Re-situating: more-than-human…
… is an interdisciplinary program, bringing together academics, scientists, Indigenous knowledge keepers, artists and the general public to rethink ways to engage with the world of plants and other vegetal life – what we are calling the vegetal more-than-human Other. The program will take place at various locations in Toronto and at the rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge, ON. We have envisioned this program as complementary to and as continuation of the group exhibition “more-than-human” currently on display at Onsite Gallery until May 13th, 2023. The program’s activities and events extends the themes of the exhibition, emphasizing their relevance beyond the arts, and fostering dialogues across disciplines and world views.
Poster of More-than-Human, an exhibition curated by Jane Tingley at Onsite Gallery. For more information about this exhibition, please click here
Exhibition documentation at SLOLab
Concept
From the air we breathe to the food we eat, the natural world supports our survival as a species. However, Western perspectives on nature, fuelled by industrial modernity and the formation of capitalism have promoted extractive and exploitative perspectives that led to social, political, and economic inequalities and injustices. Not only have these views silenced and exploited the natural world, but they have also dismissed, even fought, any approach devoted to advocating for it (Demos, Haraway, Hall, Houle, Meyers). This perspective is reinforced by the prevalent idea that the human body occupies a special space and is separate from its environment, positioning human life above everything else. Recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic have demonstrated without a doubt that the body is very much connected, and in symbiosis with the environment, as all parts of that system are equally important to the well-being of all parts. We must begin to recognize how deeply interconnected we are within a larger more complex system (Haraway, Bennett, Tsing, Houle): this is an urgent and important challenge that requires thinking differently in order to adopt an ethics of inclusion that embraces multiplicity and complexity as a starting point for resituating the human in relation to its environment.
ArtSci Program
Re-situating consists of a series of interdisciplinary initiatives including two roundtables and one Poetry Reading at the Fields Institute, a Forest Bathing walk and a Field trip at rare Charitable Reserve in Cambridge, ON.
On Ethics of Care
Sunday, March 25, 2023, 3:00-5:00 pm
The Fields Institute for Research in mathematical Sciences
An interdisciplinary panel discussion that explores ethics of care embedded materially in the world, practices of sustainability between (non)humans – practices that are speculative, hopeful, and inclusionary.
This is a hybrid event. The event will be in person, on zoom (register to receive a link), and it will be posted on our youtube channel
Grace Grothaus, PhD candidate, York University
Dr. Karine Gagné, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph
Dr. Keiko Yoshioka, Department of Cells and Systems Biology, University of Toronto
see below a recording of our first event
Poetry Night
This event is part of the Leonardo LASER series
Wednesday, April 5, 7:30-9:30 pm
The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences
An immersive poetry performance that involves three poets reading poems and a live projection mapping response created by artist Ilze (Kavi) Briede. This in-depth and unique event will encourage deep listening and embodied experience. This event features poets that are also scientists and philosophers.
Dr. Madhur Anand, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph
Dr. Karen Houle, Activist, Writer, and Independent Scholar
Liz Howard, Department of English, Concordia University
Projection mapping by Ilze Briede (Kavi), PhD student, York University
Here is the recording of the full event
Ecology, Symbiosis, human/plant relations
Friday, April 14 – 5:00-7:00 pm
The Fields Institute of Research in Mathematical Sciences
A panel discussion exploring intersections between scientific and Indigenous perspectives on ecological symbiosis.
Dr. Andrew Trant, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo
Dr. Dolleen Tisawii’Ashii Manning, Anishinaabe Knowledge, Language and Culture, Department of Philosophy, Queens University
Lindsey French, Creative technologies, University of Regina
Full recording of our second event
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