Speaker: Michael Smythe/Nomad/Phytology https://phytology.org.uk/ https://nomadprojects.org/
Duration: Introduction lecture (40 mins), Offline independent research (40 mins), Online group discussion and group critique (40mins).
10 min breaks to be included within each section.
Maximum participants: 10
How can we diversify creative practices in response to current ecological and social challenges? Creative Ecologies & Tactical Resistance in the Anthropocene will explorestrategies for individuals and communities to reshape the urban environment to prioritise environmental and social justice. We will discuss interspecies collaboration, economics and community activism through the work of Kathrin Böhm, Gordon Matta-Clark, Susan Lacy, Joseph Beuys, Herbalists Without Boarders, Living Lots NYC and LION. The lecture will be followed by self-led hyper-local research, devising a location specific intervention employing creative and eco-centric strategies.
Michael Smythe is an artist, urban farmer and creative director of Nomad Projects, an independent arts foundation that develops experimental projects across digital and location-specific spaces. Nomad Projects critically engages with issues surrounding environmental and social justice within the urban landscape. Current work includes Phytology, an urban physic garden and research institute in Bethnal Green (East London), Urban Mind a global research project investigating the relationship between the landscape and mental health and Mobile Apothecary, a herbal medicine dispensary providing free healthcare to individuals and communities with limited access to accommodation and quality health care.Michael studied installation, performance and art history at the Australian National University, Canberra, and Hochschule Der Künste, Berlin.
