ABSTRACTS

Art, Ecology and the New Territories of Protest
Maja and Reuben Fowkes (Translocal.org)

This introductory presentation by curators Maja and Reuben Fowkes examines the intertwining of radical notions of ecological critique and the practices of anti-capitalist emancipation.  They ask whether global occupy movements are creating the conditions for the ‘reconstitution of existential territories’, a key concept from Felix Guattari’s prophetic essay The Three Ecologies that resonates with current attempts to imagine a sustainable alternative to neo-liberal capitalism. They consider the involvement of contemporary art in the creation of liberated zones in the physical environment, virtual worlds and the territories of the mind.

The Affect of Sustainability
Emma Dowling (London)

In this talk, I will reflect upon the historical and political specificities of the last twenty years that have led us from the global justice movement to the global spread of locally organised occupations of public and private spaces, with movements such as Occupy or the movement for Real Democracy Now. Just as the countergobalisation movement seemed to be experiencing something of a lull following an intense period of transnational networking, summit mobilisations and social forums, new political movements found their public expression, for example with the Arab Spring. In my talk, I will briefly revisit this history in order to engage the question of the political sustainability of such events and the role that affect plays to this end.

Manifesto of Urban Cannibalism

Matteo Pasquinelli (Berlin) and Wietske Maas (Amsterdam) will present their Manifesto of Urban Cannibalism. The manifest evokes an image of the edible city in a visionary trip through literature, philosophy, history and gastronomy. Theirs is a city of excess, an art of overgrowth. Buildings are liquid strata of minerals — just very slow.

Wij Eisen Maar Voedsel!’ (We Demand More Food!) Amsterdam graffiti during the Hunger winter / German Occupation of the Netherlands 1945

 [..extract from the Manifesto..]

We should never abandon the city in favour of a virgin territory.

There is no innocent state of nature to defend: cities are flourishing ecosystems in themselves, a true ‘human participation in nature’.

In fact, nature builds no idea of nature. The image of nature has always been an artifact of human civilisation, a mark of its stage of evolution. Yet we remain unaware that this image is still the projection of our animal instincts and fears on the surrounding environment.

Any utopia of nature will always be the territorial gesture of a form of life. 

Occupy Museums
Presentation by Noah Fischer and Maria Byck of the Occupy Museums Collective in New York

Occupy Museums (OM) is a direct action group of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) in New York City. OM has publicly called out conflict of interest on museum boards, the negative impact of speculation and artificial scarcity in a hyper-inflated art market, the disempowerment and alienation of artists, and partnered with unions in solidarity with all cultural workers. Part of OM’s work is to understand the repercussions of a neo-liberal agenda on the cultural commons, so that together we can begin to resist and develop sustainable models for a shared stewardship of culture. The capitalist logic of inequality has shaped nearly the entire system we live in, the way we look at others, and the way we look at ourselves. For too long this system has isolated critical voices. OM’s inclusion in the current global social and economic justice movement opens up a new potential for a resilient, lasting and comprehensive change. www.occupymuseums.org

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