Arctic Perspective
18 Jun - 10 Oct 2010
ARCTIC PERSPECTIVE
June 18 – October 10, 2010
PHOENIX Halle
The Arctic Perspective Initiative (API) is a non-profit, international group of individuals and organizations whose goal is to direct attention to the global cultural and ecological significance of the polar regions. These are zones of contemporary geopolitical conflict and at the same time potential spaces for transnational and intercultural cooperation and collaboration. The exhibition Arctic Perspective documents the development of a mobile work and habitation system which can be used for nomadic dwelling, environmental monitoring and media based work “on the land”, away from the established Arctic settlements as well as its connection to traditional knowledge and culture. The exhibition focuses on the notions of architecture, geopolitics, autonomy, technology, and landscape, while featuring other positive, northern initiatives and projects that reflect these notions and values of API.
In view of the effects of climate change, the economic exploitation of untapped reservoirs of energy and natural resources in the polar regions is beginning to seem increasingly feasible. By contrast, the cooperative project Arctic Perspective – Third Culture 2008-2010 emphasizes that the significance of the polar regions is not exclusively economic. Rather, the (inhabited) Arctic and the (uninhabited) Antarctic, as well as the radical cultural and ecological changes taking place at the North and South poles, are central to a critical understanding of the complex planetary system that involves a dynamic relationship between culture, economy, geopolitics, and ecology.
The partner organizations from five different countries – HMKV (Dortmund, Germany), The Arts Catalyst (London, Great Britain), Projekt Atol (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Lorna (Reykjavik, Iceland) und C-TASC (Montréal, Canada) – are working jointly on enhancing public awareness of the cultural and ecological significance of the Arctic. The project aims to bring closer to a wide audience the urgency of the problems emerging in the Arctic with particular clarity: the changing cultural landscape of the region, the potential for new intercultural dialogue, conflicting economic and territorial interests, ecological problems, climate change, and the effects of ecological changes on the life of the Inuit.
With the means of (media) art and interdisciplinary artistic research (“third culture”) the project examines the complex global cultural and ecological interrelations in the Arctic, develops concepts for the construction of sustainable tactical communication systems and infrastructure and sustainable art/science research stations aimed at the furthering of interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue and cooperation. The jointly obtained results will be presented in the framework of European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 as well as the international media-art conference ISEA 2010 RUHR.
June 18 – October 10, 2010
PHOENIX Halle
The Arctic Perspective Initiative (API) is a non-profit, international group of individuals and organizations whose goal is to direct attention to the global cultural and ecological significance of the polar regions. These are zones of contemporary geopolitical conflict and at the same time potential spaces for transnational and intercultural cooperation and collaboration. The exhibition Arctic Perspective documents the development of a mobile work and habitation system which can be used for nomadic dwelling, environmental monitoring and media based work “on the land”, away from the established Arctic settlements as well as its connection to traditional knowledge and culture. The exhibition focuses on the notions of architecture, geopolitics, autonomy, technology, and landscape, while featuring other positive, northern initiatives and projects that reflect these notions and values of API.
In view of the effects of climate change, the economic exploitation of untapped reservoirs of energy and natural resources in the polar regions is beginning to seem increasingly feasible. By contrast, the cooperative project Arctic Perspective – Third Culture 2008-2010 emphasizes that the significance of the polar regions is not exclusively economic. Rather, the (inhabited) Arctic and the (uninhabited) Antarctic, as well as the radical cultural and ecological changes taking place at the North and South poles, are central to a critical understanding of the complex planetary system that involves a dynamic relationship between culture, economy, geopolitics, and ecology.
The partner organizations from five different countries – HMKV (Dortmund, Germany), The Arts Catalyst (London, Great Britain), Projekt Atol (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Lorna (Reykjavik, Iceland) und C-TASC (Montréal, Canada) – are working jointly on enhancing public awareness of the cultural and ecological significance of the Arctic. The project aims to bring closer to a wide audience the urgency of the problems emerging in the Arctic with particular clarity: the changing cultural landscape of the region, the potential for new intercultural dialogue, conflicting economic and territorial interests, ecological problems, climate change, and the effects of ecological changes on the life of the Inuit.
With the means of (media) art and interdisciplinary artistic research (“third culture”) the project examines the complex global cultural and ecological interrelations in the Arctic, develops concepts for the construction of sustainable tactical communication systems and infrastructure and sustainable art/science research stations aimed at the furthering of interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue and cooperation. The jointly obtained results will be presented in the framework of European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 as well as the international media-art conference ISEA 2010 RUHR.