Τwo participatory workshops curated by Vassilis Noulas, Kostas Tzimoulis and Gigi Argyropoulou, organized by Eleusis European Capital of Culture and EIGHT critical institute for arts and politics
Participating artists: Gigi Argyropoulou, Vassilis Noulas, Kostas Tzimoulis, Christina Karagianni, I broke the vase (Eva Matsigkou and Nefeli Sani)
Also participating: Vasso Kanellopoulou (writer, researcher, member of the SITO Network), Lefteris Bitzilekis (biologist, PhD candidate Natural History Museum), Perivolaki organic farm, Dimitris Tachias (agronomist, educator)
Mystery 43: The School of Weeds and Waves : Through interdisciplinary collaborations of scientists and artists from the fields of visual arts, of performing arts and music, the educational approaches of the two workshops “Seeds and Weeds” and “All Islands Make an Archipelago” follow the journeys of the seeds and the rhythms and shapes of the sea, respectively. Exploring poetic as well as political relations of production, growth, parasitism and dormancy, seek to highlight local ecosystems and networks of mutual support, while raising more general questions about critical new practices, methodologies and pedagogies that respond to today’s needs and their extensions in the urban, natural and socio-political field.
The collective artistic work produced by the participants of the two workshops will be presented, in September 2023, as part of the Ecoculture Festival.
Workshops in detail:
Seeds and Weeds | 25 to 28 May 2023
In the first open research workshop theories of biodiversity, symbiosis and interaction are examined and how these are applied to various crop production and farming systems. How can these theories and practices help approach the stakes of coexistence with the corresponding ramifications in the urban and political realm? Monoculture and/or biodiversity are offered as models for critical thinking and creative action. Scientists, cultivators and performing arts artists will participate in the meetings.
All the Islands Make an Archipelago | May 28 to June 1, 2023
The second open research workshop examines, through examples of theories and scientific practices around the Aegean Sea, the creative patterns and formations of island complexes. The workshop aims to investigate the creation of symbiotic structures, local ecosystems, networks of mutual support through the microscale of the human body. Following artistic participatory processes, it is proposed to highlight the importance of the archipelago as a useful model for new practices of symbiosis and human geography. Scientists, musicians and performing arts artists will participate in the meetings.
VASKOS 