Workshop »Vital Currencies«. Derivates of more-than-human encounters

The Cheesecoin Series or How to Rethink Arts Economics
Workshop with INLAND
Location: Herman’s Library

This workshop offers the opportunity for a more in-depth look at INLAND’s understanding of economy and human-animal relations, drawing from the experiences of the Shepherds School and the development of the World Alliance of Nomadic Peoples and Pastoralists. INLAND’s productions, which range from crafts, publications and cheese, are the basis for alternative experimental economies. Here, the ideas concerning INLAND’s currency, the Cheesecoin, can play an important role. We will look together at different types of currencies and social bonds.

Fermentation Station
Microorganic Tastings with Bio Design Lab
Location: Cafeteria

Constant transformation and structural change are not only found in the visible. Even in the microscopic of our food, microbes are at work, converting sugar into acids or carbon dioxide, plant fibres are changing, and entire foodstuffs are being transformed. Regionality and local production have become increasingly central to the development of urban systems; this applies to both design objects and culinary experiences.
Centuries-old techniques such as sourdough, beer brewing or kombucha use microorganisms to produce and preserve food. The domestication of microbes, which nourish our microbiome, has been finding its way back to society in recent years.

Animals That Are Missing
Somatic workshop in the woods by Neda Kovinic
Meeting point: Foyer of the Academy

Have you ever wondered how to be tender and sensitive like a deer? Have you ever considered the stress experienced by a squirrel that jumps convulsively when we walk through the forest? Visual artist and performer Neda Kovinic invites participants from all walks of life—non-dancers and dancers, performers and non-performers—to imagine and participate in a choreography of life in the magical forest surrounding Akademie Schloss Solitude. Through sharing stories of animal encounters, experiencing the texture of moss, and engaging in gentle movements, participants can search for their immanence with unlikely species and dance to the rhythm of their hidden presence.

Spending Time (With Taxidermy)
Presentation by Sara Bédard-Goulet

Recent research focuses increasingly on the topic of nonhumans. Scholars have turned to multispecies entanglements to gather knowledge about the webs within which individuals and communities evolve. Although these works »cultivate the art of attentiveness«, even in the case of »awkward creatures«, engaging with animals through the medium of taxidermy has garnered less attention. Admittedly, taxidermy does not offer the liveliest of encounters with animals. Nevertheless, this presentation examines two cases of staged and sustained human encounters with taxidermized animals in contemporary French literary works through close-text analysis.

Encounters With the Wild
Performative reading by Hemal Naik

Encounters With the Wild is a humble attempt at exploring the art of storytelling through scientist Hemal Naik’s experiences in the field. »When I grew up in India, my grandfather narrated many mythological stories of gods, their mystical powers and animal companions. I started reconnecting with these stories once again when I started outreach programs on animal behavior as a science communicator. I bring with me a bundle of such stories featuring some individuals and their encounters with wild animals.«

Effigy of the Beast
Screening and conversation with Helene Sommer

Effigy of the Beast (2022-) is a film in progress by the artist Helene Sommer that deals with the complex relationship we have with nonhuman animals. Part 1 (4K, 25min, 2023) of this project revolves around a series of conversations with scientists and documentation from field and laboratory work at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany. The film reflects upon how and why knowledge is produced and structured, and the ways in which this affects our relationship with other organisms. The screening will be followed by a conversation between Helene Sommer and Hemal Naik on the art-science collaboration as part of the »Field Trip« residency.

Animals That Are Missing
Deep listening session with Neda Kovinic

As a continuation of her somatic workshop Animals That Are Missing, Neda Kovinic offers a deep listening session, allowing participants to delve deeper into the topics, questions, and experiences from the first part of the series.