From September 16th to 19th 2021, a transdisciplinary group of researchers will engage with earth-beings in the Upper Valais. The excursions will be accompanied by spontaneous reflections and informal conversations on the modes of existence, distribution of the sensible, and political implications of earth-beings.
We will visit four sites: the Lonza mercury pollution area near Raron, the Rhone Glacier above Oberwald, the Grimsel rock laboratory beneath the Juchlistock (BE), and the remote Landschaftspark Binntal.
Wednesday 15th
- individual arrival and check-in (evening)Thursday 16th
- excursion I:Grimsel rock laboratory, guided tour with Heinz Sager
- welcome and common ground
- evening salon & tea time discussion
Friday 17th
- excursion II:walking tour to Rhone glacier
- evening salon & tea time discussion
Saturday 18th
- excursion III:Lonza Mercury pollution area, guided tour with Bernhard Aufdereggen
- excursion IV:
nature and culture in the Landschaftspark Binntal, guided tour with Francesco Walter
- evening salon & tea time discussion
Sunday 19th
- wrap-up and next steps- individual departure
Main objectives
Sharpening the perception and categories of the researchers and questioning neoliberal ecologies. The focus is on embodied experiences and political, scientific and aesthetic reflections.Initiation of a transdisciplinary network of local and international research activists, engaged with the modes of existence of earth-beings.
The 2021 field trip will serve as a prototype for possible research projects, socio-political activities, summer schools, workshops centered around these and other earth-beings.
Research methods and process
- reality lab: meetings with researchers/local activists/communities- practices of artistic research, bodily experiences
- peer-to-peer: participants prepare and choose methods to contribute
- field research, site specific research
- transdisciplinary exchange
- walk and talk, interactions amongst participants
Documentation
The documentation of the field trip (various media such as text, photography, film, audio) will subsequently be recorded and made available in the form of a growing collaborative online resource.This archive will form the basis for the transdisciplinary network, further sub-projects, and public awareness and mobilisation around earth-beings.