2012, Moore 2017), such as what holds sway in the COPs, has done little or nothing to create eco-citizens and sustain climate.
The performance art has navigated the space of anti-anthropocentric methodologies, thereby lending credence to adopting less humanistic systems to create eco-citizens, sustainable climate and livable communities. For instance, Downing Cless’ stage adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1991), and James Cameron’s film Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) are about embracing anti-capitalist and less-humanistic ideologies to combat climate change. In the same vein, many performing art organizations and advocacy groups are using the creative sector to take action against greenhouse gas emissions, hydro-degradation and sustaining climate. Organizations such as the Guardian of the River and Julie’s Bicycle exemplify this drive for an ecological turn. This recent advocacy for anti-anthropogenic approaches, a shift from humanistic perspectives to biocentric methodologies and practices in narratives within the performing arts, is worth exploring. An investigation of this shift can offer new perspectives in pluriverse way of seeing and relating with the environment (Chaudhuri 1994). Hence, this volume addresses the extent to which the performing art (cinema, theatre, literature, music, sculpture and painting) have become sites of discourse on eco-citizenship, eco-centred philosophy, epistemic and ontic beliefs, and practices.
Abstracts are welcome from within specific disciplines of the performing art, e.g., performance studies, theatre studies, history, literature, cultural studies, visual arts, film, dance, and from across disciplines. Themes in this volume could focus on but not limited to:
Decolonizing climate action methodologies
Eco-cinema and climate action
Theatre and eco-citizenship in the global south
The performing arts and climate change
Theatre and indigenous climate action
Politics of inclusion and exclusion of indigenous people
Participation and climate crises
Sustainable art practices
Eco-scenography and climate actions
Climate change and policies
Greening the performing art
Ecocriticism from page to stage; from page to screen
Send an abstract of 300 words and a 100-word bio to the editors– Dr. Taiwo Afolabi and Stephen Okpadah at sustainableclimatebookproject@gmail.com on/before 30th March.
If accepted, the final papers will be due on 30th September 2023. Contributors are to use the MLA 7th Edition referencing style.
Works cited
Bassey, Nnimmo. (2012). To Cook a Continent: Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in Africa. Cape Town: Pambazuka Press.
Chaudhuri, Una. (1994). There Must Be a Lot of Fish in that Lake: Toward an Ecological Theatre. Theatre Vol. 25 (1): 1-25.
Forster, John, and Clark, Brett. (2016). Marx’s Ecology and the Left. Monthly Review. Vol. 68 (2): 37-52.
Moore, Jason. (2017). The Capitalocene, Part I: on the nature and origins of our ecological crisis. The Journal of Peasant Studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2016.1235036
Thanks so much to those who have taken the time to share public or private comments. Here are some of my learnings and unlearnings in relation to these gifts.
e102 aesthetics
A colleague (USA) wrote:
I found it very intriguing and appreciated how you tuned into and out of different frequencies in episode 102. Since listening, I’ve found myself trying to do something similar with my body, noticing what sounds I tend to tune into and out of. I wonder how de-modernizing art won’t be linear? It almost felt like the spoken narrative followed a more linear path whereas the sounds were more cyclical and messy. It was an interesting juxtaposition.
Sound artist and broadcaster Don Hill (Alberta) wrote:
So, yes — the city is humming along in a flatted G (aka 47 Hz)… How does this compare with other cityscapes? And how does that perceived hum jive with local power grids, such as they are around the world, ranging from (an unusual) 40 Hz (sic) to 50 Hz (much of europe, for instance) and 60 Hz (North America, Japan…). What kind of standing waves may occur in the human central nervous system? And what of it (affects and so forth)?
My questions:
What if we were more ‘conscient’ of how frequencies affect us? How would this inform our behaviour?
e103 heat
That same colleague (USA) also wrote:
Sometimes I hum to my furnace/AC unit, trying to harmonize. Last summer, it started getting me thinking about humming to well pads since there is a lot of fracking for natural gas in my hometown. I have a dream to audio record a well pad and then try to create some sort of music with it. Your question about decarbonization brought me back to this. How can we make music with what’s hurting the land and our bodies? How can this be both healing and harmful?
I will ponder this good question, which raises the issue of exploitation of the land through recording and of the (intentional or unintentional) ‘aestheticization’ of our environment for profit, which is an ethical dilemma that I struggle with every day, microphone in hand…
On January 15, 2023 Jessica Ruano (Ottawa) wrote:
Here’s something interesting: as I was listening to this meditation, the furnace in my home started circulating warm air, as it does when the temperature gets below the number I’ve set for it. There was a rumbling sound at first followed by a forceful airflow, and it felt like the sounds in my own home were competing with the sounds in this recording – different methods of distributing heat battling it out, asserting their superiority. Does the loudest win? Or is the aim to be as soundless as possible, so we don’t have to acknowledge its existence in our lives? There, I answered your question with a question!
On January 15, 2023 Hildegard Westerkamp (Vancouver) wrote:
Thank you, Claude, for this piece and your question. I had hoped that decarbonization would generally sound quieter. Like Jessica, I heard my gas furnace come on in tandem with your heat pump. Would the electric power source of your heat pump not mean a quieter motor? Having driven a hybrid car for years now, has been a much quieter driving experience since I sold my VW Golf. Is your heat pump as loud as your gas furnace was, or are we simply hearing a close-up recording and in fact the sound in the rest of your house may be quieter? And what is the source of the knocking sound?
I replied :
Hildi and all, Thanks for your thoughts. What you hear in the piece are 3 recordings 1. the tapping sound of tin from the basement to the 2nd floor during the installation 3. gentle rumble of the heat pump in the basement after it was installed 3. Loud exterior fan. Overall the sound volume of the heat pump system is quieter than the gas furnace because there is a constant flow of air with the heat pump as opposed to the ‘surge’ of the gas furnace. My goal with the e103 heat was to invite listeners to experience the sound of energy production and reflect upon how they might make different choices to reduce their carbon footprint. Interesting that the sounds and silence in the episodes are mixing with real sounds in the listener’s space.
I also had the privilege this week of facilitating a discussion with fellow sound artists at ecoartspace’s Sound Dialogues, where we talked about a range of issues , including the ethics of field recording and this resource was shared:
Finally, my wife Sabrina reminded me that ‘what is good for the earth is good for us’. This resonated with me and became the title of this blog and a good reminder of how to live.
The post blog – what is good for the earth is… appeared first on conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.
———-
About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer
The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.
I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.
The term “conscient” is defined as “being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations”. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016-2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.
season 1 (may – october 2020) : environmental awareness and action Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie”s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.
season 2 (march – august 2021 ) : reality and ecological grief Season 2 (March 2021 ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that “I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, “the state of things as they actually exist”, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way”. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.
season 3 (october 2021 – february 2022 ) : radical listening Season 3 was about radical listening : listening deeply without passing judgment, knowing the truth and filtering out the noise and opening attention to reality and responding to what needs to be done. The format is similar the first podcast format I did in 2016 with the simplesoundscapes project, which was to ‘speak my mind’ and ‘think out loud’. I start this season with a ‘soundscape composition’, e63 a case study (part 1) and e64 a case study (part 2), a bilingual speculative fiction radio play, set in an undergraduate university history seminar course called ‘History of 2021 in Canada’. It concluded with a soundscape composition ‘Winter Diary Revisited’.
season 4 (1 january – 31 december 2023) : sounding modernity
About
I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I”m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation :
A rich and deeply immersive experience built on fierce hope and a belief in the power of future-visioning to drive the transition toward a more sustainable and resilient post-carbon world. This gathering weaves together the impulses that led to the creation of both Story Money Impact and Abundance Community Farm.
We all need to see and believe in positive examples of social experiments that are pioneering new ways for us to reimagine a better future, living in harmony with the land and each other.
Together we will explore models of collectivity and interdependence that when skillfully framed through artistic practices can motivate people toward action for social change. To amplify these actions, the workshop will strengthen the capacity and network of impact-oriented storytellers and media makers. To achieve this goal, we will bring participants through exercises that range from deep-dive group discussions to practical skills building workshops to somatic experiences, in touch with the powerful land on which Hollyhock rests.
Capacity is limited to ensure an intimate shared journey.
Schedule
A detailed schedule will be available 1-2 weeks in advance of the program. View sample schedule here.
Pricing Note: We ask that you reflect deeply and select the tier that is most appropriate for your financial situation. The “Generous” tier will support Hollyhock in continuing to offer meaningful programs and also support your fellow community members who are experiencing financial hardship.
CAMPUS RATES: Campus rates include accommodations, meals, Hollyhock activities, use of hot tubs and campus facilities (does not include tuition). Click here for details.
SCHOLARSHIPS: Program experiences are enriched by having a multitude of voices and experiences that reflect global plurality. Our scholarship program is one of our key strategies to expand program access to underrepresented and marginalized communities.
A limited number of scholarships are available per program with awards ranging from partial to full tuition. We encourage applicants from those whose identities intersect with, but are not limited to: Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, newcomers, youth, and elders.
Please apply for a scholarship within your program registration form. We ask for a 5% refundable deposit to apply. Contact us directly if you are unable to pay this deposit.
Tracey Friesen has over 30 years’ experience in Canada’s cultural sector. In the decade before joining the Canadian Media Producers Association’s BC Branch in 2020, she worked at the David Suzuki Foundation, Roundhouse Radio and Mindset Foundation, plus authored ‘Story Money Impact: Funding Media for Social Change’, which led to the founding of a charitable […]Learn more about Tracey Friesen
Dr. Amir Niroumand is recognized as a social entrepreneur with a primary interest in utilizing food as a tool for changing cultural values and norms. In 2016, he founded Abundance Community Farm in Agassiz, BC, as a social experiment in creating a community culture that thrives in harmony with nature. The farm operates based on […]Learn more about Dr. Amir Niroumand
As the climate crisis accelerates, how can artists’ residencies be testing grounds for new – and better – ways of living and working? A new, 8-part podcast series brings together artists, researchers and activists from across the Nordic region and Scotland to explore this question.
Presented by the Nordic Alliance of Artists’ Residencies on Climate Action (NAARCA), each episode in the series looks at the crisis through the lens of one artists’ residency. In the first episode, we travel deep into the Arctic Circle, to Longyearbyen – home of Artica Svalbard – to hear a conversation between an architect and an anthropologist about how climate change is affecting people’s relationship with their built environment.
The introductory episode of TESTING GROUNDS [was] released on Friday 27th of January 2023, with new episodes available on the last Friday of each month. To subscribe and listen, visit naarca.art/testing-grounds-podcast/ or search for “Testing Grounds” in your favourite podcast app.
TESTING GROUNDS is produced and edited by Katie Revell and includes original music by Loris S. Sarid and artwork by Jagoda Sadowska.
NAARCA is a collaboration between seven artists’ residencies: Cove Park (Scotland), Saari Residence (Finland), Artica Svalbard (Norway), Art Hub Copenhagen (Denmark), Baltic Art Center (Sweden), Skaftfell Art Center (Iceland) and Narsaq International Research Station (Greenland). We are working together to develop, test and communicate new ways of living that are ecologically, socially, mentally and financially sustainable. We believe that artists’ residencies are exceptional institutions within the arts sector: safe environments for experimentation, where private, professional and public life intertwine. Learn more at naarca.art
Artichoke is inviting anyone aged 18+ to submit their bright idea for new light works for Lumiere 2023. The UK’s light art biennial will take place from 16-19 November 2023 in Durham.
The national commissioning scheme aims to encourage creativity across the UK as well as highlight brilliant ideas from people living in or originally from the North East. Successful applicants will be supported by Artichoke with the production costs and technical expertise to create and install their artwork at specific locations.
Successful applicants will receive: – A fee of up to £1,000 – An international platform to exhibit your light work – Support from an Artichoke Producer and Production Manager to realise your BRILLIANT idea And more…
You don’t need to be a practising artist or have any previous experience to apply to BRILLIANT. You just need a bright idea.
Who can apply? – Anyone aged over 18 – Anyone currently living in the UK
The closing date for applications is Sunday 19 February 2023, 11:59pm.
Artichoke is committed to broadening the diversity of those working in the medium of light art and encourages applications from people who are currently under-represented in our BRILLIANT alumni, including people of colour and people who identify as d/Deaf, disabled or neurodivergent.
I published e101 tension – how do you feel now? today. The first of 52 episodes in the Sounding Modernity series. This one about sounds of tension and the art of finding a balance point. I composed it as a pilot episode back in September 2022 with the intention of exploring somatic and embodied listening. It’s basically a sketch but I thought it would be a good way to start this 4th season of the conscient podcast because it asks an open ended question that will come back again and again through this project, e.g. how do you feel now?
dream
As I wrote this blog, I recalled a dream I had on December 17, 2022 :
I had a vivid dream last night about receiving criticism of my ‘sounding modernity’ conscient podcast season, which I’m launching tomorrow with episode 00. The feedback was mostly negative and critical of the project, pointing out its failings and pretensions, etc. They were very precise and sometimes satirical and quite funny. It was bewildering. When I woke up I wondered where this advice was coming from … Obviously, it comes from somewhere within me, but it felt like an external voice was giving me guidance about my work and warning me of it’s pitfalls but also encouraging, and preparing me, to face unanswerable questions and sharp critique. I was very thankful to have had this ‘heads up’ and I have made a couple of minor adjustments to the project as a result of this dream. The series of weekly 5 minute episodes will indeed be exploring complex issues, most of which I don’t fully understand, therefore I will inevitably fail and fumble my way along. I think my dream spirit was warning me to listen carefully and stay humble and open as I undertake this next phase of my learning journey…
One of the adjustments I made was to remind myself of some of my learnings from the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures (GTDF) website, including:
holding space for difficult conversations and silences without relationships falling apart
learning and unlearning, disarming and de-centering, dethroning and de-arrogantizing, detoxifying and decluttering, mourning, grieving and healing, digesting and metabolizing
loosening my attachment to my self image.
I also reviewed the GTDF’s ‘most common traps in depth education’ and reminded myself to be mindful of performance camouflage (ensuring self-transparency and self-witnessing of errors and missteps), proselytizing (trying to convince others that something is important and imposing my views) and virtue signaling (pretension and transactional relationships).
conduits
I received valuable feedback about my dream from friends and colleagues, notably this one :
I think you are wise to be open and humble but also to remember that the first response to change is often resistance. What you are working on situates itself in unfamiliar territory for many and much of the work of it is to persevere in the belief that this practice has wisdom in it and you are acting as a conduit for that.
fears
With my dream in mind, I shared with my wife Sabrina on December 26, 2022 that my greatest fear with this project was that my ‘trusted inner voice’ would be overtaken by my craving for validation (as noted above).
This happened with the last episode of season 3, e99winter diary revisited, which I felt good about but turned out to be mostly an exercise in vanity and nostalgia. I’m open to sharing this because conscient is a learning journey where anything can and should be questioned.
This learning led me to take a break from podcast production in March 2022 and engage in an unlearning process, including doing the exercises in Vanessa Andreotti’s Hospicing Modernity book, taking the GTDF’s Facing Human Wrongs course twice, deepening my daily qi gong practice, letting go of addictions, such as technology, validation, hope, etc.
My hope was that there was some value in ‘putting myself out there’, supported by newly acquired self-knowledge and self-control tools, and to trust that my experience as a listener and sound artist might have some value to others who are on a similar path.
gratitude
I’ll end this blog with a statement that concludes every episode note:
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this episode (including all the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation and infrastructure that make this podcast possible).
The post blog – of dreams and pitfalls appeared first on conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.
———-
About the Conscient Podcast from Claude Schryer
The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.
I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.
The term “conscient” is defined as “being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations”. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016-2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.
Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie”s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.
Season 2 (March 2021 ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that “I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, “the state of things as they actually exist”, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way”. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.
my professional services
I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I”m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation :
Note : Une version en français de cet article est disponible sur : Français
(Deep breath)
Tension
I was thinking about the tensions in our lives and the art of finding a balance point…
So I went for a sound walk in Vancouver and came upon a piece of fishing line. I brought it home, strung it up and recorded myself plucking it
(sound of fishing line being plucked by hand)
I held the fishing line with my left hand while I gradually reduced the tension with my right hand.
Later that day I went for another soundwalk and came upon a white metal fence. I started to gently tap one of the rods with my middle finger tip, like a heartbeat…
(sound of metal fence rod being tapped)
Finally, as I continued my search for sounds of tension, I came upon another metal fence, this one by the ocean and struck it with a wooden stick while slowly decreasing my walking pace.
(sound of metal fence tapped by a piece of wood)
I invite you to sit with me for a moment and feel these sounds. Try not to think, just feel.
(sound of decreased tension by filtering and slowing down)
How do you feel now ?
(further decrease of tension by filtering and slowing down to silence)
What about now?
(silence)
How do you feel now?
(Deep breath)
*
This episode was recorded on a Zoom H4n Pro audio recorder in Vancouver in September, 2022. I composed it as a pilot episode with the intention of exploring somatic and embodied listening. It’s basically a sketch but I thought it would be a good way to start this 4th season of the conscient podcast because it asks an open ended question that will come back again and again throughout this project : how do you feel now?
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this episode (including all the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation and infrastructure that make this podcast possible).
———-
About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer
The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.
I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.
The term “conscient” is defined as “being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations”. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016-2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.
Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie”s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.
Season 2 (March 2021 ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that “I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, “the state of things as they actually exist”, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way”. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.
my professional services
I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I”m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation :
View the original: https://www.conscient.ca/e101-tension-how-do-you-feel-now/
