Natural Environment

Jean-Claude Carrière Theater at the domaine d’O

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The Jean-Claude Carrière theatre is a unique «environmentally friendly» project, based on a global environmental approach aiming for general energy efficiency and for environmental quality standards.

Other than the slab that supports it, the entire structure could be dismantled and rebuilt on a different site. Just like the similar project at the Comédie Française (the «théâtre éphémère»), the structure is entirely built out of wood panels (KLH). The unique design is enhanced by a light wooden lozenge structure recovering the entire building.

MGB_3838 copieThe renowned Montpellier architect firm A+ architecture has been entrusted with this project, which from the very beginning has been designed taking the natural environment of the location into account : a construction which can be entirely dismantled, the use of wood, a light architectural expression, respecting the surrounding wooded zone. The building is entirely built of recyclable material, using for instance PECF labelled wood, providing an outstanding carbon footprint for this project.

The theatre is more than remarkable in terms of energy efficiency, including the innovative heating system, an excellent insulation system and the exclusive use of LED for the lightning systems. The acoustic insulation system has been optimised in order to avoid neighbourhood sound pollution and to create perfect interior acoustic settings for the stage. Retractable seating solutions, a modular stage frame, a construction that can entirely be dismantled, optimised technical  zones, a bright and welcoming hallway…

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picture credits, following pictures : Jean-Yves GILBERT

 

Open Call: ARTIST IN RESIDENCE – ARTIST OR CREATIVE PRACTITIONER

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This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

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Corgarff, 2013, Photo: Chris Fremantle

This has a deadline of 10 August 2013

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE – ARTIST OR CREATIVE PRACTITIONER

The Forestry Commission is inviting tenders for ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ which will see two artists or teams of artists appointed to support the development of a new woodland park encourage local residents to get involved, get active and be inspired by their local woodland green space.

As part of the Creative Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage funding for Year of Natural Scotland 2013, Forestry Commission Scotland has been awarded funding to support two unique Artist In Residence opportunities which will form part of an exciting project to develop a new inner city woodland park as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Legacy.

A Breath of Fresh Air will see two artists or teams of artists, with a passion for the natural environment, appointed to support the development of a new woodland park and raise awareness within the local community of what benefits access to woodlands green space can bring.

The artists will work closely with staff from both Forestry Commission Scotland and Clyde Gateway to understand the aspirations of the project and with local residents and organisations to ensure the works produced reflect their views.

There are two contracts available. Contract 1 will require the contract holder to:

  • Organise and deliver a range of interactive / participatory workshops with local community members from across the city linked to the Commonwealth Woodlands Games Legacy project.
  • Create a range of concept proposals (Minimum 4) for two permanent installations and a series of linking sculptural interventions, including models and visual representations where appropriate, inspired by those communities and the partner organisations ethos and ambitions for the project.
  • Produce a public display of the options to allow feedback on the preferred option.
  • Work with the project board to identify the preferred option for development,
  • Work with the design and construction team to develop tender documents and installation requirements to allow the chosen works to be fabricated and installed as part of the wider project (to be funded out with the residency).
  • Ensure that the proposed installations are designed in a way which is durable, requires minimal ongoing maintenance and reduces the opportunity for vandalism or miss-use

Contract 2 will require the contract holder to:

  • Organise and deliver a range of interactive / participatory workshops with local community members and identified groups.
  • Create a range of temporary works which are inspired by the local community.
  • Showcase the work of both the artist themselves and those who contributed to the workshops in a range of locations which will draw attention to the project and raise the profile of the benefits of access to woodland green space.
  • Both residencies must relate their works to the unique offering of the new Cuningar Woodland Park as a flagship Commonwealth Woodland and the role access to woodland green space can play in encouraging healthy lifestyles.

The estimated total value of the contract is around £8k for contract 1 and around £6k for contract 2. This excludes t&s costs which will also be paid to the successful bidders.

The anticipated contract start date will be:

Contract 1: 1st September to be completed by 1st January

Contract 2: 1st November to be completed by 1st February

For further enquiries regarding this contract please contact Tom Wallace no later than 10th August 2013

To express your interest and to request more information please contact Tom Wallace no later than 10th August 2013 with submission by 14th August @16:00hrs

Tom.wallace@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

Or

Cuningar Loop, Clyde Gateway URC, Bridgeton Cross, Bridgeton, Glasgow Deadline for submissions: 4pm, 14th August

Artist Brief: finalairbrief

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.
It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
Go to EcoArtScotland

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Information sessions | Imagining Natural Scotland

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Imagining Natural Scotland, aiming to thoroughly think through the relationship between the arts and the natural environment, is holding a series of sessions which promise to be more interesting than the title suggests. Sessions are to encourage collaborations applying for the awards.

Each session will feature,

  • Detailed information on how to apply to the Imagining Natural Scotland fund.
  • A presentation, open discussion and Q&A on a particular aspect of Natural Scotland’s representation in the arts and popular culture; featuring guest speakers from both the environmental and creative sectors.
  • Time for networking and meeting potential collaborators.

For example Dundee feature presentations on cross-disciplinary collaboration from Tentsmuir Artist in Residence, Derek Robertson and Sophie Eastwood the Red Squirrel Project Officer for Fife Coast and Countryside Trust; Inverness will feature Professor Paul M Thompson and artist and composer, Mark Lyken, and curiously Oban will feature Professor Laurence Mee director of Scottish Marine Institute (SAMS) and the designer Daniel Mee.

Dumfries will feature artist, author and planner, Timothy Collins and Reader in the Institute of Geography, Emily Brady on why arts and humanities informed by science are uniquely situated to explore future imaginaries and potential virtues where nature is concerned.

From what we understand one of the key issues for the Imagining Natural Scotland team is that the visual arts (and applied arts?) are perceived to be very engaged with the environment compared to music, dance and poetry, though we’re certain that there are those that would dispute this perception.  The point is that visual and applied artists interested in this programme might want to partner up with other art forms.

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.
It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
Go to EcoArtScotland

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Portrait project: This Earth in my Bones

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

This Earth in my Bones is a collection of 25 individual portraits by Canadian eco-artist Jeane Fabb.
In 2009 and 2010 she interviewed and photographed different women throughout the Laurentian region of Québec to explore  women´s connection with the natural environment.

From the website:

The overall project (exhibitions, conferences, web site) aims to make visible, and to honour, the diversity and vibrancy of women’s involvement in the cultural narrative of the Laurentians. It is a portrait series of people and territory that offers a perspective outside of the mainstream perception of “land” as an arena of male activity: i.e. hunters, fishermen, loggers, developers, adventurers, miners, forestry engineers, politicians etc. This earth in my bones portrays how various women see, understand, live, use, protect and respond to this region.

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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Be a gathering! The Natural Circus trainings, Spring 2012

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‘I am movement and stillness at the same time’

The Natural Circus trainings are a body and movement practice (and maybe a bit more), embedded in an understanding that ‘nothing lasts, nothing is finished, nothing is perfect’.

Situated in a powerful natural environment, they are playful gatherings beyond the human(-centered) perspective that may help realize the complete interdependence and interconnectedness of the human being with the natural world – until what remains is dance only. The trainings integrate elements of Contact Improvisation, Physical Theater, Tango, Bodywork, Meditation, Deep Ecology and Nature Awareness Work, Taoist/Advaita/Zen philosophy.

This 4-days gathering will take place in Barnave/Diois, France; from May 24th to the 28th, and will feature Diethild Meier (Dancer, improviser, visual artist), Lars Schmidt (Wandering Monk, Natural Thinker, Improviser) and Romain Petit (Freeclimber and climbing teacher).

The cost of the gathering is 240€, housing on site (Le Serre) included, in two rustic apartments, food will be extra, shared and prepared together. The number of participants is limited to 12 persons

For more information, go to Natural Circus´ website.

Registration: contact [at] passiveactivism [dot] net

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

Key Issues Guide on Indigenous knowledge and climate change

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

Indigenous communities have long been recognised as being particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to the close connection between their livelihoods, culture, spirituality and social systems and their environment. At the same time, however, this deep and long-established relationship with the natural environment affords many indigenous peoples with knowledge that they have long used to adapt to environmental change, and are now using to respond to the impacts of climate change.

The potential of indigenous knowledge for informing observations of, and responses to climate change is an area of growing interest. The United Nations University published a compendium, available online, which presents a wide-ranging overview of more than 400 projects, case studies and research activities specifically related to climate change and Indigenous Peoples (IP).

That  publication, as well as other resources, can be  found on the website of the Institute of Development Studies at University of Sussex (UK): Click here

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

2012 Residency Application

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

The Guapamacátaro Interdisciplinary Residency in Art and Ecology is a site-based and community-oriented program for artists from different disciplines, scientists, educators and activists, aimed at fostering socially and ecologically-conscious cultural development. The hacienda is set on rural farmland and located in the state of Michocán, Mexico.

The topic of ecology plays an important role for the program and is not confined to the common association with the preservation of the natural environment. The facilities include several studios, large common areas and ample outdoor space.

Each year the residency takes place in Spring (March through June) and lasts 3 weeks.

During their stay, participants use the hacienda grounds as a laboratory for the creative process and engaging with the local community in art, ecology and development practices. They are free to work whenever desired in the provided studios and anywhere in the property. Experimentation is encouraged as is discourse and collaboration. Daily group activities such as morning stretch and meditation, and occasional guided walks and fieldtrips to nearby towns and natural areas are often organized, depending on people’s interests.

Up to 10 people are selected from a mix of the following disciplines: Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Sculpture and Installation, Design and Architecture, Humanities and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences.

Application is open to professionals (or students who demonstrate maturity) from all countries, cultural backgrounds and aesthetics. The next residency dates are from the 7th until the 24th of June 2012, you are able to send your application until the 1st of November 2011 to http://www.guapamacataro.org/apply

More information can be found here http://www.guapamacataro.org

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

Transition Design

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This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

The creative futures (cf.) research centre at the University of the West of Scotland presents an evening lecture by Gideon Kossoff titled: ‘Early Thoughts on Transition Design’. The event is chaired by cf. Associate Director Graham Jeffery.

14th November 2011, 19.30-21.30 at the University of the West of Scotland, Ayr Campus.

Gideon Kossoff is a social ecologist/social theorist whose research focuses on the relationships between humans and the natural environment and humans and the built/designed world as the foundation for a sustainable society. For many years Gideon was programme administrator and course tutor for the MSc in Holistic Science at Schumacher College, Devon, an international centre for ecological studies, where he regularly continues to return to teach. 

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.

It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
Go to EcoArtScotland

Nevada Museum of Art

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For Chester Arnold, painting is as much about social responsibility as it is about crafting luscious large-scale oil paintings in the tradition of 19th-century European artists. Since he began painting over three decades ago, Arnold has cleverly confronted a range of challenging subjects ranging from land use and environmental issues to the global impacts of human and industrial consumption, accumulation, and waste. The paintings united in this exhibition ask viewers to consider the implications of unchecked economic development and industrialized growth on the natural environment. Often, Arnold’s work is infused with a dose of religious or political inflection that generates passionate dialogue about the topics he tackles. “If this is God’s will,” Arnold once remarked while referring to one of the abused landscapes he depicted on canvas, “something is wrong.”

A special dialogue between San Francisco Chronicle Art Critic Kenneth Baker and Chester Arnold takes place Saturday, September 11 from 5:30 to 8 pm. Join Baker and Arnold as they discuss Arnold’s work on display in the Feature Gallery. A reception following dialogue is included in the ticket price.

A 78-page book, published in conjunction with the exhibition, will be available in the Museum Store featuring essays by Ann M. Wolfe, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections and Colin M. Robertson, Curator of Education.

Chester Arnold: On Earth as It Is in Heaven is presented as part of the Museum’s Art + Environment Series, which provides timely, engaging, and rewarding educational opportunities for artists, scholars, and communities to engage with ideas pertinent to the intersections of art and environments.

SPONSORSHIP:

Media Sponsorship for Chester Arnold: On Earth as It Is in Heaven generously provided by edible Reno-TahoeMagazine.

via Nevada Museum of Art.

RSA Arts & Ecology – MA in Art & Environment: 2010

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University College Falmouth
MA Art & Environment: 2010

For centuries artists have interpreted and represented the natural environment. It has provided materials and subject matter, as well as inspiration and knowledge. In recent times – particularly since the growth of the environmental movement – there has been a dramatic change in our understanding of the many ways our society impacts upon the Earth. This awareness has galvanised around the fact that the relationship between humanity and our life-giving planet is in a critical state.

This change in knowledge has been reflected in contemporary art practice. MA Art & Environment, at University College Falmouth, encourages a focused engagement with ecological and environmental issues. Designed to give students the skills, expertise and confidence to operate as a professional artist in this critical area of practice, the course will also enable them to develop strategies and practices that use art as a cultural agent – as a tool for knowledge, understanding and change.

Students on the course have opportunities to benefit from the Universtity’s relationship with Cape Farewell, The Eden Project and University of Exeter’s Environment and Sustainability Institute.

For further information please
contact Dr Daro Montag
daro.montag[@]falmouth.ac.uk
+44 (0)1326 211077