Julia Bentz

Learning through the body about sustainability transformations: article published

Published on July 28, 2021December 20, 2024 by Julia Bentz

Research is emphasizing more and more the importance of connecting disparate ways of knowing, including scientific, artistic, embodied and local knowledges to better understand environmental change and to foster community resilience and engagement. This paper argues for an integrative approach to sustainability transformations, one that reconnects body and mind, that fuses art and science and that integrates diverse forms of knowledge in an open, collaborative and creative way.

This article published in Sustainability Science draws on the experience of an arts-based project in Lisbon, Portugal, and explores embodied and performative practices and their potential for climate change transformations. It puts forward and enlivens an example, where such forms of engaging communities can provide new insight into how equitable, just and sustainable transformations can come about.

Link to open access article

Learning about climate change in, with and through art – article

Published on July 9, 2021 by Julia Bentz

Decolonizing transformations through ‘right relations’

Published on July 9, 2021October 24, 2023 by Julia Bentz

Back in 2017 and 2018 I interviewed artists and knowledge keepers in Canada BC about the power and potential of art and story in contributing to equitable and sustainable transformations. Back home I shared my experiences with my two colleagues Irmelin Gram-Hanssen and Nicole Schafenacker and we saw there were commonalities with their research but also open questions that we wanted to explore together.

Below you find the result of this exploration with them. This article was just published with the title “Decolonizing transformations through ‘right relations’”. It is part of a special Feature: On the ‘How’ of transformation: Integrative approaches to Sustainability. You can access it with the following link: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11625-021-00960-9.pdf.

In it we highlight the intimate connections between climate change and colonization and argue that decolonization will be an integral part of equitable and just transformations toward sustainability. We engage with the idea of ‘right relations’ as a way of decolonizing transformations research and practice and offer four characteristics for transformations researchers to embody: listening deeply, self-reflexivity, creating space and being in action. While we acknowledge the acute need for decolonizing relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and societies in particular, we extent the idea of ‘right relations’ to all people and all places in an effort to co-create a decolonized humanity.

I am so very thankful and grateful for the insights I received to how we might engage in sustainable and equitable transformations.

transformations through art – podcast_

Published on July 9, 2021 by Julia Bentz

Cyanotype and storytelling

Published on July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 by Julia Bentz

Workshop

In this workshop, participants create an image/story for an imaginary museum of sustainability. The image/story creation involves creative writing and cyanotype photographic printing.

This workshop explores the transformative potential of art through challenging current thinking on climate change and presenting new ways of approaching it. Participants embark on an imaginary journey to the future and use creative-artistic practices to develop alternative narratives (image/story) and share insights. Participants learn in a playful way about the topic of climate change as well as about the of artistic practices. Creative writing techniques and cyanotype printing elicit the image/story.

Cyanotype is a simple photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue prints. Discovered in 1842 by the English scientist and astronomer Sir John Herschel, it was used for reproducing notes and diagrams, and for documenting plant life. In this workshop we use cyanotype prints to illustrate core values and messages for present generations imagined and gathered and on a journey to the future.

Make a difference by singing

Published on July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 by Julia Bentz

We are living in times of complex and global challenges, such as environmental degradation, conflicts, migrations of millions of refugees or climate change. Addressing these complexities requires new ways of thinking, creating and acting.

Music is a universal language and a powerful form of expression. Music affects us on a level beyond the rational, touching on emotions, perspectives and values. Singing in a group creates a sense of community and contributes to physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. But above all singing is a birthright and everyone knows how to sing

Ubuntu Choirs

Ubuntu, a Zulu word means “I am because we are”. This concept calls for empathy for others, creating community and valuing diversity. Ubuntu means that our potential is reached in relationships with others.
Ubuntu choirs are inclusive (open to everyone), do not audition (all voices are welcome, under the right conditions everyone can sing in tune and in harmony) are focused on creating community (rather than focused on concert acting ) and get involved in social projects (e.g. through fundraising).

Between November 2018 and February 2020 I offered a free weekly Ubuntu choir in Penha de Fraça, Lisbon.

Below is a video of an ad-hoc choir that I taught this Hawaiian earth blessing song called “E malama” by Bryan Kessler, harmonized by Nickomo.

Climate Odyssey – video

Published on July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 by Julia Bentz

It took a while but here it is: a short video of the Climate Odyssey public performance.

Over a 3,5-months period we engaged 15 project participants in weekly interactive art-&-science workshops. Inspirations were endangered species, climate fiction, historic events, utopian visions and many others. From these inspirations small performances started to crystallize and the play was created. The public performance took place at Festival de Telheiras, Lisbon, 26 May 2019. We had three sold out shows! To us it was moving, special and inspirational. It showed the power of community and the importance of meaning-making to create climate action. Luckily Guilherme Ornelas was there to film it to capture the moment and later Elisa Purfürst could edit it.

Nature speaks – creative writing lab

Published on July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 by Julia Bentz

When dealing with socio-ecological problems such as climate change, people typically address it exclusively from a human-centric perspective, prioritizing anthropocentric values, needs and visions. Learning to appreciate non-human perspectives, however, is crucial for socio-ecological harmony.

Inspired by project SUSPLACE´s Toolkit for arts-based methods, we used a creative writing exercise in a storytelling workshop to helps us to see more-than-human viewpoints by asking participants to embody the perspectives of specific beings and natural entities, such as animals, plants, rivers, forests, or mountains.

20181126_suii_storytelling_climate_resilience_img_2150.jpg

Photo by Catriona Forrest. Storytelling Workshop, Glasgow, 25 Nov. 2018

Blueprint stories for desirable futures

Published on July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 by Julia Bentz

ART FOR ADAPTATION promotes art-and-science workshop such as the Blueprint Stories. In this workshop, participants create an image/story for an imaginary museum in the future. The image/story creation involves creative writing and cyanotype photographic printing.

This workshop explores the transformative potential of art through challenging current thinking on climate change and presenting new ways of approaching it. Participants embark on an imaginary journey to the future and use creative-artistic practices to develop alternative narratives (image/story) and share insights. While learning in a playful way about the topic of climate change, participants experience the creative potential of artistic practices. Creative writing techniques and cyanotype printing elicit the image/story.

Cyanotype is a simple photographic printing process that produces cyan-blue prints. Discovered in 1842 by the English scientist and astronomer Sir John Herschel, it was used for reproducing notes and diagrams, and for documenting plant life. In this workshop we use cyanotype prints to illustrate core values and messages for present generations imagined and gathered and on a journey to the future.

On the festival Andanças taking place in Castelo de Vide, Portugal (1-5 August 2018), ART FOR ADAPTATION promoted two Blueprint Stories workshops.

Facilitators: Sofia Regalo (cyanotype printing), Julia Bentz (science, storytelling)

Photos: Ana Isa Mourinho

Open Call! 2018-2019

Published on July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 by Julia Bentz

The Climate Odyssey (Odisseia pelo Clima) aims to engage communities in an art-science-practice project on climate action. It seeks to contribute to new approaches to climate change using the potential of artful and participatory elements to increase awareness and agency for the topic of climate change. The project aims to co-create with the local communities a thematic trajectory (‘odyssey’), which elicits local stories of change and transformation and make visible the various aspects (social, cultural, environmental) of climate change.

Between February and June 2019 the project promotes weekly interactive art-and science workshops engaging local participants in the co-creation of the community theatre Climate Odyssey to be presented to the public in a neighbourhood festival in the end of May 2019 (Festival de Telheiras).

More fotos and updates here