»Metabolic Futures II – The Politics of Smell«

What role does the sense of smell play in our political lives? How does it influence the ways we interact with one another? To what extent is the management of odors connected to the social governance of a place? And is the honeybee a product of contemporary industrial animal farming?

As a result of our metabolism, we use smells – like animals and plants – to communicate and to assess our surroundings. They profoundly shape our lives by triggering emotions and enabling us to build relationships with one another. The loss of the sense of smell, by contrast, often means alienation and isolation from our environment.

In an increasingly heated world, this event explores how smell, politics, and economics are interconnected. Together with artists, musicians, biologists, chemists, and geographers, we will follow Stuttgart’s scent trails and discover new perspectives on the politics of the senses.

With Tini Aliman, Maan Barua, Giovanni Galizia, Matthew Gandy, Felix Heidenreich, José Morbán, Piloya Irene, Hannah Liya & Sophia Sadžakov, Angelo Neira, Silke Sachse, Marie Skeie, Kirsten Traynor, Tamarind Rossetti & Stephen Wright, Yanyan Zhang.