New Project | AFTERLAND

AFTERLAND

→ Art and Science join forces for positive change in the Danube Delta.

A recent revolution in thought brings together two ways of knowing and relating to the world, which have long been considered separate, if not outright opposed: art and science. While the latter provides us with a solid path to understanding the world around us, the contribution of art is to teach us how to care, to imagine a better, more sustainable, more inclusive future, a future we want to build. The AfterLand artistic research project aims to underline the importance of collaboration between these two spheres, focusing on the ecological and social sustainability of the Danube Delta, one of the European spaces most deeply defined by the idea of convergence. Through research, an art exhibition, and a symposium, the project will work to strengthen the dialogue between artistic, scientific, and humanistic disciplines, starting from the premise that transdisciplinary approaches can address complex issues in an integrative manner, necessary and much more difficult to achieve in a paradigm focused on specialization and categorical exclusion.

With an international dimension, the project starts from the Danube Delta to identify ways in which art and science can collaborate to enhance the social and ecological sustainability of deltaic areas worldwide. The aim is not only the conservation and protection of these spaces but also to approach them as nurseries for the consolidation of holistic thinking, where scientists and artists can channel their skills together.

In this spirit, AfterLand will bring together works by international artists who are already specialized in interdisciplinary creation associated with water ecology, in an exhibition opening on June 4th, hosted at Residența9 in Bucharest. For many of them, this project will be their first participation in a cultural project in Romania and their first exposure in the country. Therefore, this project will be a premiere for them, but also for visitors from Bucharest, who will have a unique opportunity to get to know them and see their artistic creations until June 26th.

Coming from Spain, Clara Boj and Diego Diaz use their artistic practice to speak about how new technologies fill urban public spaces, bringing their experience as participants in Mar Menor to the AfterLand project, engaging in interdisciplinary research focused on the Spanish lagoon, a space with unique biodiversity and significant deterioration, sharing many similarities with the Danube Delta. Mark IJzerman is a Dutch artist, winner of the Starts4water grant in 2022, whose practice focuses on the evolution of the planet in this era profoundly marked by human activity. Sébastien Robert (France/Netherlands) travels the world recording sounds threatened by disappearance, whether due to globalization, climate change, or any other human impact. Floriama Cândea, from Romania, proposes works that explore the relationships between species, between natural and artificial - both between humans and nature, and between humans and technologies, speculating about a sustainable future. Robertina Sebjanic comes from Slovenia, being one of the most important European actors in cultural projects related to water ecology. Last but not least, the artistic projects of Ioana Vreme Moser (Romania/Germany) lie at the confluence of socio-economic commentary, electronics, and science, including research on fluidic computers.

The project will also include a small research excursion in the Danube Delta, between June 5th and 8th, during which the project team will visit the laboratories of the National Research and Development Institute in the Danube Delta, in Tulcea, to gain an overview of local research.

In conclusion, a series of European specialists in the structural development of art, science, and technology projects will exchange ideas and practices with the invited artists during a symposium on June 9th, also at Residența9. The roundtable will thus bring together representatives from Quo Artis, an international organization based in Spain dedicated to promoting connections between art, science, technology, and ecology, Artshare - an organization from Portugal dedicated to the development of processes, products, and services that combine artistic practices and technology, and Obsolete Studio, an organization from France dedicated to transdisciplinarity through educational initiatives and interdisciplinary research projects.

The AfterLand project supports the involvement of artists in research projects, as an essential element and powerful means of addressing sensitive issues, providing a platform to stimulate reflection on human behavior and its potential impact on society and the environment. Additionally, the project complements the already rich landscape of artistic and scientific research in Romania, focusing for the first time on water ecology and the space of the Danube Delta.

REAEARCH PARTNERS:
The Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development (DDNI)

CULTURAL PARTNERS:

Rezidenta BRD Scena9 Obsolete Studio ARTSHARE - intelligence, technology, art QuoArtis- Art & Science Foundation

MEDIA PARTNERS: Radio Romania Cultural, IQads, Zile si Nopti, Scena9, The Institute, Revista Golan, Ziarul Metropolis, Mindcraft Stories, Curatorial, Propagarta, Modernism, Empower Artists, Iscoada,Happ.ro, Savantgarde

WITH THE SUPPORT OF: