What is the importance of the arts for degrowth? 

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This project seeks to connect artists and researchers more explicitly with the field of degrowth 

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The proposal: to create a ManiQuesto”. Inspired by the Modernist manifestos (Marx, Dada, Futurism, etc), the Maniquesto does not dictate what is, and is not, degrowth art. Instead, the Maniquesto poses a series of collectively fielded research questions, reflections, statements highlighting beliefs, paradoxes, and uncertainties about connections between the arts and degrowth.

 

Rather than being dogmatic, the Maniquesto is a reflexive artwork which can be remade as debates and concerns evolve, and will successively take different formats. It could perhaps, be a spoken word piece, or a video, or a collage.

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Would you like to be involved in this discussion? There are several opportunities.

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1. Here: fill out the form below! 
 

2. Join me at the Degrowth/ESEE Conference in Pontevedra, June 18-21, 2024 - the Special Session "Art and Science in Degrowth: A ManiQuesto", conducted in hybrid format, will stimulate debate with presentations from two artists on ecological curation, and arts-based fieldwork, and dialogue with scientists and policymakers involved with the SciArt project at the Joint Research Centre (European Commission). We will hear about the SciArt project at the JRC which invited artists and scientists “to re-imagine the western relation of human and non-human, in an attempt to ensure juridical persona to Nature’s many wonders, be they stardust or DNA.” We will discuss different approaches, share our own practices, and think about the Maniquesto.

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3. There will be a Zoom held after the conference where we discuss the questions and ideas which have arisen with those who were unable to attend. 

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(Un)certain outcomes

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• This creative process will build research and practitioner networks

• We aim to produce "the Maniquesto" (edition 1), a collectively created research agenda and reflection upon linkages between the arts and degrowth.

  • The format of the Manifesto is not yet clear... it will emerge during the process. You will be kept updated on the process and opportunities to participate via social media (Twitter, LinkedIn), and via email. 

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Everybody involved in these discussions will be invited to sign the Maniquesto: a multi-authored work which will be published with the Degrowth Journal.

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If you would like to be involved please fill out the form below. 

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