Beyond Green: Speculating (G)local Sustainability

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The radical, even dystopian, transformation of the natural habitat, and of the urban and social landscape are an undeniable fact.

Accelerated production and consummation of the 20th century left their mark and today the devastation of the communities and surroundings are undeniable. Numerous attempts to discuss what is to be done have been present already for decades. Equally long, the considerations of what our actual resources are, and who and how has a right to access them, are the burning topic of the public conversation. It is becoming clear that there is no universal solution for addressing the consequences of the previous fifty years. Moreover, searching for one might be harmful to the needed transformation, and for establishing a different, better, and more just surroundings.

Is sustainability possible? If it is, what does this concept mean depending on the local context we wish to apply it to? And who decides if its goals are fulfilled? Can the principles of speculating in this case be applied in a different direction? Not necessarily for imaging the “new” future solutions, but rather for investigating the preceding points in time.

Can the “old” knowledge, skills, and materials, become a part of envisioning novel, mindful models of making, and is this mindfulness even possible?

Especially, if we operate within unified terms, concepts and demands, that in their nature are based on the deeply seeded social inequalities of today’s global and local contexts.

This single day conference will attempt to answer these questions, and to open new ones, all with a goal to recognize and acknowledge the lived reality, and to “dream” of its more just shape for the present that might promise a different future. Through NARRATIVES, COLLABORATIONS and interdisciplinary DIALOGUE the (traditional) crafts, resources and mindful coexistence will be addressed, and finally, cherished

Speakers include: Danielle Kuijten, Imagine IC Holland (The Netherlands); Sara Božanić, Institute for Transmedia Design, (Slovenia); Severin Matusek, co-matter (Germany); Julie De Groot, Track4Craft (Belgium); Jelena Simić, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE) (Serbia); Marijana Janković, fiber/textile artist (Serbia); Sonila Abdalli, Destil Creative Hub (Albania); Simone Rebaudengo, OIO Studio (Italy); Ana Matić, FLU Cetinje (Montenegro); Robert Aleksić, Flux Design Network (Montenegro); Borut Vild, FMK (Serbia); Maja Vardjan, Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) (Slovenia); Zoran Lević, Museum of Science and Technology (Serbia) as well as Marija Đorđević & Ivan Manojlović, Nova Iskra Creative Hub (Serbia)

Programme

09.00 Registration

10.00 Introductory remarks

Ivan Manojlović, Nova Iskra Creative Hub (Serbia) • Maja Vardjan, director of the MAO (Slovenia) • Zoran Lević, director of the Museum of Science and Technology (Serbia)

10.45 KEYNOTE: Danielle Kuijten, Imagine IC, The Netherlands

11.30 Coffee Break

12.00 PARALLEL SESSIONS

I Parallel Session
Crafts: Tradition, Emancipation, and Imagination?
Crafts have a long history of emancipation, of instigating production that impacts the change in societal relations. Today they carry the same potential both as living practices and as heritage, if the ways we approach, stimulate, and keep them is mindful of contemporary needs of communities and of the society. How do we decide to leave some practices behind and build new ones? How do we engage them for the benefit and progress of the society today? How do we build new knowledge, based on the inherited know-how? And, do we?

DISCUSSION: Marija Đorđević, Nova Iskra Creative Hub (Serbia) • Heritage, craft, emancipation • Jelena Simić, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE) (Serbia) • Materials for the new future • Marijana Janković, fiber/textile artist (Serbia) • Contemporary wool

II Parallel Session
Redefining Tradition: Emancipation Through Sustainable Practices
The potentials of known skills and practices can be limitless if joined with new materials, production practices and visions of contemporary relevance. What and how do we make, with which materials and for whom? Is it needed to educate the new generation of prosumers who might cherish the past know-how and be aware of the need for using sustainable materials, processes, and objects? The answer to these questions seems to be affirmative based on the number and diversity of actions directed towards collecting, interpreting, and re-applying of “traditional” ways of making and the local knowledge of materials. If we assume that the political will is needed for introducing radical change, how do we build the needed social pressure?

DISCUSSION: Julie De Groot, Tracks4Crafts (Belgium) • Relevance of craft heritage for contemporary production of objects and relations • Sonila Abdalli, Destil Creative Hub (Albania) • Mediation in crafts and design • Simone Rebaudengo, OIO Studio (Italy) • New design, new craft, new technologies

13.00 Lunch

14.00 KEYNOTE: Severin Matusek, co-matter, Germany

14.45 Coffee Break

15.15 Crafting a Just Future

Have we ever wondered what can be done when almost nothing is possible? When re-use of materials seems to be an imposed limitation instead of a choice, where participation in the larger pool of potential users is limited if not impossible, where stability of living income seems to be a dream land, and potential stigma is lurking behind the corner. How can crafts instigate new waves of emancipation? Or is their potential to do so long gone? And most importantly, can the disparity in understanding of notions of sustainable, circular, green, traditional, craft and conscious consumption between multiple contexts find a true common ground for working together and achieving equity of their final impact?

MODERATOR: Sara Božanić, Institute for Transmedia Design, Slovenia
PANELISTS: Ana Matić, FLU Cetinje (Montenegro) • Robert Aleksić, Flux Design Network (Montenegro) • Borut Vild, FMK (Serbia) • Maja Vardjan, MAO (Slovenia)