Monthly Archives: August 2014

be-dom at #edfringe

This show is part of the Fringe Sustainable Practice Award Shortlist – celebrating the greenest and most sustainable shows at the Fringe.

be-dom_2014BEDOM_UKCheeky, clever, fun, charismatic, interactive… Be-Dom provides an infectious experience of epic proportions. Using nothing more than everything you can think of, the group will drag you into their crazy vaudevillian world. Back to Fringe after four years touring around the globe, Be-Dom now dares you to witness the premiere of their new show.

 

For more information on the show visit their website or to purchase tickets click HERE.

 

 

The Bee-Man of Orn at #edfringe

This show is part of the Fringe Sustainable Practice Award Shortlist – celebrating the greenest and most sustainable shows at the Fringe.

This award-winning yoAwardung company returns with an adaptation of Frank Stockton’s magical tale about a man in search of himself. Told in NYT’s trademark style of rambunctious storytelling and suitable for anyone over five, the Bee-Man’s journey takes him to the deepest ocean, the court of a cruel king and the cave of the Very Imp. Over 30 years this group has won over critics and audiences alike, garnering four and five star reviews in the national and festival press.

For more information on the show or to purchase tickets click HERE.

 

Report and Resources – GALA Workshop on green issues for the sustainable support of cultural mobility, Berlin (Germany), 12-13 March 2014

This post comes to you from Cultura21

Julie’s Bicycle and DutchCulture ¦ TransArtists have developed a partnership dedicated to promoting environmental sustainability and how that can be challenged in practical, ethical, and artistic ways, across arts’ and cultural communities across Europe. Based on the concept of a ‘knowledge alliance’ they  have been building a collaborative project with cultural organizations and artists all over Europe and Georgia. This European Knowledge Alliance consists of knowledge hubs (ambassadors/artists and organizations) across Europe on the different ethical, practical and artistic aspects of environmental sustainability. The Green Art Lab Alliance / (GALA), aims to advocate for legacy and standards for the arts and cultural sector on environmental sustainability on the longer term.

On the Move took part in this adventure with Julie’s Bicycle and DutchCulture ¦ TransArtists while co-organising on 12-13 March 2014 in Berlin (Germany) a workshop on green issues for the sustainable support of cultural mobility projects with ITI-Germany and IGBK. This workshop targeted EU funders (public and private) and cultural policy makers interested in including green criteria in the way they support culture and cultural mobility in particular.

Along with this workshop, “Training sustainability!”, a training for ecological and sustainable cultural work took place. This training – supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes) – targeted leaders and stakeholders in the performing arts. Experiences were shared at a joined introductory presentation by Julie’s Bicycle and at a “Green Salon” on 12 March 2014.

Finally the participants had the chance to visit in Berlin the sustainable cultural venue, UFA Fabrik.

Download

The list of participants

The programme

The concise report which includes selected key resources

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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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#GreenFests Highlights: Out of Water

This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

Hosted at an offsite location as part of the Summerhall Festival 2014 series, Out of Water begins with the audience being led across the expanses of Portobello Beach, meeting a collection of performers dressed in identical blue trousers and white shirts. Although not obvious, these performers are largely members of the local Portobello community, recruited by the artists for the series of one hour performances.

Sound is integral to the performance: each audience member is given a device whose headphones emit almost bewilderingly dislocated sound, drowning out the physicality of the immediate environment, individualising each audience member’s experience, and enabling the entrance into the life-world of the performing characters. Throughout the performance audience members experience shipping forecasts that progress into calls for help, and guidance about the flying patterns of geese when familial members are suffering. Jocelyn Pook’s score accompanies the collaborative ‘breathing’ of rope, and the ceasing of the music becomes a powerful tool in commanding the group of audience members.   Equally powerful is the voice of soprano, Laura Wright, whose sound manages to carry on the beach, culminating in a choral song from many of the uncharacterised performers.

Image: Tony Millings

Image: Tony Millings

Throughout the performance the notion of time is a central theme, most evidenced through the choice of of locating the production either at sunrise or sunset. The audience awareness of temporal passage is heightened by this, with the light distinction echoing the progression and change the piece depicts: it adds a certain gravity to the performance, the natural light change acting for technical benefit. Although the piece is abstract in nature, this passage of time, and the place of relationships and reciprocity within this time stand out. It is piece that lingers with the observer.

Out of Water does not only relate to sustainability through it’s direct examination and interaction with the physical environment: the piece is produced by Artsadmin, an organisation that aims to be a leader in the arts in responding to climate change through artistic practice, whilst finding ways to reduce the environmental impact of the arts. Throughout the development of the work, the notion of sustainable communities has also been given prominence with Paris and Wright’s liaison with artist and Portobello resident, Michael Sherin. The locally-recruited performers and performances are rooted in the community that they exist within, boosting social interaction and providing artistic opportunities to those who might not otherwise perform at the Fringe.

Out of Water is immersive, not only for its actors, but for those who witness the piece. In the sand and sea-exposed surrounds, it is a production that challenges its audience to confront their relationship to a natural threat and to human resilience: each common threads of growing sustainability concerns in our society.


Out of Water ran from 8-10 August 2014 with dawn and dusk performances at Portobello Beach. The production has been shortlisted for the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award.

Image credits: Tony Millings

The post #GreenFests Highlights: Out of Water appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

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Call for Contributions: RACKET! Art in Pursuit of Peace and Quiet

This post comes to you from Cultura21

“RACKET! Art in Pursuit of Peace and Quiet” is a forthcoming exhibition and book that explores excessive sound, a rampant form of environmental pollution.

Artists are invited to address the symptoms of noise pollution or propose its remediation.

Solutions, observations, reflections, defenses, offenses, anti-dotes are welcome.

Noise pollution can cause hearing loss, disrupt sleep, interfere with communication; factor into cardiac, respiratory, neurological, and other physiological maladies; produce stress, high blood pressure, anger, and frustration; lower resistance to disease and infection; cause circulatory problems, ulcers, asthma, colitis, headaches, and gastrointestinal disorders; interfere with children’s language development and learning ability. In addition, excessive noise harms livestock, pets, and animals in the wild. Vibrations induced by sound waves can also damage property.

Curators: Linda Weintraub and Riva Weinstein

Information about submitting a proposal: https://sites.google.com/site/projectracket/

Deadline: September 1, 2014

Your artwork might:

  • Compare contemporary and historic soundscapes.
  • Consider the appeal of dangerous sound volume.
  • Eliminate, suppress, or replace excessive noise.
  • Examine social justice issues related to noise.
  • Provide relief for the victims of noise pollution.
  • Originate a new approach to noise polllution.
  • Harvest noise. Transform it into a resource.
  • Solve a specific form of noise pollution.
  • Visualize or physicalize extreme noise.
  • Depict the effect of clamor on children.
  • Trace the history of ‘quiet’ ordinances.

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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

Powered by WPeMatico

#GreenFests: Behind the Wheel

eco-drama-IMG_4859-webThis post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

Creative Carbon Scotland’s blogger-in-residence Allison Palenske summarises highlights from Robert Llewellyn’s 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Production Award contender- “Electric Cars are Rubbish. Aren’t They?”, as well as a visit to Eco Drama’s “Magic Van” at Summerhall.

Robert Llewellyn, actor, comedian and writer well known to some for his role as Kryten in the British sitcom Red Dwarf, presented his latest foray (“Electric Cars are Rubbish. Aren’t They?“) to a captive audience at Assembly Rooms this past Thursday.

The message at the core of Llewellyn’s talk was the idea that it is perfectly possible to run the British Isles on renewable energy, despite sceptics’ reservations about the capacities of renewable energy to provide enough power to the grid. Llewellyn elucidated his initial involvement with automotive alternatives to the traditional combustion engine, bringing the inception of his personal involvement to a specific moment on Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles, when he first realised he was in the passenger seat of a hybrid automobile. Not knowing much about the technology, Llewellyn was compelled to find out more.

What exactly had happened in Los Angeles that had prompted engineers to create the hybrid engine? Llewellyn noted chronic air pollution had been found to be increasing the incidence of asthma and lung disease among Californians. Thus, the government decided to pass legislation to combat this issue.

After speaking through the recent history of the electric vehicle, Llewellyn addressed the following common misconceptions about electric cars-

The energy put into electric vehicles comes from coal, that’s not sustainable.

While it is true in the UK that some energy does come from the burning of coal, there is also an increasing amount of nuclear, wind and solar energies accounting for electricity production in the UK. Electric cars are “fuel agnostic” in that it doesn’t actually matter how the electricity is being produced, they run the same regardless.

The electric vehicle has limited range, you will get stranded on the side of a motorway.

While range anxiety is certainly a feeling all new electric car owners experience early in their converting, Llewellyn asserted the feeling soon passes. With an increased availability of charging points, and an impressive mileage range, electric cars are improving daily in their viability.

Electric vehicles are a “silent menace” and dangerous for cyclists, pedestrians and other drivers.

Llewellyn noted that this fallacy assumes that the drivers of electric cars have a misanthropic mission to diminish the world’s population, one pedestrian at a time. This is, obviously, not true. He did share an amusing anecdote of the reaction horse’s have to the car, though we can imagine this is really only a common occurrence in rural towns such as the one where Llewellyn resides.

There’s no charging infrastructure, I can’t take my electric vehicle for long trips.

This may have been a problem many years ago, but with over 6,000 charging points available in the UK this is simply not the case anymore. Next Green Car offers a helpful map to locate the nearest charging points.

IMG_20140807_141427-sq

Tesla Model S outside Assembly Rooms

To accompany his talk, Llewellyn parked a Tesla Model S in front of Assembly Rooms, a perfect example of an electric car for those who do not want to compromise style or luxury.

In all, Llewellyn made a convincing argument for the electric vehicle, but did acknowledge that is a new technology, anticipating the industry to grow exponentially in the years to come. However, we can’t ignore other alternatives to the traditional petrol-burning automobile.

On Saturday we visited Summerhall to speak with Eco Drama, another one of the contenders for the Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award for their production The Worm- An Underground Adventure. Aside from the theatre company’s commitment to communicating green themes to a young audience, they also travel sustainably. Eco Drama owns and operates a bio diesel van, called “The Magic Van”, that helps transport the company’s sets and production materials.

The Magic Van has been in use for roughly five years, and runs on oil reclaimed from Indian and Chinese takeaways. Emily Reid, Creative Director of Eco Drama, explained that while it is often assumed the oil being pumped into the van is from chippie shops, oil from Indian and Chinese takeaways is easier to filter and better for the van. Bio diesel vehicles have 85% lower carbon emissions than a traditional diesel run vehicle, and by using a local supplier (Apple Fuels) Eco Drama has been able to participate and expand a niche market. The company’s not run into many problems with the vehicle, despite their extensive touring throughout Scotland. Reid shared that the company is particularly interested in using reclaimed bio diesel fuel, as the used cooking oil would have gone to waste otherwise. Reclaimed bio diesel doesn’t carry the same implications as manufactured bio diesels such as ethanol made from corn, as it is a previously unused by-product of an existing consumption process that is now being saved from going to waste.

Whether you chose to run on electricity or reclaimed bio diesel, there are a number of solutions to the dilemma of the modern-day automobile, offering touring companies and individuals new alternatives to decrease their carbon impact when travelling is not optional.

(Important to note- The Magic Van has a distinct aroma when running, though we didn’t notice any drastic immediate increase in our cravings for Chinese)


Electric Cars are Rubbish. Aren’t They? was a one-off event at Assembly Rooms on 7 August 2014. More information about the event can be found here.

What are your thoughts on electric vehicles and bio diesel? We’d love to hear your thoughts on Twitter @CCScotland using #GreenFests.

The post #GreenFests: Behind the Wheel appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

Powered by WPeMatico

Upcoming Event: Can Festivals Change the World? with Di Robson

This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

This Thursday, 14 August, a group of festival organisers, academics, participants, artists and admirers will gather at Fringe Central to discuss the various reactions and interactions between politics, the environment and art. With festivals becoming a dominant portion of the cultural sector (music festivals gaining particular attention from media in recent years), it is vital to integrate the festival phenomenon into explorations of cultural value, identity and societal trends.

The “Can Festivals Change the World?” seminar, hosted by Creative Carbon Scotland and Festivals Edinburgh, brings this critical discussion to the exceedingly relevant context of the Edinburgh Festivals. The event is held quite literally at the centre of the festivals, as the event is scheduled for the middle of the August festival month and held at Fringe Central, a venue that is in the heart of the festival activity.

Edinburgh is a city that increases drastically in size during the month of August, with production companies, spectators and cultural sector movers-and-shakers populating Scotland’s capital city. With such a dramatic and fleeting festival culture in the city, certain impacts and benefits must be monitored so as to accumulate a better understanding of the impact of festivals. Thursday’s discussion will reach beyond material impacts, however, drawing attention to impacts at a larger scale of influence.

Di Robson will be speaking at the event, drawing on her experiences on the Scottish and international festivals circuit. One of her most noteworthy projects is the Exhibition Road Show festival as part of the London 2012 Olympics. The Exhibition Road Show, held from 28 July to 5 August 2012, was a street festival that included multiple visual arts commissions, an extensive musical programme, many dance and acrobatics productions, literature readings and science exhibitions and talks. Such an extensive programme covered the many British contributions to society across cultural and scientific sectors alike.

The event will also offer the chance for a discussion amongst attendees concerning the potential roles of the arts sector in affecting the world around us. Guiding provocations for the event include the following questions-

  • What is art’s role in a changing climate?
  • How can artists be part of changing the world for the better?
  • What can festivals do for sustainability?

Discussion points and highlights from the event will be published as part of #GreenFests, so be sure to check back afterwards to read our conclusions. Feel free to post your own thoughts via Twitter @CCScotland using #GreenFests.

The post Upcoming Event: Can Festivals Change the World? with Di Robson appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

———-

Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

Powered by WPeMatico

Mates at #edfringe

photo-mainThis show is part of the Fringe Sustainable Practice Award Shortlist – celebrating the greenest and most sustainable shows at the Fringe.

With the human race threatened by a polluted environment, an environment that after prolonged exposure causes infertility, the government has created an incubator in which men and women are sent until they reproduce. While a database judges compatibility to match a man and woman with one another, a process similar to that of modern dating websites, even those unable to conceive have a place within this artificial reality, tracking the progress of assigned couples. Mates follows Sian as she oversees two couples, acting as their dysfunctional guardian angel and trying to counteract the government’s intentions for them.

For more information or to purchase tickets click HERE. 

 

2014 Green Events during the Edinburgh Summer Festivals

This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

Creative Carbon Scotland will be collaborating with multiple organisations during the Edinburgh Festivals to provide support and assistance to companies, venues and productions looking to become more green.

Sustainable Production Drop-in Workshops

4 August, 11 August, 18 August, 1-4pm, Fringe Central, Edinburgh

The Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts and Creative Carbon Scotland invite production companies and individuals to a series of drop-in sustainability workshops during the 2014 Festivals.

“Can Festivals Change the World?” Seminar

14 August, 3.30-5pm, Fringe Central, Edinburgh 

Hosted in partnership with Festivals Edinburgh, the “Can Festivals Change the World?” seminar will bring together those working in the arts and cultural sector to discuss the various reactions and interactions between politics, the environment and art. RSVP here.

Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award Ceremony

22 August, 4-5pm, Fringe Central, Edinburgh

Supported by the Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts, Creative Carbon Scotland and media partner The List, the Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award will be in its fifth year of existence for this year’s Fringe. The award celebrates artists and companies whom address sustainability in myriad ways during the Fringe. RSVP here.

Fringe Re-use and Recycle Days

25-26 August, 11am-4pm, Fringe Central, Edinburgh

Back by popular demand, Creative Carbon Scotland and Edinburgh Festival Fringe will host two Re-use and Recycle Days at Fringe Central to conclude the 2014 summer festivals season.


More information about Creative Carbon Scotland events can be found on our Events page.

The post 2014 Green Events during the Edinburgh Summer Festivals appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

———-

Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

Powered by WPeMatico

ARTEMOCC 2015 : 1st ARTEM Organizational Creativity International Conference

This post comes to you from Cultura21

26-27 March, 2015 – Nancy (France)

“Rethinking Paths on Creativity and Sustainability”

ARTEM Organizational Creativity International Conference seeks to rethink paths on creativity to move organizations towards sustainability.

The objective of this international conference is to bring together academics, managers, professionals and doctoral students in areas such as engineering, arts and management to tackle the topic of organizational creativity in its different dimensions.

Cross-field approaches that merge management techniques with aesthetics sensibility, engineering solutions with management perspectives, or management analysis with artistic tools could contribute to the provision of solutions that cater for the simultaneous need of financial soundness, organizational stability and sustainability. We especially welcome contributions that cover such approaches, exploring new frontiers for the practice of management in organizations.

To find out more, see the  Call for Papers of the conference (here as pdf) – deadline: October 31, 2014, and the Call for Papers of the Journal of Cleaner Production

Presentation of conference tracks. The following are suggestions of contributions:

– Creativity and Sustainability track: Creativity for sustainable solutions, Creativity and ethics in business, Sustainability and organizational competitiveness, Creativity for social innovation and social entrepreneurship, Institutional challenges to creative sustainable solutions

– Creativity and environmental management initiatives: Creativity and environmental management initiatives, New strategies towards environmental preservation, Prototyping processes and ideas feasibility, Creativity and EMS quality improvement,
Risk management, Life cycle management of products and services, Supply chain management

– Creativity, Aesthetics and Management track: Creativity in design/ architecture/ landscape, Sound, performative arts and device, Work spaces, engagement and performance, Creative industries and economic well being, Representational methods (hands on or performance based), Art Aesthetics and Creativity in Organizations

– Creativity and Innovation track: Sustainable innovation, Creativity and innovation management in SMEs, Measurement of creativity and innovation, Creativity and innovation in the economic downturn, Knowledge management for creativity and innovation, Managing creativity and innovation in virtual context

– Pedagogical track: Views on creative approaches to learning.

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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

Powered by WPeMatico