Natura Naturans – tables rondes et ateliers – Washington

Natura Naturans is a multiple day event combining a series of talks and workshops that will take place from September 13 to November 23, 2019. Scientists, anthropologists, lawyers, artists and activists will discuss various aspects of the Earth’s transformation during the Anthropocene, i.e. the current geological age, during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.

From natura naturata (i.e., “nature natured” – nature as a passive matter) to natura naturans (i.e., “nature naturing” – nature as self-generating matter), the concept of “nature” has oscillated throughout the course of human history. This oscillation has accompanied the development of technologies thatquestion the concept of creation itself. The Anthropocene de nes an epoch dating from the begin- ning of the large-scale impact of human activities on the Earth’s ecosystems. Since the industrial era, the environment has been particularly impacted, transformed with the considerable accumula- tion of human artifacts. The ecological crisis reminds us of the contingency and the danger of large- scale transformations: if humans have been able to shape the world, that transformation, in turn, impacts our future. Despite various attempts to ignore climate change, we are now experiencing its consequences. As artists, scientists, and activists (inhabitants of Earth), our increased awareness of this phenomenon should encourage a rapid response that affords nature greater rights.

Curated by Tropism tropisme.co

A collaboration with the Washington Project of the Arts wpadc.org

In partnership with the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences (CPNAS) nasonline.org/programs/cultural-programs/

NATURE / CULTURE

DIFFERENT STATUSES FOR NATURE | SEPTEMBER 13-14

Talk | Friday, September 13, 7:30 – 9pm | WPA Ben Price – Nature, Property, and Legal Rights

Workshop | Saturday, September 14, 2 – 3pm | WPA
Raina Martens – Haunted Ground: Slavery, Trash, Soil, and the Logics of Ecological Destruction

SYMBIOSIS / REVERSIBILITY | SEPTEMBER 27-28

Talk | Friday, September 27, 7:30 – 9pm | WPA
Ana Sosa – Microbial communities and micro-plastic particles interaction in the Chesapeake Bay’s ecosystem

Workshop | Sunday, September 29, 11:00am – 4:30pm | Mallows Bay Atlantic Kayak Company – The Ghost Ships of Mallows Bay

VISIBLE / INVISIBLE POLLUTION

HUMAN SOUND POLLUTION / SILENT DISAPPEARANCE | OCTOBER 11-12

Talk | Friday, October 11, 7:30 – 9pm | WPA
Gordon Hempton – Soundscape: silent place and diversity

Workshop | Saturday, October 12, 2 – 3:30pm | WPA CA Conrad – (Soma)tic Poetry Rituals

MICRO / MACRO POLLUTION | OCTOBER 25-26

Talk | Friday, October 25, 7:30 – 9pm | WPA
Alicia Cate, Steven Mirmina and Kimberly Warner – Tragedy of the Commons: Ocean Plastics and Space Junk

Workshop | Saturday, October 26, 2 – 4pm | Anacostia river Anacostia Riverkeeper – Plastics in our Local Waterways

TO CREATE / TO TRANSFORM

GMOs | NOVEMBER 8-9

Talk | Friday, November 8, 7:30 – 9pm | WPA
Glenn Davis Stone – GMOs: history, perspectives, ethics

Workshop | Saturday, November 9, 2 – 3:30pm |George Washington University
Arnaud Martin – CRISPR Genome Editing and Butter y Genomics research at George WashingtonUniversity

REALITY / FICTION | NOVEMBER 22-23

Talk | Friday, November 22, 7:30 – 9pm | WPA
Kevin B. Marvel – Luminous artifacts in the Universe: Reality or Fiction

Workshop | Saturday, November 23, 2 – 3:30pm | National Academy of Sciences Gregory Mack and CPNAS – Re-representing the Celestial

NATURA NATURANS – Tropism
13 septembre – 23 novembre 2019
Washington Project of the Arts, 2124 8th St NW
Pour plus d’information : Washington Project of the Arts et Tropism.