"Contemporary Arts, the Urbanocene and the More than Human World", research unit Practice and Theory in Contemporary Art (PTAC) at the University of Rennes 2, Rennes.

The Anthropocene discussions often focus on the so-called “great acceleration” which underestimates the effective role of urbanization and the geographic, economic, social, cultural and political upheavals accompanying it. Urbanocene, which is widely discussed by scholars Geoffrey West, Massimo Palme, Agnese Salvati and Daniele la Rosa, situates the great acceleration of the late XX Century where it takes place: cities and urbanization.

This workshop aims to discuss the radical strategies employed by contemporary artists in navigating the Urbanocene by metamorphosing urban public spaces into vibrant arenas of introspection, advocacy, and resilience. Can the catalytic potential of these artistic endeavors galvanize urban communities' involvement and nurture a sense of symbiosis within the environment? Through a multifaceted examination of artistic praxes encompassing installations, murals, public art, digital arts, performance and theater, we will analyze the manifold modalities as conduits for discourse on ecological imperatives, heralding advocacies for radical ecology, multispecies coexistence, preservation of biodiversity, and the pursuit of climate justice.

This workshop provides a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and exploration of the transformative power of art within the context of the Urbanocene. Among the themes of focus are:

- urbanocene paradigm and its implications for the urban artscapes
- artistic strategies cultivating ecological consciousness and mobilizing urban communities
- the potentials and shortcomings of art to galvanize collective action toward sustainability and ecological justice
- case studies of transformative artistic interventions in the urban space inspired by new materialism and posthumanism

The workshop languages are French and English.

Submission:
Please send proposals of max 500 words in English or French and a short CV to:
Tijen Tunali tijen.tunaliuniv-rennes2.fr

Deadline: October 18, 2024.