Photos: Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Mikki Stedler and Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca, day programme Studio Encounters on Water #2, 23 April 2024: Perdu (Photo Simon Pillaud); Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca, day programme Studio Encounters on Water #2, 23 April 2024: Perdu (Photo Simon Pillaud).
Climate Imaginaries at Sea (2023-25) is a two-year project led by three research groups of three universities of the arts & applied sciences in Amsterdam: LAPS/The City at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy (GRA), led by Patricia de Vries, the ATD Lectorate at the Amsterdam University of the Arts (AHK), led by Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca and the Visual Methodologies Collective at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), led by Sabine Niederer.
From the website of Rietveld Sandberg Research:
"The Climate Imaginaries at Sea festival took place from 19 April to 25 April 2024 in Amsterdam. An event for artistic and participatory research practices that speculate on possible futures in and around water. It was an exciting week with two exhibitions, an open studio day programme, the launch of the second issue of the Making Waves zine, a closing concert and more. In this article we look back on the festival and on the first year of the three artistic research studios of Climate Imaginaries at Sea.
A year ago, we launched the artistic research studios of Climate Imaginaries at Sea, an initiative foregrounding artistic inquiry into sea-level rise. Three distinct artistic research studios were formed, each dedicated to a critical perspective on rising sea levels—perspectives we considered warranting more attention and consideration.
At the Amsterdam University of the Arts, Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca and her team have established a studio exploring Global South and Indigenous perspectives. Sabine Niederer and the Visual Methodologies Collective initiated a studio for Interspecies Inquiry at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. At the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Patricia de Vries and her research group on Art and Spatial Praxis started a studio focusing on Material Research.
Joy Brandsma, Dorothy Blokland, Müge Yilmaz, Carlo De Gaetano, Femke Dekker, Kim Spierenburg, Amanda Piña, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Mikki Stelder, Anne Dessing, and Janine Armin are among the artistic researchers who explore these perspectives as part of the studios. Over the past year, they’ve worked with students from different schools and departments, gone on field trips, deep-dived into archives, exchanged their practices across studios, and presented their (ongoing) work in public presentations."
