SEEDS - Means for a sustainable art practice

SEEDS is a project that combines Art with Sustainability. The project’s main goal is to gather artists from around Europe to take part in art residencies where they will share knowledge and acquire new skills in order to create artistic materials and tools developed through sustainable practices.

Next activity:
CYCLE OF CONFERENCES

Free but obligatory registration here

schedule of the conferences

* Important: the link to participate on the conferences has been sent. Please check your inbox (or spam). We will use Zoom. Enjoy!

GUESTS OF HONOR

Linda Weintraub is a curator, educator, artist, and author of several popular books about contemporary art, with a focus on the emergence and proliferation of eco art. She is the author of WHAT’s NEXT? Eco Materialism & Contemporary Art (Intellect Books 2018), To LIFE! Eco Art in Pursuit of a Sustainable Planet” (University of California Press 2012), and Avant-Guardians (Artnow Publications 2007), a series of textlets that include EcoCentric Topics: Pioneering Themes for Eco-Art; Cycle-Logical Art: Recycling Matters for Eco-Art; EnvironMentalities: Twenty-two Approaches to Eco-Art. She is also the author of In the Making: Creative Options for Contemporary Artists and Art on the Edge and Over: Searching for Art’s Meaning in Contemporary Society. She served as the director of the Edith C. Blum Art Institute located on the Bard College campus where she toured many of the fifty exhibitions she curated, and published over twenty catalogues. Weintraub was the Henry Luce Professor of Emerging Arts at Oberlin College; and contributor to the Nomad9 MFA program at the University of Hartford. The title of her forthcoming book is Who Do You Eat? explores the ecological implications of eating. All these publications are designed to make the outposts of vanguard art accessible to broad audiences. Weintraub has applied environmental concerns to her personal life by managing a sustainable homestead where she practiced permaculture. Her own studio practice affirms these principles.

With a degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Évora, she worked as coordinator of the maintenance service of Serralves Park (1995-1999). For 10 years she worked as a designer of exterior spaces.
Since 2010, she is responsible for the Chão das Artes – Botanical Garden, in its restoration, maintenance, enhancement and research, also developing several activities of connection between Art and Science. Since then she researches on the use of plants in plastic arts and explores different techniques, including: making paper from plants, vegetable inks, vegetable dyeing, ecoprint, among others.

Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez, born in Amsterdam and based in Mexico City, is a curator, writer, and researcher working at the intersection of art and ecology. She is the founder of the Green Art Lab Alliance (established in 2012); a network comprising sixty art organizations across Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The mission of the alliance is to foster relationships that contribute to social and environmental justice, akin to the interconnected nature of mycelium. Over the span of more than a decade, she has conducted research throughout (East) Asia, Latin America, and Europe, focusing on artists who propose alternative ways of living and working, ultimately leading to more resilient communities and systems. She worked for organizations such as Julie’s Bicycle (United Kingdom), Asia-Europe Foundation (Singapore), Cape Farewell (United Kingdom), Labverde (Brazil), and TransArtists (Netherlands) and wrote for various international magazines. She founded the Nature Research Department at the Jan van Eyck Academie (Netherlands), the Van Eyck Food Lab (2018), and the Future Materials Bank (2020), an open-source database of sustainable materials for artists. She has been curator-in-residence in various art institutions, including Kunst Haus Wien (Austria, 2017), Capacete (Brazil, 2019–2020), Valley of the Possible (Chile, 2022), Bamboo Curtain Studio (Taiwan, 2015–2016), and colectivo amasijo (Mexico, 2021). She is a self-proclaimed “mycophile,” exploring the application of a mycological lens in defining fair models of collaboration and (self) organization. Her debut book, “Let’s Become Fungal! Mycelium Teachings and the Arts,” sharing 12 teachings of the world of fungi, and is published by Valiz (NL).

ABOUT THE PROJECT

SEEDS – Means for a sustainable art practice

This project will empower 12 participants, from EU sending partners, ensuring diversity, and multiculturalism.

The artistic residencies will include several different workshops and mentorship sessions with mentors and facilitators that will share how to practice sustainable art with techniques that may be used in drawing, painting, printing and sculpture, using materials that are environmentally friendly and do not create waste. These workshops will be followed by periods of free production where artists will experiment to develop their artworks using the skills they have acquired. During the project, the artists will have the opportunity to share their work and artist progress in exhibitions and presentations. In order to create awareness about project thematics participants will actively engage with targeted communities – this way we will insure better dissemination of project outputs and higher communication reach.

This includes the production of different digital output formats, exhibitions and publications.

GOALS

SEEDS aims to support young and emerging artists, raise awareness on
environmental and climate-change challenges and empower them to adopt
greener practices whilst promoting active citizenship through active
learning. A major shift needs to be done and the solution must be local, small-scale brought by active citizens and NGO´s, and involve youth – With this in mind, the consortium has skills, motivation and know-how to develop actions in collaboration with the participating artists that could help exposed targeted groups to tackle the current art practices environmental problems.

Objective 1

To implement holistic solution-driven models, using methodologies like Permaculture and non-formal education to address sustainability in the art world.

Objective 2

To develop knowledge and competences using sustainable tools and materials.

Objective 3

To develop different outputs (digital communication, exhibitions, publications, & website) that can serve as means to develop and disseminate knowledge and competences using sustainable tools and materials .

CONSORTIUM

ASSOCIAÇÃO QUINTA DAS RELVAS (PORTUGAL)

Quinta das Relvas Association – Arts and Sustainability, the project promoter, is based in an eco-farm in the center of Portugal, Aveiro ́s district. The NGO has been working on the fields of art and sustainability since 2016, through Erasmus+ projects, workcamps, workshops and residencies that follow the principles of non-formal education. Up until now the two main areas (Arts & Sustainability) have small intersections and it’s one of the main goals of this project to develop a systematic approach and tools to interconnect these two big fields of action. For one side, The NGO has a big sustainability department that focuses on Permaculture as the main working methodology to manage the venue and all its components and on the other side the art department brings creativity, recognition and human frame to the general equation. The Art department has been focusing on giving opportunities to young artists and valuing their works, through artist residencies, mentoring, exhibitions and art festivals, with a strong social and educational component.

OFICINAS DO CONVENTO – ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL DE ARTE E COMUNICAÇÃO (PORTUGAL)

Oficinas do Convento is a cultural non-profit association that has its headquarters in Convento de S. Francisco in Montemor-o-Novo, that aim to follow the objectives:

• To rescue and restructure the headquarters (Convento S. Francisco), creating material conditions for carrying out research activities, dissemination, training and production in the arts and culture and heritage defense;

• To support and develop of actions that contribute to the development, understanding it as a process of improvement of cultural and material conditions, in close collaboration with local authorities and competent individuals, public or private, domestic or foreign;

• To promotion, support and create artistic and professional training actions, enabling the achievement of the purposes indicated in the preceding paragraphs.

CHORUS (GREECE)

Chorus is a non-profit organization founded to build a bridge between arts, education and society. Its mission is to promote humanitarian principles and values, to trigger public debate and mobilize the public on key social issues, to support the proactiveness of the Civil Society, as well as to foster respect for the rights of each individual through contemporary artistic creation, education and cultural activity in general. All CHORUS members believe that socially active citizens can -and must- shape the future with their words, passion, and attitude towards life.

RURAL CONTEMPORÁNEA (SPAIN)

Rural Contemporánea is an Association founded in 2009 that promotes social innovation and cultural agitation in rural areas. It is located in a territory with a great environmental and cultural heritage that requires management difficulties, and aims to follow the purposes:

• To promote the rural environment as a territory for innovation and socio-cultural development;

• To carry out research and events that transgress the tradition-modernity dialectic.

• To promote active citizenship through cooperation with different civil organizations.

• To promote permaculture.

• To disseminate research work, artistic projects and social projects that are linked to the rural environment and create work networks with people and entities, rural and urban, at a regional, national and international level.

• To revitalize and promote the cultural potential of the local in a global context.

CALL

Phase I – Artistic Residences and Local exhibitions

WHEN AND WHERE?

1 st – 3rd september 2023 at Faculty of Fine-Arts of the University of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal)

4th – 28 th september 2023 at Quinta das Relvas (Albergaria-a-Velha, Portugal)
1 st -28th october 2023 at Oficinas do Convento (Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal)

WHAT?

Throughout two months, participants will be invited to research and develop critical thinking and artistic techniques for a more sustainable art practice within an artistic residence framework.

To start, participants will enroll in a series of conferences held at the Faculty of Fine-Arts of the University of Lisbon. Here, they will meet the project guests of honour – Linda Weintraub (USA), Sónia Francisco (PT) and Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez (NL) – as well as the hosting and partner organizations and a series of presentations by entities and researchers dedicated to this field of action: Arts and Sustainability, in relation.

If you would like to submit a paper you can do it until the 30th of june at https://www.belasartes.ulisboa.pt/seeds-means-for-a-sustainable-art-practice/

Then, two independent residencies will take place: the first will be held at Quinta das Relvas (Albergaria-a-Velha, Portugal) and will focus on drawing and painting materials/techniques; the second will be held at Oficinas do Convento (Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal) and will focus on sculpture and ceramics materials/techniques. ´

At Quinta das Relvas, the project will start with workshops led by Linda Weintraub, Sónia Francisco and Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez, focusing on giving participants the needed skill-set and critical framework to trigger their creative process. Then, the remaining three weeks will be of individual experiment and production (enriched by study visits) that will culminate in a local exhibition at Cineteatro Alba.

The second artistic residence will allow participants to continue their artistic research through different mediums, now at a 3D level. Known by their vast experience on earth-related materials, Oficinas do Convento will lead several workshops focused on these techniques. At the end of the residence, the results will be exhibited at their headquarters (an ancient monastery in Montemor-o-Novo city center).

Phase II – Community engagement activities and Project dissemination

WHEN AND WHERE?

29th February – 6th March 2024 at CHORUS (Eleusis, Greece) + 7th – 18th March 2024 at Rural Contemporànea (Monfero, Spain). During this period participants will travel to Greece and Spain and create community driven actions with the acquired know-how, doing workshops, conferences, and exhibitions. In this period, we will also deliver all material related with the main digital outputs and share it throughout all communication channels (official channels and partners).

Phase III – Final exhibition and other dissemination outputs

WHEN AND WHERE?

May 2024 – Lisbon, Portugal In May 2024, at the Fine-Arts Faculty of the University of Lisbon, all the outcomes of the project will be gathered and presented at a final exhibition*. These expected outcomes are:

– Artistic works (created at Phase I in Quinta das Relvas and Oficinas do Convento);

– A documentary;

– A tool kit;

– A publication;

– Website /platform with educational videos.

*This will be a closing session where participants are not required to attend; nevertheless, online participation will be encouraged.

Next activity:
CYCLE OF CONFERENCES

Free but obligatory registration here

schedule of the conferences

GUESTS OF HONOR

LINDA WEINTRAUB

SÓNIA FRANCISCO

YASMINE OSTENDORF-RODRÍGUEZ

ABOUT THE PROJECT

SEEDS – Means for a sustainable art practice

GOALS

Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

CONSORTIUM

ASSOCIAÇÃO QUINTA DAS RELVAS (PORTUGAL)

OFICINAS DO CONVENTO – ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL DE ARTE E COMUNICAÇÃO (PORTUGAL)

CHORUS (GREECE)

RURAL CONTEMPORÁNEA (SPAIN)

CALL

CONTACTS

Next activity:CYCLE OF CONFERENCES

Free but obligatory registration here

schedule of the conferences

GUESTS OF HONOR

LINDA WEINTRAUB

SÓNIA FRANCISCO

YASMINE OSTENDORF-RODRÍGUEZ

ABOUT THE PROJECT

SEEDS – Means for a sustainable art practice

GOALS

Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

CONSORTIUM

ASSOCIAÇÃO QUINTA DAS RELVAS (PORTUGAL)

OFICINAS DO CONVENTO – ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL DE ARTE E COMUNICAÇÃO (PORTUGAL)

CHORUS (GREECE)

RURAL CONTEMPORÁNEA (SPAIN)

CALL

CONTACTS

Next activity:
CYCLE OF CONFERENCES