Climate Conference

Day 2 in Cancun – Opening of #COP16 debriefing

As with the previous COP, the CSPA has been seeking out alternative action around the climate meetings. Moe Beitiks, a CSPA affiliate and writer for Inhabitat.com, is Executive Director Ian Garrett’s traveling companion for the conference and made her way to the Moon Palace today. The CSPA, instead, headed to the Villa Del Cambio Climático or Climate Change Village to see what was happening with the Mexican version of Hopenhagen and meet with the co-director of Artport, Anne-Marie Melster, who is organizing projects here in Cancun.

You may remember Artport from last year’s COP15 and their (Re-) Cycles of Paradise, which has been remounted in Mexico City concurrent to COP16: Through video installations, photography, drawings, sculptures, and interactive interventions, artists such as Kim Abeles (USA), Subhankar Benerjee (Indien/USA), and Charley Case (Belgien) explore links between the destruction of nature and the suffering of women, revealing hidden or unknown aspects of the interrelation of gender and climate change. They will retell the story of a “lost paradise” and the role of women. Gender issues will be scrutinized as part of a process to reverse climate change. “Paradise” is no longer a long-lost ideal world but can be recreated as a contemporary, more sustainable place on earth.

This year, ARTPORT_making waves and partner Cinema Planeta are presenting a rich program of cell phone video contests, art videos, panels with conference participants and artists, and a live art performance with hundreds of children drowning little islands in the midst of a heated climate debate. It is part of the official cultural program of the United Nations Climate Conference in Mexico, COP16, at local cinemas, outdoor screens, public spaces, and conference locations in Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen.

Moe will have more on that soon, as the information is digested.

The Climate Change Village, like Hopenhagen, was a mixture of public stage, exhibitions on green technologies and cultural showcases. Aboce is a picture of masked dancers in the food stalls. Additionally, there was a temporary structure which held a photo and video installation by photographer Willy Sousa on the the culture of Mexico called Mexico en tus Sentidos which had previously toured to international cities and been a part of the Mexican Pavilion at the recent Shanghai Expo. It was capped with a lovely piece of Mexican Pride/Propoganda focusing on the diverse populations of Mexico interacting with the flag.

We immeadiately scurried over to the main expo hall to catch a screening of Cool Stories I, Artport’s short form, curator film series. It was unfortunately shown on a lo-res led video panel, but the films are worth check out in all of their glory on the Artport website.

Here is an excerpt from one of the included films, Rob Carter‘s Metropolis:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGF0hauSu34

Later on in the week, the Artport Public performance of La Isla Hundida (The Drowned Island), their collaboration with Spanish artist Javier Velasco, will involve hundreds of school children from Cancun, who will produce an island from a cutout model with a newspaper page during a live performance in a public space in each city. The children will then drown the islands in a large container filled with water. The performances will be videotaped and streamed live.

I may be gone by the time the first one happens, on the 4th, but if you would like to attend, check out their website or our calendar. And, to make your own drowning island, here are a couple informational vidoes:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB2s53vq6dw

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzbPwD8Kzzs

After the screening, we grabbed some tacos and climbed into a collectivo van to get back into downtown. One thing I will say is that there is plentiful and convenient transportation for getting around Cancun itself. Many buses, shuttles and collectivos, all really low cost. However, getting to the various sites related to the conferences–which are all fairly remote compared to downtown OR the hotel zone– is a real annoying venture. Official shuttles only go to official places like associated hotels, but not things like the bus station or transit hubs. And then you’re let with taxis, which aren’t expensive per se, but aren’t the lowest cost option.

Once we made it back, we took a dip in the pool and called it a night.

Art Performance with Hundreds of Children as Statement Against Rising Sea Levels at United Nations Climate Conference #COP16

Javier Velasco, La Isla Hundida, Performance, 2010

November 29-December 10, 2010

New York-Valencia-Zurich, November 9, 2010—ARTPORT_making waves, an international arts and sustainability organization, and CINEMA PLANETA, a Mexico-based environmental film festival with international reach, present Cancun: 2 Degrees of Separation, a comprehensive arts program aimed at bringing a breath of fresh air to a sapless United Nations Climate Conference, COP16, in Cancun, from November 29-December 10, 2010.

As part of 2 Degrees, Artist Javier Velasco, who has exhibited at the Venice Biennial, will make a statement about rising sea levels with a live arts performance involving hundreds of local children in a public space in Cancun—right at the heart of the conference. The performance will be accompanied by a rich program of a cell phone video contest, art video screenings, panel discussions on the role of art in the climate debate, and an exhibition on gender and climate change.

Anne-Marie Melster, Corinne Erni, and Oliver Orest Tschirky from ARTPORT_making waves are behind the innovative concept of bringing art to the heart of where it matters. They explain: “Art can inspire change, and that’s why we bring this program to the very people who will be making crucial decisions about the future of our planet.”

2 Degrees will take place in public spaces, at CINEMEX movie theaters, on large outdoor screens, and conference locations in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, Mexico.

A detailed program, schedule, and locations will be announced at the end of November.

About Cancun: 2 Degrees of Separation

La Isla Hundida (The Drowned Island) is an interactive art performance with hundreds of children by the internationally renowned artist Javier Velasco. In collaboration with the International American School of Cancun, Velasco will work with local children to build little islands and drown them in a large container filled with water in a public space in Cancun. This symbolic, playful and educational act is intended to create awareness about rising sea levels among the next generation. Prior to the performance, Velasco will work with the school to teach the children about climate change. Velasco represented Spain at the Venice Biennale in 2001, and has exhibited at MoMA P.S.1 in New York and the International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Seville in 2004 under the direction of Harald Szeemann. The message of La Isla Hundida will be spread beyond Cancun. We will invite children, schools, and educators around the world to participate in the project and share photos, videos, and comments from their own performances on the website www.laislahundida.org.

20 Seconds for the Planet is a cell phone video contest by Cinema Planeta in collaboration with Green Film Network and Environmental Film Festivals Network. People from all over the world are invited to produce a video with a cell phone. Each festival from the networks selects 10 winning videos—based on content, message, and creativity. All winning videos will be shown as a “video wall” in Cancun. www.my20sec.org

Cool Stories For When The Planet Gets Hot II is a compilation of 17 short videos and animations by international artists who won the second short video and animation contest on Global Warming by ARTPORT_making waves in 2009. It was first shown in conjunction with Art 40 Basel 2009, Switzerland.

ARTPORT_making waves and CINEMA PLANETA will jointly host a panel discussion bringing forward ideas of how art can have an impact in political decision-making, especially in the climate debate. We will invite artists and participants of the Conference—scientists, politicians, and economists—to participate.

Leading up to the events in Cancun, ARTPORT_making waves presents (Re-) Cycles of Paradise, an exhibition on gender and climate change, to open on November 11, 2010 and running through January 9, 2011, at the Spanish Cultural Center in Mexico City. The exhibition explores both the vulnerability and ingenuity of women faced with climate change. The exhibition was launched in conjunction with COP15 in Copenhagen last December.

Partners: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); International American School of Cancun, Mexico; Summit of Environmental Cinema, Mexico; Government of the Maldives; Maldivian Youth Climate Network; Bluepeace Maldives; Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID); IPADE Foundation Spain.

About ARTPORT_making waves and CINEMA PLANETA

ARTPORT_making waves is an international curator’s collective that raises awareness about current social and political issues worldwide through theme-oriented exhibitions, residency programs, and artists collaborations. ARTPORT_making waves aims at creating sustainable networks of artists, curators, galleries, and art collectors to promote a true globalization of the artistic discourse, giving a voice to promising artists from all over the world. At the same time, ARTPORT_making waves encourages the cross-fertilization of art, science, and politics. ARTPORT_making waves is a fiscally sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, and incorporated as non-profit associations in Spain and Switzerland. www.artport-project.org

CINEMA PLANETA is an international film festival and non-profit organization based in Mexico. The festival is committed to creating spaces of consciousness and to raising awareness through images that promote the conservation of the planet through film, art, and science. The program includes exhibitions of photojournalism and contemporary art, conferences, and open air cinema. It takes place every spring in Cuernavaca, Morelos, and is a unique initiative in Mexico. CINEMA PLANETA has presented more than 100 contemporary films in various sections in its first two editions. The films have previously been shown at festivals like Sundance, Cannes, and at the Oscar’s. CINEMA PLANETA is a member of the Green Film Network and Environmental Film Festivals Network. www.cinemaplaneta.org

Contact:

Corinne Erni, Co-Founder and Co-Director of ARTPORT_maing waves New York

T: (1) 646-641-4268   E: corinne.erni@artport-project.org

2 Degrees of Separation – United Nations Climate Conference, #COP16

2 Degrees of Separation

Cancun, Mexico

November 29-December 10, 2010

Javier Velasco, La Isla Hundida (2010)

ARTPORT_making waves and Cinema Planeta are proud to present engaging art where it matters—at the heart of the most important climate conference in the world!

A rich program of cell phone video contests, art videos, panels with conference participants and artists, and a live art performance with hundreds of children drowning little islands in the midst of a heated climate debate.

Presented as part of the official cultural program of the United Nations Climate Conference in Mexico, COP16, at local cinemas, outdoor screens, public spaces, and conference locations in Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen.

A full program will be announced in November.

PARTICIPATE!

Send in your cell phone video of 20 seconds for the planet. Learn more at www.my20sec.org

DONATE!

Learn more about the groundbreaking live art performance, La Isla Hundida (The Drowned Island) by artist Javier Velasco with hundreds of school children during the UN climate conference in Cancun… and help us make it happen through Kickstarter! Even a small contribution can go a long way. http://kck.st/92oUXD

Also:

(Re-) Cycles of Paradise

Spanish Cultural Center, Mexico City

November 11, 2010-January 9, 2011

In conjunction with COP16 (First presented at COP15, Copenhagen, Dec 2009)

International artists raise challenging questions about gender and climate change.

Participating artists:

Kim Abeles (USA), Ander Azpiri (Mexico/Spain), Subhankar Banerjee (India/USA), Charley Case (Belgium/Spain), Meschac Gaba (Benin/NL), Anita Glesta (USA), Yolanda Gutiérrez (Mexico); Perla Krauze (MEX); Nnenna Okore (Nigeria/USA), Betsabée Romero (Mexico); Javier Velasco (Spain), Frances Whitehead (USA), Insa Winkler (Germany)

Partners: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); International American School of Cancun; Summit of Environmental Cinema, Mexico; Government of the Maldives; Maldivian Youth Climate Network; Bluepeace Maldives; Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID); IPADE Foundation Spain.

Your ARTPORT_making waves team:

Corinne Erni, Co-Founder and Co-Director New York

Anne-Marie Melster, Co-Founder and Co-Director Valencia, Spain

Oliver Orest Tschirky, Co-Director Zurich, Switzerland

WWW.ARTPORT-PROJECT.ORG

Extensive Climate Recaps

Yes we’re focusing on Art, but for your Information….

Countdown to Copenhagen at Bristol’s Arnolfini gallery

Countdown to Copenhagen at the Arnolfini galleryThe 100 Days exhibition at the Arnolfini gallery in Bristol marks the countdown to the Copenhagen climate conference in December by hosting a series of exhibitions, performances and talks highlighting climate change, social justice and art and activism

See the Video at:

Video: Countdown to Copenhagen at Bristol’s Arnolfini gallery | Environment | guardian.co.uk .

Did #pm2un Tweet make Gordon to go to Copenhagen?

I was blogging last week in response to green.tv’s suggestion that there were too many climate campaigns. My view was that it wasn’t that there were too many, but that maybe they weren’t reaching the right people.

Last week the website BeThatChange.com were pushing hard on a campaign on Twitter,#pm2un, trying to persuade Gordon Brown to commit to go to the COP15 Climate Conference in Copenhagen. At the time this seemed like a great example of a well-targeted campaign.

Though it’s not that unusual for leaders not to commit to attending this sort of conference until the last moment, BeThatChange had cleverly spotted an opportunity there. It looks rubbish for Brown to be claiming to be leading the agenda at Copenhagen when he’s not even committed to going himself. A couple of days after BeThatChange cranked up the heat with their #pm2un campaign, @EdMilibandMP tweeted a survey on his Ed’s Pledge site, asking visitors what their priorities for Copenhagen were. Miliband offered the following options to chose from:

1) the Prime Minister attending Copenhagen to help deliver a deal

2) doing more to provide home insulation in the UK

3) more government support to create green jobs

Whatever you think about the yeas and nays of deliberative democracy, when I looked on Friday, “the Prime Minster attending Copenhagen to help deliver a deal” had received 93% of the vote. How much of that was due to the BeThatChange.com campaign is hard to calculate, but I suspect that the question was even on Miliband’s poll suggests that the original #pm2un campaign was bang on.

If anything, I suppose it’s possible the Labour Party saw how potentially embarrassing such a campaign could be if it gained much more momentum, and instead turned it to their advantage. Either way the news came through late last night, less than 48 hours before BeThatChange’s next #pm2un twitterstorm:

Gordon Brown urges world leaders to attend climate change talk

Whatever did happen behind closed doors, it was nice work all round, really.

Go to RSA Arts & Ecology