What now is proved was once only imagined.—William Blake

Workshop

Sustainability, Imagination and Aesthetics—An interdisciplinary workshop

Guildford, University of Surrey, 26-27 June 2024

. . .

How should literature, art, film and other creative media respond to the growing environmental crisis? How can they best assist the dual project of mitigating the threats we face and fashioning a more sustainable future? The poet William Blake proposes that before we can build such a future we must first imagine it. What is the nature and role of imagination and creativity in this context? What new imaginings do we need to inspire individuals, businesses and governments to take meaningful action against climate change and other environmental challenges? What work can be done in this regard by established artistic forms and literary genres, and where is there perhaps a need to develop more radically innovative, experimental forms and genres? And what lessons and potential strategies for communicating and promoting sustainability do creative engagements with this theme offer those working in other sectors such as education, conservation, heritage, science and technology? Can the arts and creative practices create democratic spaces for imagining sustainable futures and diversifying mainstream visions?

The 1½ day interdisciplinary workshop Sustainability, Imagination and Aesthetics (26-27 June 2024) will explore these issues, bringing together scholars, literary and artistic practitioners, filmmakers, activists and others so as to share insights and innovations and develop a pluralistic understanding of how literature, art and the creative sector more broadly might best speak to the environmental emergency.

Registration

The workshop is free to attend; however, in-person places are limited. If you’re interested in attending, please email us at a.loukianov@surrey.ac.uk.

Agenda

Wed 26 June

2.00–3.30 pm | Session 1

• Introductory Remarks
  Anastasia Loukianov and Carl Thompson (University of Surrey, UK) 
• Radicalizing Aesthetics of Complexity with Iridescence
  Sacha Kagan (University of Hildesheim and Leuphana University, Germany)
• Aesthetic Choice and Value Change in Sustainability Transformations
  Sanna Lehtinen (Aalto University and University of Helsinki, Finland)

3.30–4.00 pm | Refreshments

4.00–5.30 pm | Session 2 – On Placemaking

• Making Sense through Stories: Participatory Narratives as a Pathway to Local Resilience [VIRTUAL]
  James T. Jones (University of Waterloo, Canada)
• Jerusalem among the Satanic Mills: Re-Enchanting Built Environments through Oral Storytelling
  Jon Mason (University of Brighton, UK)
• The Environmental Illusionists
  Chris Medland (University of Surrey, UK)

5.30–6.30 pm | Drinks reception

6.30–8.30 pm | Dinner at the Lakeside Restaurant

Thurs 27 June

9.00–10.30 am – Session 3 – Education and Policy

• Sustainability, Teaching and Hope: Integrating the Arts and Performance in Higher Education and Business Schools to Imagine and Explore Sustainable Futures
  Mary Ann Kernan (City, University of London, UK)
• Imagining Lasting Sustainability: An Educational Programme
  Tiziana Tamborrini (GAIALUX, Luxembourg)
• Using Art to Understand and Visualise Environments for Optimal Experience
  Megan Cumming (Swansea University, UK)
• Dancing Across Differences: Exploring Interdisciplinarity through Creative Methods
  Rebecca Edgerley (University of Exeter, UK)

10.30–11.00 am | Refreshments

11.00–11.50 am | Session 4 – Artists and Activists I

• Choreographing for Sustainability
  Hannah Woodliffe and Tilly Maginnis (H and T Creative, UK) 
• Everything You Wanted to Know About Solarpunk But Were Too Afraid to Ask [VIRTUAL]
  Alex Holland (SolarPunk Stories, UK)

11.50–12.00 | Break

12.00–12.45 pm | Session 5 – Artists and Activists II

• Creating A Better Future Through Artistic and Activist Processes
  Trish Kiy (XR Dorking, Reigate and Redhill, UK)

12.45–1.45 pm | Lunch

1.45–3.15 pm | Session 6

• The Poetics of Making Place
  Mark Sim (Schumacher College, UK)
• Aristophanes Reloaded: The Afterlife of Birds in Comic Book Format and the Question of Eco-Hubris
  Dimitris Asikmakoulas (University of Surrey, UK)
• Gifts from the Sentient Forest: Botanical Imagination and People-Tree Relations in Northern Finland
  John Charles Ryan (Southern Cross University, Australia) and Francis Joy (University of Lapland, Finland)

3.15-3.30p.m. – Refreshments

3.30–5.00 pm | Session 7

• Demon Reckoning: Unmasking Anthropocentrism for a Sustainable Future
  Kethaki Wijesinghe (University of Brighton, UK)
• Biopolymer Aesthetics: Recent Practices in Aotearoa [VIRTUAL]
  Raewyn Martyn (Ilam School of Fine Arts, New Zealand)
• ‘Pure Waste’: Playing, Hacking, and Jamming Production
  Chloe Germaine and Paul Wake (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

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