ARTIST CALL
Science, Technology and Innovation beyond Growth
The University of Vigo will host the joint conference of the international degrowth research networks and the European Society for Ecological Economics in Pontevedra between June 18th and 21th, 2024.
– 10th International Degrowth Conference: the International Degrowth Conference has been celebrated since 2008 in cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Venice, Leipzig, Budapest, Malmö, Viena, Manchester, The Hague, and Zagreb.
– 15th Conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics: this conference is organized every two years, being the last edition in Pisa, in 2022. The event settles the perfect context for researchers to discuss the ecological, social, economic, and political dimensions of sustainability.
Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain, 18-21 June, 2024
Modern science currently faces a fundamental and paradoxical situation. While an increasing number of scientists question the endless pursuit of economic growth and refute its imaginary, the majority of science, technology and innovation (STI) institutions are transitioning towards a model that increasingly prioritizes and funds applied research to stimulate economic growth and endless Capitalist expansion.
Our conference is asking: “What would Science, Technology and Innovation look like in a world not driven by the endless pursuit of economic growth? What exciting futures would begin to take shape if we harnessed technological and scientific advances for something other than growth alone? What new worlds might we be able to conceive if human wellbeing and the natural environment were the primary focus of innovation?” A society beyond growth must learn how to articulate new imaginaries and redefine the relationship between society and the institutions of science, technology and innovation. Our conference seeks to build new bridges between scholars and artists who explore the ways in which power and politics shape science and technology, and vice versa.
We welcome practice-based reflections and artworks which engage with the goals and messages of degrowth and ecological economics. A full list of topics is found online, see particularly “Track 3.” Your practice might respond, for example, to technologies and the personhood of nature, care, hope, interdependence, more than human perspectives, energy, extractivism or waste.
In an ideal world we would host a Special Session on “Sciart”, exhibit a number of projects during the conference, and promote further transdisciplinary collaborations by creating dialogue between artists and other researchers in our track panels. We would love as many artists as possible to attend. We can offer very limited funding to facilitate this utopia. There are a limited number of places for artists who would not be expected to pay conference fees but would be asked to cover transport and accommodation. If you are hoping to show work, selection will have to depend in part upon the feasibility of doing so.
Please submit expressions of interest to sofiarafaella.greaves@uvigo.gal by 1 November 2023. These should include an abstract up to 500 words summarizing what you would like to present and how it relates to the conference with up to five relevant reference photos and/or links, and an additional paragraph describing any additional technical, temporal, or spatial requirements as appropriate. It is preferable to receive supporting material as URLs. There may be the possibility of funding for limited places and if you require assistance please include your motivation.
More: https://esee-degrowth2024.uvigo.gal/en/the-conference/about-the-conference/
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