30 million years: art, ecology and sustainability

^{(Observatorium, 2024, Huldenberg)}

Art faces a new challenge every new generation. In contemporary times, it is sustainability that asks us to rethink artistic practices and conceptions to make them not only environmentally aware but also effective.

How can art help communities and citizens get a better understanding of ecology and sustainability? The outset for this seminar at M HKA 30 million years: art, ecology and sustainability, is the Creative Europe Project, ALILASUS, which bring together three in France, Spain and Belgium that try to come up with artistic solutions for ecological questions and problems.

While some artworks continue to generate meaning for people after centuries, or even millennia, - think paleolithic cave art - semi-permanent contemporary art has a different reality. Often, publically commissioned art has to come to terms with its own mortality; for instance, a lifespan of more than a decade is already an achievement. How can a contemporary artwork, invited by people to be part of their community, remain meaningful and increase its durability?

How do art production sites change their material and conceptual patterns and habits to meet the challenge of sustainability? These questions will be addressed during the seminar not only discursively but also practically. Art professionals, artists, academics, students, government agencies and people from all walks of life are invited to participate in this discussion. 

The seminar features keynote lectures by Nathalie Blanc, Pascal Gielen, Roel Arkesteijn and Nicola Setari and is organized by de Nieuwe opdrachtgevers.

Programme

Morning

• Welcome by Thérèse Legierse, de Nieuwe opdrachtgevers
  Framework of seminar within the Creative Europe project
• First lecture: Pascal Gielen, University of Antwerp
  Starting from the practice of artists, concerned about their ecological impact, Pascal Gielen highlights the paradox of the cultural sector.
• Second lecture: Roel Arkensteijn, AP Hogeschool
  The lecture focuses on ecological artists and how they address ecological problems through their practical solutions.
• Intervention by Nicola Setari, LUCA School of Arts
  In contrast to the other speakers, who explain the making of art from an ecological perspective, Nicola Setari addresses the temporality of art and the ecological issues surrounding it. For example, in land art and the demand for natural materials.
• The morning program will be concluded with a Q&A, moderated by Nicola Setari.

Afternoon

• Third lecture: Nathalie Blanc, Université de Paris
  The third lecture of the day addresses the ecological awareness of artists and the materials they use. Professor Blanc also places this within the movements within land art and ecological art.
• The afternoon program continues with two workshops:
  • Workshop 1: in-depth conversation with Nathalie Blanc
    During this conversation, Nathalie Blanc will delve deeper into artistic freedom and the limitations of ecological awareness.
  • Workshop 2: Thérèse Legierse, de Nieuwe opdrachtgevers
    Green commissioning. This component is specifically aimed at anyone who wants to realize art commissions in various forms within landscape and green environments.
    

Practical

7 November 2024

9:00 - 17:00

M HKA, Leuvensestraat 32, 2000 Antwerp

Language: English

Registration is required: info@denieuweopdrachtgevers.be