Session 1: On ideology and land. Meeting with Marwa Arsanios
One of the purposes of the seminar “Images (of Art) and Political Ecology” is to generate a space to reflect on the possibilities and potencies of building other narratives of art history from the perspective of visual studies and political ecology. The aim is to trace forms of production and distribution that have challenged the logics of an institutionalised artistic practice based on the myths of fossil modernity and the principles of exchange, accumulation and visibility. One of the fundamental strands of this seminar is to think from and with some of recent artistic research that combines the uses of images with knowledges such as ecofeminisms, decolonial ecology or ecomarxism.
For this first session of the seminar we will count on the presence of the artist Marwa Arsanios, with whom we will debate on the basis of her series Who Is Afraid of Ideology? which she began in 2017 and which currently includes four videos. In the first two parts of the series, Arsanios focuses on the forms of self-governance and knowledge production generated around the autonomous Kurdish women’s movement. In the third chapter of the series, under the name Microrresistencias (in Spanish in the original), the artist focuses on the conflicts that, in places like Tolima, Colombia, are taking place between the people settled in the territories and the transnational corporations that control the market of one of the most essential expressions of life: seeds. Finally, in his latest production, which could be seen at the recent documenta 15 under the title A Letter Inside a Letter, Arsanios examines the layers of inheritance, belonging, ownership and value sedimented on the territory, emphasising the effects of neoliberal policies on its status of visibility and invisibility.
Those wishing to attend the seminar, that will take place at the Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales del CSIC (c/ Albasanz, 26, Madrid, room to be determined), should indicate their interest by filling in this contact form until 15 January 2023, in order to facilitate access to the films.
Marwa Arsanios is currently based between Berlin and Beirut. Arsanios is an artist, filmmaker and researcher who reconsiders post-war politics from a contemporary perspective, with a particular focus on gender relations, spatial practices and struggles over territory. Her gaze is directed towards histories of resistance that resonate in the present. Arsanios’ research is often collaborative in approach and unfolds in the interstices of different disciplines. She is co-founder of the 98weeks Research Project.
Date: Thursday 26 January.
Time: 10:00 to 13:00.
The session will be conducted by Aurora Fernández Polanco, Pablo Martínez and Jaime Vindel.
This seminar is in collaboration with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and ARTEA.
