Avsnitt
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What would change things is love. … We ask people to act, to change, to make sacrifices, or what may be perceived as sacrifices, which in the end can turn out to be incredible things as we open up a world we didn't consider possible for ourselves; it was always love that got people to take those steps and those decisions.
Born and raised in the occupied unceded sovereign territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and səlil̓wətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples on the wild West coast of colonial Canada Beth Carruthers is an artist and researcher whose work and practice focuses on how aesthetic engagements, and especially arts and design based praxis, can seed and nurture transformative change in socio-cultural systems leading toward a sustainably flourishing future for all life.
My first conversation with Beth was in October 2019, e05 carruthers – art that informs, forms and transforms so I wanted to reconnect with Beth some 5 years later to get an update on what this amazing creative mind is up to.
She told me many new things, for example, about her origins:
I come from a family of Highland Scots who were driven off their land and shipped to Canada to be placeholders for the empire about five or six generations ago. For some reason the Scots, Irish and Celtic peoples have managed, despite the church and all kinds of other occupations, to hang on to a kind of animist understanding of being in the world and an understanding of the world as a living sentient place. That's not what school tells you and that's not the narrative of modernism in the West.At one point Beth referred to this poem, A Walk, by Rainer Maria Rilke, from his Uncollected Poems, which opens Beth’s book chapter in the book Call and Response: Deep Aesthetics and the Heart of the World (2013). Beth asked that it be mentioned in the episode notes:
‘Already my gaze is on the hill, that sunlit one,
up ahead on the path I’ve scarcely started.
In the same way, what we couldn’t grasp grasps us:
blazingly visible, there in the distance –
and changes us, even if we don’t reach it,
into what we, scarcely sensing it, already are;
a gesture signals, answering our gesture…
But we feel only the opposing wind.’
Beth recommended the following reading and viewing materials:
At Work in the Ruins: Finding Our Place in the Time of Science, Climate Change, Pandemics and All the Other Emergencies by Dougald HineThe world is not a problem: a conversation between Dougald Hine and Iain McGilchrist*
END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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One of the roles that artists play within the poly crisis is supporting us through processes of unnumbing. Sometimes we might describe it like a re-tuning of our senses through listening. All of that is about undermining the ways that we are taught to master ourselves, to not show emotions, to disconnect our heads from our bodies so that we work more efficiently within the capitalist paradigm.
I first met Kimberly Skye Richards, also known as Kim Richards, while doing a conscient podcast soundwalk on November 1, 2021 in Trout Lake Park in Vancouver.
I invite you to listen to e76 kim richards – seeding a green new theatre in canada, where we talk about the role of theatre in the climate emergency and in particular ‘what kind of plays that already exist in Canadian theatre history about environmental issues’. This intrigued me then, and still does today. We tend to have short memories and yet art has a very. long. tail.
I got to know and appreciate Kim when we were both members of the Mission Circle of SCALE, the Sectoral Climate Arts Leadership for the Emergency. We also have regular exchanges about education and learning such as the Facing Human Wrongs course which we took together as a cohort of artists in 2022.
One of the many important teachings within Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures’ (GTDF) work is learning from what is currently dying and applying them so that we don't just continuously repeat these mistakes. … Being open and talking about what isn't working or what traps we're falling into is so instructive. We can also learn a lot from listening to our friends and colleagues tell us their stories.During our second conscient conversation we focused on climate arts education and the recent launching of the Department of Utopian Arts and Letters, of which Kim is the librarian. It's a series of free courses and lots of fun.
We also talked about the importance of self care for activist and artists and how the arts contribute to healing and resilience:
One of the most important roles for the arts in climate work for me right now is creating the time to develop, maintain or begin somatic, movement, sound or writing practices.At the end of the episode I practiced saying ‘thank you to my guest’ with a gentle up-tone of emotional gratitude, like New York Times journalists do on The Daily podcast:
Well, Kim, thank you very much.I’m still working on it…
Kim’s reading suggestions are worlds ending and engaging multispecies experiences:
Flightways : life and loss at the edge of extinction by Tom Van DoorenUndrowned : black feminist lessons from marine mammals by Alexis Pauline GumbsI want a better catastrophe by Andrew Boyd*
END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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(Note: some quotes below have been edited for concision)
Soundwalking is always like magic. It is a magical experience. It is so simple, Hildi, as you said, and it’s as much about listening to sounds or listening to absences of sound. It's not very typical in our lives. We don't live the kinds of lives that require this kind of presence. And so it’s restorative for me and calms my spirit. But also it's such a reminder each and every time I do a soundwalk of the power of just simply listening and opening up that register with all of its span from appreciation to analytics, to criticality and to spirituality. (Milena Droumeva)This is part 2 of a conversation with colleagues and friends from the Sonic Research Group at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. This time with Milena Droumeva, Hildegard Westerkamp, Barry Truax, Jacek Smolicki, Freya Zinovieff and myself.
If you might have heard in part 1, e157, the Sonic Research Group is a bi-monthly zoom gathering of acoustic ecology researchers, activists and artists from around the world about sound studies and our shared passion for listening.
This second conversation was on recorded on April 30, 2024 and flows freely on a range of issues, for example, Milena Droumeva talked about stages of life:
I think stage of life is really important. If you're a young person who has to find a place in the world, or if you're a parent of young children or you're aging or entering a kind of middle age, you have to think about the futures of kids but there's work to do at every stage.We also talked about sound and artificial intelligence and I'm sure we’ll revisit this one. In fact, how do you even know that I’m human? This could easily be a synthetic voice, right? Jacek, help us...
What differentiates us from machines is historical consciousness. Algorithms are operating using biased and skewed data without considering the context within which this data has emerged. Our role as educators is to be reminders of historical context that this whole machinery is digesting and using it to produce futures comes from..Education in sound and listening was a throughline in our conversation as Barry Truax observed:
I'm still cautiously optimistic that we could still use those same techniques that we've used in the past to create a more creative, analytical and critical listener.We shared our common interest and passion for soundwalking. Hildegard Westerkamp noted that :
A group can become a community even though we don't know each other, which creates an atmosphere of willingness to be open and grounded inside ourselves. We can get to that energetic place because we've slowed down.You can hear more about soundwalking in e22 westerkamp – slowing down through listening, e78 milena droumeva – art needs to get on the street and e113 soundwalk (part 1) - what is my position in listening ? and e113 soundwalk (part 2) - how can we deepen our listening?
We also talked about current affairs such as the encampment at the University of British Columbia that day about the war in Gaza and calls for disinvestment. Freya Zinonieff told us a fascinating story (which you’ll hear at the end of the story made me laugh)
A music teacher at Columbia University was teaching John Cage’s 4’.33’’ and made a big fuss about how they couldn't teach that class because there was a loud protest outside the classroom and all she could hear was ‘from the river to the sea’. She said, okay, this just means we can't teach this now because it’s ruining 4’.33’’. We have to continue reminding ourselves and others that listening is a project and we need to learn together how to listen to what is actually there.We also discussed the sound of air conditioning systems in urban spaces as a symptom of climate change, the media practices of Neo-Nazi groups and more. Enjoy.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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How can we remind ourselves that we're all creative and we're all artists? I think that we need all parts of ourselves to be able to navigate this transition that we're in as a species and as a part of the world.
I first met Louise Adongo at the Transition Innovation Group (see e163). We spoke on Monday April 22, 2024, earth day.
Louise is a bold and grounded leader in systems change, policy and evaluation who is a founder of Caprivian Strip Inc (CSI) and a co-steward with the Transition Bridges Project.
Louise's work brings care and intention to uncovering the roots of tangled problems; enabling shifts to greater resilience, sustainability and impact. I’ve heard her talk about it many times and noticed that there is often an arts component in her work. For example:
There are artists in communities and creativity is really important in a context where you're trying to inspire imagination and do strength-based and asset-based work in contexts that maybe people do not naturally see and think of things that way. I've always understood that creatives and artists have a way of drawing out of us more than what we even understand about ourselves on a surface level.Louise believes that co-creating more nimble, transparent and creative institutional spaces is key to the reinvention that we all need.
I agree. A key part of this is knowing how to slow down. I appreciate Louise’s take on this:
My perspective on what slowing down means is that we really need to think more deeply before we take the actions, which is different than let's slow down and not take any actions at all. And so the system mediation feeds my action orientation because it's willing to actually step in and say the hard thing to people that need to understand their readiness to hear the hard thing. So it's not waiting to say the hard thing until people are ready to hear it. It's almost saying the hard thing to determine how ready people are.We also discussed how to invite people to get further involved.
It’s less about wanting to convert or convince people to respond to the reality of our state than figuring out how to create invitations for people to come to it for themselves.Consider yourself invited.
Louise recommended Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by poet and scholar Camille T. Dungy, The Creator film and suggested that we spend time outside.
Links that Louise mentioned in the episode include:
Berkana LoopPanarchy LoopWe Will Dance with Mountains, notably the work of Cara Judea Alhadeff*
END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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Community arts became my initial quest in the 1980’s as a reaction against the commercial art world. How can art participate in a functional way to connect not just art educated people, but our overall communities on issues affecting them that have meaning and purpose. Can we just speak about these issues or can we actually have it be transformative in some way to actually lead to some kind of social or policy change within the community by bringing people together and getting them working together.
Felicia Young is the founder and executive director of Earth Celebrations, a non-profit organization engaging communities to effect ecological and social change through the arts.
Felicia has developed a methodology utilizing the arts and the theatrical pageant art form, along with civic engagement and activism.
She’s a 3rd generation New Yorker, with deep roots in the City of New York, as well as much inspiration from the festivals, ceremonies, and mythic dramas from her mother’s native land of India.
I’ve never met Felicia in person but I know about her work through social media such as the YouTube video Celebrations Director Felicia Young - 30 Years of Cultural Organizing for Ecological Change.
In particular I was moved by Felicia’s response to a question I ask all of my guests about how to prepare for the end of the world as we know it :
I don't just see it as doom and gloom because I have been directly involved in 30 years of local people who've just moved forward with implementing these solutions without waiting for the government … My involvement has always been at the grassroots level. And on that, I'm encouraged, but where I'm afraid is the overall political system where we see our elected officials owned by the industries that are doing all of the polluting and controlling the bigger picture, but are we just going to be paralyzed because they're doing the wrong thing and not go ahead with what we know is right?This is the first in a series of conversations about community engaged arts, their contribution to society. My second all be e173 with Kelly McInnes.
Felicia suggested the following reading and listening materials :
Center for Artistic Activism resourcesWilliam Cleveland’s podcast on community engagement and the artseco art space publicationsArtists and Climate Change facebook page*
END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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The garden doesn't have to be something that's instrumental. It can be just a place where you sit, where you're thinking of growing something, you know, where the sun shines and where photosynthesis takes place and everything is sort of manifested through the sunlight and the water. It's a fantastic thing on its own without actually having to produce a lot of stuff.
Replace 'garden' with 'art'.
Barbara Cuerden is a neighbour in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood of Ottawa, a colleague in ecological art and a family friend.
Barbara completed a Masters degree in ecoliteracy and place-based education in 2010 and is also a professional back-of-the-book indexer among other things.
Overall, her artworks and her way of life, I think, reflect local particularities of place and time
When I asked Barbara to be a guest on the conscient podcast she wrote to me with this thought, that I think you’ll appreciate:
The solution is nature, which is still out there, in the world outside of our heads. We belong to it. A feeling of connection with the air, the light, the green, the animals, that feeling of connection most of us felt naturally as children... That connection can be found again (and again) and like you say, it can be accessible if we allow for it to take hold of us.We talked about many connections and points of contact during our conversation, concluding, not surprisingly, that we would all be well served to pay more attention to local particularities of place and time.
There were some very poignant moments during our exchange, which you’ll hear. For example, when Barbara told me a story about
A little seminar where John K. Grande was speaking. I considered myself an eco-artist until I heard him speak about the meaninglessness of spectacle. Reading his stuff changed my life and thus I became a non-entity.I was struck by this idea of being a non-entity. Barbara’s story reminded me of conscient episode e74 letting go where I talk about ‘the main barrier to my re-education is… ‘me’, and that the solution, simply, is to let it go…’.
So this episode explores the dichotomy between connection and letting go and the tightrope between being present and being a non-entity.
Barbara’s recommended reading is Jenny Odell’s Reading the Rocks in Emergence magazine.
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Note: Links mentioned during the conversation:
Regeneration Hoodoo (click on ‘installation’)Stephen Lewis (Canadian politician)e161 alchemize - a conversation with kamea chayne (special episode about a 40 part course)What can an individual do? (claude’s newsletter posting where Barbara commented about Bill McKibben’s question)Exact wording of quotes in the episode:
Instead of the dying light of Western civilization, why not a swinging hoodoo cloud? - Ishamel ReedDuring the Vietnam War... every respectable artist in this country was against the war. It was like a laser beam. We were all aimed in the same direction. The power of this weapon turns out to be that of a custard pie dropped from a stepladder six feet high. - Kurt VonnegutThe effects of modern-day media have led us to generalize and simplify nature, as we do all things. We read experience in an informational way. - John K. Grande*
END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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What you do as an artist is crucial. Do not abandon that for a desire to serve a kind of utilitarian purpose of ‘I'm gonna make sure people know more’. The faith in knowing more is the siren song of our society that constantly sees us leaping off of the vessel that can carry us through this, with this belief that we can suddenly transform society because we can provide information. Decorating climate policy with the arts is not transformative. What you know how to do as an artist is so fundamentally important.
David Maggs defines his work as an attempt to integrate the core capacities of the arts with larger social challenges, sustainability, health, social justice, community development, etc.
David grew up in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and spent much of his developmental years as a classical pianist. In 2002, he founded Gros Morne Summer Music (now Camber Arts) and continues to be active in cultural production and cultural theory.
My first conversation with David was e30 maggs – art and the world after this recorded during an outdoors COVID era walk on March 25, 2021 in Vancouver. We talked about artistic capacity, sustainability, value propositions, disruption and recovery, including his Art and the World After This paper for Metcalf Foundation.
Since then David has become Metcalf Fellow on Arts and Society, where he nurtures and supports the desire in Canada’s arts sector to both move with, and shape ongoing patterns of transformative societal change.
David and I were co-founders of SCALE along with Anjali Appadurai. Anthony Garoufalis-Auger, Kendra Fanconi, Judi Pearl and Robin Sokoloski in 2021 and have been corresponding ever since, including my March 16, 2024 posting on a calm presence david maggs’ art and the climate crisis.
Our second conversation focused on being and transformation. For example :
My argument is that we are intuiting the ability of art to work at the level of being, to engage with transformative change. But what happens is we live in a culture that is so structured around problem solving at the level of information and knowledge that as soon as we think, OK, yes. course art has something really important to do with this, then, immediately, instead of allowing the arts to pull climate discourse into the realm of being, climate discourse pulls art into the realm of knowing. And it becomes a tool for knowing rather than something that allows us to start to engage with ourselves at the level of being.David also talks about the cultural gap in the climate crisis which he defines as ‘the difference between the imperative of transformation at the level of being and a particular society's capacity to do so. Ours is really low.’
David’s recommended reading is the work of Richard Powers and Don McKay’s Vis à vis.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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Being an artist, or making art, in the context of climate is more about being a kind of light in the darkness, making us believe in ourselves and believe in the future so that we want to endeavor to save the thing that we have, our habitat. Some people like to say art can't change the world, but art can change us. Then we can change the world more effectively.
I first heard about Bill Crandall from his Viaduct Arts project, a newsletter that brings together various ways artists can help carry us up and over the climate crisis. Bill is from Washington DC though he currently lives with his family in Nairobi, Kenya.
As a longtime photographer, his personal long-term projects focus on the human dimension of sweeping historical changes, and take nuanced, poetic, and empathetic looks at topics from gentrification to cultural identity.
I appreciate his one person efforts to empower artists in the climate emergency through Viaduct Arts and so I called Bill up on Zoom and we talked about his climate art activism including his observation that ‘art can help us stay centered in ourselves, be resilient, and have some spiritual grounding that's going help us no matter what comes’.
Bill's recommended book is Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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Proximity proportionate responsibility: if we were to do an inventory of where all the things we own were made, that would give us a very interesting map of where our responsibility, our attention and our donations ought to go because our pressures on the global systems can be revealed. That's a much more reasonable way to interact with different crises than to simply read about it on the news and interact with the whole of it without the context of our footprint.
Jimmy Ung was born in Montreal to a family of refugees from the Cambodian war. He has traveled to over 50 countries and worked for Collège Reine-Marie, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the Parliament of Canada, and the charity WE (Free the Children). He is currently working on a book about Privilege, Power and Social Responsibility.
I first met Jimmy at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO while I was working at Canada Council for the Arts. Jimmy impressed me with his brilliant mind, boundless curiosity and his kind heart. We kept in touch over the years, including my fascination with his motorcycle crossing of the Americas in 2014-15 covering more than 30,000 kilometers.
I interviewed Jimmy in French for balado conscient on April 17, 2021 (see é28 ung - résilience et vulnérabilité) where we talked about resilience and vulnerability.
I was struck by Jimmy’s observation that ‘resilience is the capacity to be vulnerable’ which at the time seemed like a contradiction but now makes sense to me.
During this 2nd conversation, this time in English, some 3 years later, our focus was on privilege, in relation to his upcoming book, including the role that privilege plays in the arts and in relation to both the ecological and humanitarian crisis.
At the end of our conversation, Jimmy quoted Bayo Akomolafe saying ‘our times are urgent, so let us slow down’ and recommended this video: Climate Crisis, Fragmentation and Collective Trauma, with Bayo Akomolafe, Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq & Dr. Gabor Maté as part of The Wisdom of Trauma - Talks on Trauma Series.
I mentioned this link from my ‘a calm presence’ newsletter during the conversation : l'orchestre de paris à montréal.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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I’m wanting something from art, which I think is much deeper, is a re-imagination of what it means to be human. I feel like we've instrumentalized and trivialized art and actually lost its capacity to expand our thesis of how we imagine ourselves and the world around us. I asked that question because the economy that we've created around art may have actually distorted its capacity to disturb us and to challenge our imagination of selves, which I think is probably at the root of the crisis that we face, a much deeper structural challenge of pretty much how we imagine ourselves and how we imagine our relationship with the world and every route. - Indy Johar, March 20, 2024, conscient podcast e163
On March 20, 2024 I had the privilege and pleasure of hosting a conversation on ‘how art can help defeat defeatism’ with colleagues from the Transition Innovation Group, an inclusive and generative space for active consideration of societal transition, co-hosted by Michelle Baldwin and Taryn Lucas with the transformation team at Community Foundation of Canada.
This group of social innovators meets every two weeks on Zoom and is dedicated to collectively reimagining an equitable and integrated view of the infrastructures needed for long-term societal transition for future generations. In other words, making the world a better place.
I’ve been part of the group since its early days and we often speak about the transformative power of art and culture : art as a form of social innovation. So what you’re about to hear is a 50 minute conversation between 20 or so participants from this group.
You might know some of them. Present at this session were (and I hope I've not forgotten anyone) : Abdul Walid Azizi, Arlene Macdonald, Barbara Leckie, Carly Goodman, Cheryll Case, Emily Mercy, Graham Singh, Ian Prinsloo, Indy Johar, Jo Reynolds, Joanne Kviring, Laura Cozzi, Lesley Southwick-Trask, Louise Adongo, Malobi Elueme, Michelle Baldwin, Nishan Chelvachandran, Shannon Litzenberger, Stephen Huddart, Taryn Lucas and myself as facilitator (along with Michelle Baldwin who gave a hand when my computer stopped working for a few moments and I continued on my iphone).
You’ll hear responses to four questions :
Is writer Rebecca Solnit right in saying that ‘fighting defeatism is also climate work’?How can art and culture help those who are ‘frightened by the ecological crisis’?How has art helped you personally overcome difficult moments in your social innovation work and what artworks do you recommend to your peers?How can social innovation projects and institutions better integrate artists and cultural workers in their work?Note: Abdul Walid Azizi's response was inaudible in the recording therefore he wrote a similar statement that I have added as a voiceover in this recording. Thanks to Walid for doing this. I appreciate his point about 'viewing art as both a language of representation and a collective memory of society underlines its importance in strengthening the relationship between the individual and society. However, in our society, which is increasingly dominated by material and monetary values, art seems to be on the verge of being sidelined. Nevertheless, one way to keep the arts alive is by incorporating them into different societal initiatives.'
As you’ll hear many interesting and unresolved issues were raised at this session such as :
The notion of permanency with art and how that relates to defeatism and our sense of time constructs and legacy.How do we rebuild the permission space for deeply philosophical art that challenges the core of our being ? Will we recognize art when it shows up that reframes mindsets and how do we measure success ? Life is art. It changes without breaking and allows us to break open and break in and break through without breaking us.What is it that we expect an artist or artists to do? What is the result of their work? And if they do that, are we willing to pay them?I think there's something really important in this conversation where we move beyond the idea of transaction based payment for art. I don't think art is a transaction and it operates across and beyond transactions to an economy of care and entanglements.I suspect that we’ll have another session on art and social innovation again soon. As usual, I invite comments on any conscient podcast social media or to me [email protected].
Some of the links shared in the chat during the episode include :
Ben Von Wong (artist referred to in this conversation)Bolder, faster, together: Perspectives on societal transition (co-ordinated by the Transition Innovation Group)Catalyst Community Finance (explainer on social finance)e160 shannon litzenberger - a culture of collective thriving (podcast interview)Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Indigenous Futures (featuring Jonathan Dewar, Sofia Locklear, and Jason Lewis Hosted by: Joanna Redden)Mysteries, Yes (a poem by Mary Oliver that was read during the session)REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH, DEMOCRATIZE POWER & SHIFT ECONOMIC CONTROL (an introduction to Resonance 2nd Edition, a Just Transition guide for philanthropic transformation)State of Emergence: Why we need artists right now (an arts policy essay by Shannon Litzenberger)We can’t afford to be climate dommers by Rebecca Solnit*
END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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I think as musicians we have particular concerns that perhaps looking at those through an ecological lens can be helpful. One of them is to think about the structures of funding which allow us to operate and to maybe reconsider them because they might change. And to be open to that change and to find solutions. And those solutions might be that we need to advocate for other kinds of support, if we still want to advocate for support, or to engage in other types of activities to make a living. Maybe that sounds a little bit defeatist, but I am trying to think in a very pragmatic way about what might be helpful and useful to create a greater sense of security and happiness in the future.
Terri Hron’s work explores historical instrumental performance practice and repertoire, field recording, ceramics, movement, video, among other things.
Besides composing and performing works for and with others, Terri, who lives in Montreal, produces performances, gatherings and events.
For example, when she was Executive Director the Canadian New Music Network (CNMN) she implemented a series of groundbreaking programs focusing on equity, pluralism, sustainability and accessibility including a more inclusive understanding of what new music could be. This was always an issue for me when I studied music in Montreal with ‘la musique contemporaine’, which was exciting but I found to be quite restrictive but now the field is opening up and Terri has played an important role in that widening of scope.
As you’ll hear in our conversation that Terri is passionate about the interconnections between music, social, ecological and labour justice and thankfully, is also able to remain calm in the eye of the storm, as she notes during our conversation :
I think the only thing that I can do is to try and live with as much integrity as I can and, and avoid participating in the things that I consider to be the least aligned with my values.At the end of our exchanges you’ll hear Terri recommend some of her favorite publications and artists
The Master and his Emissary by Iain McGilchristThe Age of Insecurity by Astra TaylorThe Flowering Wand by Sophie StrandBrain Forest Quipu by Cecelia VicuñaPhoto credit of cover photo of Terri Hron: Justine Latour
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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This is a special bilingual episode of the conscient podcast recorded on April 8, 2024 during the solar eclipse in Ottawa. The same recording can be found on both the conscious podcast and the conscious podcast. Here is a transcript of what I said.
This is a bonus episode of the conscient podcast.
It's 3.15pm Eastern Standard Time. I'm in Ottawa near the path of totality of the solar eclipse that's going to hit its peak in about 10 minutes.
Un épisode spécial du balado conscient le lundi 8 avril 20024. On est à la veille d'arriver au point culminant de l'éclipse solaire ici à Ottawa, et j'ai pensé l'enregistrer pour vous.
It's April 8th 2024. I am going to record the transition towards the peak at 3.25 pm and beyond to observe acoustically what changes. I would say the light is definitely decreasing and has been doing that for the last 20 minutes or so. But the soundscape, I don't know... Let's listen, I'll stop talking. Let's listen to the sound of the 2024 total solar eclipse in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Bonne écoute.
This is the peak. Voici le moment. (note: at 11 minutes in the recording)
Well that’s it. It’s sonically interesting because right around the peak, the birds started becoming much more active and it was very quiet before then so maybe the lesser amounts of light triggered something in their behavior. That's possible or it could also be random.
Donc il ne s'est pas passé grand-chose. Sauf que la vie était à la fois tranquille comme d'habitude, mais aussi animée avec les oiseaux qui, je ne sais pas trop pourquoi, se sont mis à chanter au moment clé à 3 h 25 de l'après midi lorsque le soleil était caché par la lune. Et de toute façon, c'est un bel exercice de méditation et d'écoute. Ce qui nous entoure, le ronflement, le chant des oiseaux, les sons des voisins. J'ai entendu une ou deux voix dire ‘it’s 2 minutes to’. Mais c’est tranquille et c'est bien parce que c'est un moment de.. Comment dire?
It's a moment of great significance in the planetary cosmology, if you want and it's a moment where we, that we can all share depending on where you live in the world, but we can all be aware of other earth's and its cycles, and there's good things that can come from that.
So this is the end of this episode. I will let it run for another couple of minutes. I thank you for listening and for sharing this soundscape recording of the 2024 solar eclipse from Ottawa on the unceded territory of Algonquin Anishinaabe peoples.
Merci de votre écoute.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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'It's kind of like sacred medicine or sacred plant medicine in a way where it meets you where you are, based on your intentions, on your setting, your relationships and everything. Where that space in between is the most powerful piece and it’s us holding the container and guiding people in certain directions. But then, here's the silence: go run with it and see what comes up for you'. - Kamea Chayne, host of the alchemize program and the Green Dreamer podcast, March 28, 2024, conscient podcast e161
This is a special episode of the conscient podcast about Green Dreamer’s alchemize program, which is a ‘10-week audio-based program of daily creative prompts and imagination practices’.
This episode features 4 of my fellow course participants: singer and music researcher annais linares, bass player and music researcher Ben Finley, climate educator Barbara Leckie, social innovator and educator Michelle Baldwin and myself in conversation with Kamea Chayne, host of the alchemize program and of the Green Dreamer podcast. I also want to mention that a 6th member of our alchemize circle, educator Dorina Husain, was not able to attend this recording on March 28th, 2024.
Our group of 6 alchemize participants met every Saturday morning during the course to discuss what we were experiencing and check in with each other. What you’re about to hear is our exchange with Kamea about our experience with alchemize and how it is, literally, transforming our lives.
Now, admittedly, the alchemize program is not specifically about art and the ecological crisis, as per the mandate of this podcast, however, this series of 40 creative exercises integrates all kinds of artistic and cultural practices - storytelling, drawing, soundscape composition, poetry, and much more - and I consider alchemize as a whole, to be a work of art. A work of art that you can come in and out of. A process that invites the participant, the learner, to both grow, and let go.
This 55 minute exchange concludes the way we did at every Saturday alchemize circle meeting, with a moment of gratitude and an example of what brought us joy on that day.
Please see https://www.greendreamer.com/alchemize for more information on the program. Big thanks to my alchemize circle colleagues, annais, Ben, Barbara, Michelle and Dorina and also warm thanks to Kamea and her team at Green Dreamer for their brilliant, generous and spirited work.
Spoiler alert: if you plan to take the alchemize program and prefer not to hear about some of the exercises then please listen to this episode AFTER you do alchemize. If, however, you want to know more about our experience with the course in order to better understand how it works, then listen to it before doing the program,..
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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We are in a very unstable environment right now. We don't have to be change makers. Change is happening. It is happening quickly and the pace of change is accelerating. So this ‘plan and execute’ way of engaging with the world is less and less relevant. Building this capacity to play and improvise and allow for emergent possibilities to arise is a kind of new leadership capacity that makes more sense in the context of the world as it is in this moment.
This is a follow up conversation with Shannon picking up on our exchange on December 8, 2021 in Tkarón:to, e90 shannon litzenberger – state of emergence : why we need artists right now.
Now let’s fast forward 2 and half years for a second conversation with Shannon this time about the impact of the state of emergency essay and an update on Shannon's latest projects.
You’ll hear that Shannon’s perspectives are decidedly feminist, philosophical and socially conscious and are informed by her roots in Canada’s rural prairies which inspire her connection to land, environment, belonging, identity and place.
When I sat down with Shannon in her home in Tkarón:to we talked about a new essay she is working on, which I’m excited about, on the theme of leadership at the end of the world but the conversation was not all gloom and doom, in spite of it being the end of the world as we know it. Quite au contraire, Shannon is working on developing a concept called ‘culture of collective thriving’ and she’s walking her talk. I know because I took a workshop with her and she’s integrating art practice in everything she does and so her belief in art is inspiring and I think very effective.
I ask my guests for reading recommendations. Shannon suggested Embodied Activism : Engaging the Body to Cultivate Liberation, Justice, and Authentic Connection--A Practical Guide for Transformative Social Change by Rae Johnson and Rest is Resistance : a Manifesto by Tricia Hersey.
Note: I mentioned Shannon’s conversation with Turn Out Radio host Nicole Inica Hamilton during our conversation. Here is the link : http://turnoutradio.com/.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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It's all about balance and moving away from perpetual growth mode. It's about understanding that if you're a tightrope walker, you can't stand still, because the minute you stand still, you fall off. So you have to move forwards, or backwards. There’s no qualitative judgment about whether it's better to move forward or backward. It doesn't matter. You can grow or you can shrink : it's all about balance. If you stay balanced, you'll survive.
A colleague recommended that I invite arts administrator and consultant Jane Marsland to a conscient podcast conversation.
I went to Jane’s website and read about her interest in developing ‘new approaches and methods of working to emphasize agile and adaptive organizational responses that are informed by knowledge of constant environmental changes’. Art and constant environmental changes sounded just right for this podcast.
Janes utilizes a process of working with arts organizations that she has learned through eighteen years of being affiliated with Arts Action Research in New York. Jane believes that each organization has a unique vision, point of view and way of working. The challenge is to learn how to discover, understand and reveal these unique qualities and processes.
I asked Jane about art and ecology and how she advises arts organizations on adaptation to complex issues like climate change. I also asked her about the end of the world (as we know it). I think you’ll be enchanted by her responses.
When I asked what she reading or seeing these days she recommended 6 items:
Climate Change and Other Small Talk, a series of short videos by Sunny DrakeCombining by Nora BatemanDancing at the Edge:Competence, Culture and Organization in the 21st Century by Maureen O’Hara and Graham LeicesterThree Horizons: The Patterning of Hope - 2nd Ed by Bill SharpeTransformative Innovation: A Guide to Practice and Policy for System Transition by Graham LeicesterWho Do We Choose To Be? Facing Reality | Claiming Leadership | Restoring Sanity by Margaret WheatleyTen Things to do in a Conceptual Emergency by Maureen O’Hara and Graham Leicester*
END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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We're not just talking about saving the environment. What we're first and foremost trying to get people to do is care for the environment and you can't care for the environment unless you feel part of it, unless you feel attached to it, unless you can see outside the building and understand we're not living in bubbles. What I mean by bubbles, especially, is that we're not living in an individual bubble, that we have social responsibility, that we make connectivity with other people, building blocks for community, for betterment of, of various kinds.
Robert (Bob) Sirman served as director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts for 8 of my 21 years there. He had a distinguished career in the arts with the Canada Council, Canada’s National Ballet School, the Ontario Arts Council and Ontario’s first Ministry of Culture, among many other contributions.
I wanted to speak with Bob because he has had a notable influence in my life in terms of engaging with art, ways of being in space (architecture, design), systems thinking and long term planning.
So we sat down at his home in Toronto and talked about art and ecology, aesthetics, the role of art in social change, his legacy as an arts leader and what kind of art inspires him (he mentioned photographer Edward Burtinski).
You’ll hear a story about a meeting between our staff green committee and Bob about the Council carbon footprint in 2007. Bob listened carefully and noted that the Council’s largest carbon footprint at the time was its energy inefficient building on Albert street. I was pleased to see that before he left as Director in 2014 that the Council had moved into, and remains, in a Gold, Class A LEED-certified building on Elgin St. in Ottawa.
I want to thank Bob for his many contributions to the arts in Canada and to the arts community. Many seeds were planted during his tenure that have blossomed, or might yet.
There were many highlights for me, including Bob's very last statement about how ‘having the conversation again makes us focus and makes us think and pay attention to the things that we really care about.’.
I appreciate his statement about ‘how it's critical to empower artists to be able to choose freely the passions that they wish to pursue and to develop the skills and have the resources to actually connect with other people.’
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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The most interesting part to me is to discover what we're not listening to and why we are not doing that. I think it's wonderful that I've had the chance to learn this listening from so early on where you're trained to listen to the environment and at that time it was more about listening to the sounds of the environment and critiquing them, analyzing them, trying to understand them. To me that subject has widened hugely and really has to do about listening in general and trying to understand why we are listening to things and why we're not listening to things. And so it becomes a political, social, cultural question on every level and when a society has a crisis, it's often really good to observe what we really don't want to listen to and who we are listening to and how we combine that. And I feel we are in a stage of real crisis right now. And that's why this subject matter has taken on great significance now. - Hildegard Westerkamp, March 5, 2024 conscient podcast e157
This is a special episode of the conscient podcast with 6 colleagues and friends from the Sonic Research Group at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver (this time with Milena Droumeva, Hildegard Westerkamp, Barry Truax, Julie Andreyev, Aaron Liu-Rosenbaum and myself). It's a group of 20 or so acoustic ecology researchers, activists and artists who get together every two weeks to talk about our practices and sound studies, and the things that interest us in and around the field of acoustic ecology and soundscape studies.
I had the privilege of having five of my colleagues join me on a conversation about the theme of this year's podcast season: preparing for the end of the world as we know it (and the ‘as we know it’ part is really important) and creating the conditions for other worlds to emerge. That's the challenge that I've given myself and my guests this season.
I asked the group to think about the following set of questions:
How does ‘preparing for the end of the work (as we know it)’ apply in the context of acoustic ecology? How can our listening practices help us become more resilient in the face of the ecological crisis?How does ‘creating conditions for new worlds’ apply in acoustic ecology? How can listening and sound studies contribute to creating these conditions? What are some of the barriers for acoustic ecology to step up?How do any projects you are working on relate to this theme and how can this work be amplified?Recommended reading and viewing in this episode include Jonathan Glazer's Zone of Interest film and Vanessa Andreotti’s Hopicing Modernity book.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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I think that's what the arts contribute to these discussions. There's the possibility of that kind of emotional or embodied connection to things that, as I think these questions of climate and environment, come closer and closer to people's lives, right? We can think of the wildfire smoke here last summer, people experiencing flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, drought in real time... Through storytelling or sound or visual media, we can really feel that on an embodied level and that is a really powerful starting point.
I first heard about Siobhan Angus through a Carleton University Climate Commons Noon for Now event on January 18, 2024 called Shifting Perceptions: Arts-based Approaches to Climate Justice, that I was unfortunately not able to attend.
I was intrigued by the questions that this session was exploring, including ‘how do the arts contribute to climate justice’ and ‘how can art and artists reshape our perception of the world, helping us to collectively undertake the necessary actions to create a world worth living in?’
Ah… A world worth living in seems like a reasonable goal, doesn’t it. How can something as ephemeral as art help with that?
So… I contacted Siobhan and she kindly agreed to speak with me about her work and some of the issues raised at this session.
Dr. Angus lives here in the unceded territory of the Anishinaabe and Algonquin nations, also known as Ottawa, and is an assistant professor of Media Studies at Carleton University, where she teaches courses in visual culture studies and the environmental humanities, with a focus on collections-based research and experiential learning.
Siobhan comes from a family of social activists and specializes in the history of photography and the environmental humanities. Her current research explores the visual culture of resource extraction with a focus on materiality, labor, and environmental justice. Her new book, Camera Geologica: An Elemental History of Photography, published by Duke University Press, will be available during the spring of 2024.
Here is my conversation with Siobhan, starting with her background and ending with a book recommendation : Max Liboiron’s Pollution Is Colonialism.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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I think artists can challenge us by showing our blind spots, in a way, educating us, but also inspiring us about what's possible, right? I think in SCALE we talk about re-authoring the world. That's what artists do. We re-author the world. We create alternative ways of even just thinking about what's desirable in the first place.
I first met novelist, playwright, poet, and essayist Sanita Fejzić in 2021 while we were both on the Mission Circle of SCALE, the Sectoral Climate Arts Leadership for the Emergency, where we had great debates about climate justice and the role of art in the climate emergency and you’ll hear more about this episode.
I also had the pleasure of doing sound design in 2023 for a series of short plays called Why Worry About Their Futures that Sanita produced for the Undercurrents festival here on unceded land of the Anishinaabe Algonquin nation, also known as Ottawa.
Sanita holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from Queen’s University where she articulated an artistic and political movement called ‘Peasant Futurisms’ and I think you’ll enjoy learning more about this.
I love the way Sanita’s work simultaneously explores the future, past, and present by grounding peasant ways of knowing, relating, and being in the world. Maybe we’re all peasants, or have that potential?
You’ll also hear Sanita talk about a new radio play for the National Arts Centre as part of its Irresistible Neighbourhoods project.
Our conversations begin with her long journey from Sarajevo to Ottawa and concludes with a book recommendation: Rita Wong’s Forage and Undercurrent.
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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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There's a sort of pulling back and forth between these two ideas. Out of the idea of fundamental inferiority comes slavery. And out of the idea of cultural inferiority come things like residential schools, right? The logics that fuel those two things are different, but they both obviously have negative results. And I think in the modern world sometimes we still fall into that trap of thinking that moving away from just beliefs of fundamental inferiority is enough. When, you know, beliefs of cultural inferiority can be similarly damaging.
Riel Schryer is a student of history, a gamer and … my 26-year-old son. In December 2023 we spoke about how history informs the present, ethical issues in science, gaming as a form of ecological awareness and his feelings about the theme of this 5th season of the conscient podcast 'preparing for the end of the world as we know it and creating the conditions for other possible worlds to emerge'.
You’ll also hear excerpts from a winter soundwalk we took around the block of our home here on the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin nation, in the city of Ottawa.
It’s especially interesting for me to start this 5th season with the thoughts from a young adult (such as this one):
I don't think there's going to be any serious response to the climate crisis until real catastrophes start happening. That tends to be how it works. And once you start seeing that, then you'll start seeing very serious action being put in place. Although, we'll see at that point, if it's too late or not.*
END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES
Here is a link for more information on season 5.
Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis’. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.
Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.
Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin.
I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible.
Claude Schryer
Latest update on April 2, 2024
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