"How to survive the (violent) degradation of everyday and future environments", by Teresa Sanz

Our researcher Teresa Sanz will be giving the seminar "How to survive the (violent) degradation of everyday and future environments: The role of art activism in responding to environmental conflicts" at the Queen Mary University of London.

Title: "How to survive the (violent) degradation of everyday and future environments: The role of art activism in responding to environmental conflicts"

Speaker: Teresa Sanz, ICTA-UAB researcher
 

Date:: Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM London (5PM Spain)
Where: Bancroft: 1.01 , Mile End campus. Queen Mary University of London
 

The need for materials and energy for the growth of the current economic system creates ecological distribution conflicts worldwide, a term used since 1995 to describe social conflicts borned from unfair access to natural resources and the unjust burdens of pollution. Communities resisting mines, fossil fuels, industries, forest plantations, etc. complain not only about environmental impacts but also about the impacts on their traditional economies, their values, their social and spiritual life, and the violence surrounding these projects. In these conflicts, activists use different creative tools (e.g., muralism, concerts, street performances, dances, digital activism) to express their discontent, denouncements, claims, local values, identities, memories, etc. The key topic which will be discussed during this seminar is how cultural and artistic expressions generate specific socio-spatial transformations in different ecological distribution conflicts. My research so far has focused on artistic activism from local communities in an anti-coal movement in Oakland (CA), a sacrifice zone in Chile, and artistic digital activism against environmental violence in the Philippines.