Research Questions

The Celebrated Trees of Nashville: Ecological Performance Action

January 1, 2013newsAction Performance, Astr, Buckets, Ecological Action, Ecological Performance, Intersection, Maintenance Staff, Nashville Tennessee, Nourishment, November 1st, Onlookers, Praxis, Preece, Procession, Red Wiggler Worms, Red Worms, Remediation, Research Questions, Roundup, Soil, State Capitol

On November 1st,Â PlantableÂ (made up Meghan Moe Beitiks, Bronwyn Preece and Lisa Woynarski) performed an ecological action on the streets and state capitol of Nashville, Tennessee. As part of the American Society of Theatre Research (ASTR) conference, the performance began with a procession through the streets of downtown Nashville. Carrying large red buckets full of red wiggler worms, the performance proceeded to the grounds of the State Capitol where we surrounded a tree and “planted” the worms at the base. Red wiggler worms are prized for their fertilisation qualities and their ability to enrich the soil, providing nourishment for the tree.Â In conversation with State Capitol maintenance staff, we learned of previous, but not current, usage of RoundUp on these trees – necessitating furtherÂ remediation, and equally not jeopardizing the life of the worms.Â Amidst curious looks and questions from onlookers, the performance sought to bring the research questions of the ASTR Ecology and Performance Working Session to a form of praxis, asking what the intersection of an ecologically positive action, performance and intervention would look like.

See video of the performance action here:

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award Opportunity

December 16, 2012newsAesthetic Dimensions, Art Science, Collaborative Ventures, Computer Specialists, Creative Industry, Current Art, Deborah Dixon, Different Sectors, Driven 3, Dyfi, Earth Scientists, Environment Systems, High Fidelity, Industry Businesses, Participant Observation, Research Questions, Resolution Data, Studentships, Visualisations, Visualizations

For a PhD on â€œNew Visual Economies: Art, GIS and the Geographic Imagination,â€ supervised by Prof. Deborah Dixon in partnership with Environment Systems.

Project Summary:

This is one of three interlinked PhD studentships that, in collaboration with three organisations in different sectors — a scientific site (UNESCOâ€™s Dyfi Biosphere, Wales), a geovisualisation business (Environment Systems, Wales and Scotland), and a leading cultural producer (The Arts Catalyst, London) — explore the production and audience engagement of art/science projects.

The â€œNew Visual Economiesâ€ Studentship will explore the creation and experience of immersive, engaging visualisations that communicate the nature of landscapes to a diverse array of audiences, including state agencies, creative industry businesses and the lay public. Analysing the place of aesthetics in developing the geographical imaginary of these visualisations, research will explore how high-fidelity, high-resolution, data-driven, 3-D scientific visualizations are developed by artists, computer specialists and earth scientists working collaboratively. Research questions can include:

What recent developments in creative geovisualization software have taken place, and how have these been applied to visualisations of people, place and landscapes?
How, where and in what form have past and present art/GIS collaborative ventures emerged?
How do audiences respond, conceptually but also viscerally, to such geovisualisations?

The studentship will be animated by ethnographic work, as well as by practice-based research during which the student will create, explore and work with a prototype landscape geovisualisation. Following an investigation of the aesthetic dimensions of geo-visualisation, as well as art/GIS collaborations specifically, the project will focus on ethnographic analysis and participant observation of three selected, current art/GIS projects. This will be supported by in-depth interviews with key participants, as well as academic and industry experts within the emerging field of â€˜creative GIS.â€™

The awards are funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the studentship pays post-graduate fees and an annual maintenance grant.Please note that the usual AHRC eligibility rules apply to these studentships. UK residency is normally required. EU citizens may also be eligible for fees-only awards. Further details on basic eligibility requirements are available from the AHRC web-site see:

http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Documents/GuidetoStudentFunding.pdf

Further enquiries can be sent to the lead supervisor: Deborah Dixon: dxd@aber.ac.uk

Applications should be made by following the link:Â http://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/scienceengineering/graduateschool/prospectivestudents/essentialinformation/

NEW LIFE CANCUN Call for Proposals

July 7, 2010newsActivists, Artistic Experimentation, Climate Change Summit, Climate Disasters, Co2 Emissions, Copenhagen, Fundraising Efforts, Hospitality Project, Hurricanes, Low Budget, New Ways, Platform Artists, Production Budget, Public Spaces, Research Questions, Social Architecture, Test Field, Tourism Sector, Travel Accommodation, Wooloo

Call for Proposals

Artists working with interventions, activism and other participatory practices are invited to apply for participation in NEW LIFE CANCUN. This experimental hospitality project will take place during the UN Climate Change summit (COP 16) in CancÃºn, Mexico from 29 Nov – 10 Dec 2010.

In continuation of Wooloo’s NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN festival – in which we secured housing for more than 3.000 activists coming to the Copenhagen summit – NEW LIFE CANCUN is aiming to connect visiting activists and NGO employees with local families in the area of CancÃºn, infamous for its vulnerability to climate disasters (mainly hurricanes), as well as for the high-CO2 emissions associated with its tourism sector.

Utilising this meeting of hosts and guests in Cancun as our exhibition platform, artists and activists are invited to explore its social architecture and suggest work proposals of an awareness, educational and/or practical-action nature designed around the topic: â€œNEW WAYS OF LIVING TOGETHERâ€.

Up to five artists will be selected for participation and will get all travel, accommodation and production costs covered by Wooloo. Proposals must include a detailed budget. As fundraising efforts are still ongoing, we do not yet know the size of our final production budget. However, it wont be large – so please be aware that your project must be able to be realized in a low-budget manner!

The deadline for work proposals is Thu 1 August 2010.

Please direct all research questions to contact[at]wooloo.org

NEW LIFE is an ongoing series of works focusing on social and artistic experimentation. Staged by Wooloo and taking place in institutions and public spaces worldwide, NEW LIFE aims to be a test field for new ways of living together on our planet.

NEW LIFE CANCUN is a collaboration between Wooloo.org and the Mexican climate change collective Carbonding.

via ==criticalnetwork== NEW LIFE CANCUN.

WOOLOO.ORG – NEW LIFE CANCÃšN

April 26, 2010newsActivism, Activists, Climate Change Summit, Climate Disasters, Co2 Emissions, Continuation, Copenhagen, Fundraising Efforts, Hurricanes, Image Credit, Interventions, Low Budget, New Ways, Ngo, Platform Artists, Production Budget, Research Questions, Social Architecture, Tourism Sector, Wooloo

Artists working with interventions, activism and other participatory practices are invited to apply for participation in NEW LIFE CANCUN.

This experimental hospitality initiative intends to promote and facilitate participation during the UN Climate Change summit (COP 16) in CancÃºn, Mexico at the end of 2010 (Nov. 29th â€“ Dec. 10th).

In continuation of Wooloo’sÂ NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN festival – in which we secured housing for more than 3.000 activists during the Copenhagen summit – NEW LIFE CANCUN is aiming to connect visiting activists and NGO employees with local families in the area of CancÃºn.An area infamous for its vulnerability to climate disasters (mainly hurricanes), as well as for the high-CO2 emissions associated with its tourism sector.

Utilizing this meeting of hosts and guests in Cancun as our exhibition platform, artists and activists are invited to explore its social architecture and suggest work proposals of an awareness, educational and/or practical-action nature designed around the topic: â€œNEW WAYS OF LIVING TOGETHERâ€.

The deadline for work proposals is JULY 1st, 2010.

Please direct all research questions toÂ contact@wooloo.org

Proposals must include a detailed budget. As fundraising efforts are still ongoing, we do not yet know the size of our final production budget. However, it wont be large – so please be aware that your project must be able to be realized in a low-budget manner!

NEW LIFE CANCUN is a collaboration between Wooloo.org and the Mexican climate change collectiveÂ Carbonding

Image credit:Â Stephanie Claverie

via WOOLOO.ORG – NEW LIFE CANCÃšN.