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Date

Description

Mapping Urban Spaces (Lecture + Workshop)

In times of ecological catastrophes and in increasingly precarious living conditions (social, political, ecological), humans and other living beings try to adapt and orient themselves while asking how living on a damaged planet might be possible in the future. The lecture and workshop are dedicated to introducing participants to mapping (urban) spaces that we inhabit and traverse. In order to carefully engage with specific places and environments, participants think about their own (local) microcosm and its interrelations with the (global) macrocosm. On the one hand, specific places can be investigated in terms of their present, past and future: What is found in places now, e.g. culture/subcultures, biodiversity, local practices, architecture, infrastructure? What was here before humans, e.g. Deep Time geological, archaeological or historical perspectives? Which ecological, cultural, social, political - futures can be imagined for this place?
On the other hand, it will be asked how the constant change of (urban) spaces/specific locations can be perceived, documented or narrated. Possible forms of mapping can include: soundscapes, films, photos, collages, drawings, texts (poems, essays...), edited city maps, mind maps, narrated walks/tram rides, or mixed media formats…
Both lecture and workshop aim at exchanging ideas and experiences about how we engage with the environment. Based on the premise that each participant is an expert in their own lives and their own ways of perceiving and learning, a spectrum of engagement emerges: what approaches can be chosen? How does the creative process take shape? Does the choice of artistic approach change how we construct meaningful relationships to our environments? Does our perception change through creative engagement? This allows for making visible creative relationships to the environment and to think about how we relate and adjust to the increasingly endangered world.