Symptomy budoucnosti: mezioborová konference o plánované těžbě lithia . Creator: Vítek Mareš/Hraničář. Creative Commons License LogoThis image is licensed under Creative Commons License.

Event

Saturday, 02. November 2024 – Sunday, 03. November 2024 Save in my calendar

Event

Symptoms of the future: an interdisciplinary conference on planned lithium mining

A two-day international program on the occasion of the exhibition Symptoms of the Future, devoted to topics connected with the planned mining of lithium (and not only) on the German and Czech sides of the Ore Mountains.

WHEN: November 2. - 3. 2024

WHERE: Galerie Hraničář, Prokopa Diviše 1812/7, Ústí nad Labem

LANGUAGE: czech, english, german (interpretation provided)

ENTRANCE: free

REGISTRATION: not needed

FACEBOOK EVENT: zde

On Saturday, three discussions will take place in Hraničář Public Hall about the experiences of local civic associations in negotiating lithium mining, how this topic can reflect contemporary art and artistic research, and how to imagine a socio-economic and energy transformation leading to a sustainable and fair the future.

The artist Paula König will present her work in more detail, in which she deals with themes related to water and planned lithium mining in Portugal, and the curatorial collective Galerie Hraničář will present the ongoing exhibition Symptoms of the Future , which questions whether lithium can be a solution to the climate crisis.

The evening will conclude with a screening of the film Ancestral Clouds , Ancestral Claims by author duo Denise Ferreira da Silva and Arjuna Neuman. 

On Sunday, we will go together to Cínovec and Zinnwald, where we will have a guided walk to the planned lithium mining sites. You can find the detailed program here.

As part of the program, among others, sociologist Agnes Gagyi, who studies social movements, anthropologist Martin Tremčinský dealing with energy decentralization, researcher Patrik Gažo dealing with the transformation of the automobile industry and the battery industry in Slovakia, researcher and  member of the German art collective Driving Factor Elisa T. Bertuzzo, representatives of civic associations founded in connection with the planned lithium mining and processing projects in the Czech Republic and Germany, researcher and designer Anastasia Kubrak or  artistic researcher and photographer Bára Mrázková.    

The event is organized in cooperation with the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and with the financial support of the AV21 Strategy "Resilient Society for the 21st Century" research program. It will also take place thanks to the support of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung. The Symptoms of the Future project is supported by the European Cultural Foundation. The exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the City of Ústí nad Labem and the Czech-German Future Fund. Artist and curator residencies are funded through Culture Moves Europe and the National Renewal Plan. The event is part of the Days of Czech and German Culture.

 

PROGRAM SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2024:

  • 11:00 Start

  • 11:20–12:40 Debate: Lithium mining and the Gigafactory through the eyes of locals
    The day will begin with a debate with representatives of local civic associations that were formed in connection with the planned mining and processing of lithium in the Ore Mountains and the construction of the Gigafactory in Dolní Lutyn. How do people from the association Cinvald and Zachovejme Poolší, living near the planned projects, perceive the situation? What are their experiences with negotiations so far, why did they decide to get personally involved in the cases and what does this decision bring? The debate is moderated by community organizer and researcher Mikuláš Černík.

     

    The debate takes place in Czech and German/English and is interpreted into all languages.
     

  • 13:10–14:20 Debate: Artistic research into the extraction and consumption of critical raw materials
    The second debate will offer a view of the role of art and the possibilities of interdisciplinary cooperation. In what ways can contemporary art reflect on topics such as mining or the transformation of energy and transport? Do art projects manage to mediate voices that are often missing from the discussion? Anastasia Kubrak, Bára Mrázková and Elisa T. Bertuzzo will discuss their artistic research projects of lithium in the waters of Teplice, the journey of coltan from Congolese mines to Czech factories or landscapes of energy transformation in Germany. The debate is moderated by curator and university teacher Jan Zálešák.

     

    The debate takes place in English and is interpreted into Czech and German.
     

  • 15:00–15:45 Artist talk Pauly König
    Artist, researcher and educator Paula König will present her work in more detail, in which she deals with themes related to water and aquatic ecosystems, but also with planned lithium mining in northern Portugal, where she explores traditional systems of collective use soil and water. In the ongoing exhibition Symptoms of the Future , König presents a series of posters, a reverse model related to the planned surface mining of lithium in northern Portugal and an interview with local farmer and activist Aida Fernandes.

     

    The presentation is in English and is interpreted into Czech and German.
     

  • 16:15–17:25 Debate: Socio-economic transformation in the semi-periphery of Europe
    What are the social, economic and environmental impacts of the transformation of the energy and automotive industry in Central Europe? What political role do foreign investments in so-called strategic projects, such as battery factories, play in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic? And what are the conditions and situations of workers in these industries? This will be discussed by sociologist Agnes Gagyi, who studies social movements, anthropologist Martin Tremčinský, who deals with the decentralization of energy, and researcher Patrik Gažo, who is dedicated to the transformation of the automobile industry and the battery industry in Slovakia. The debate is moderated by anthropologist Tereza Virtová.

     

    The debate takes place in English and is interpreted into Czech and German.

  • 17:40 Screening of the film Ancient Clouds, Ancient Claims (in English)
  • 18:00 Guided tour of the exhibition Symptoms of the Future with curators Martina Johnová, Anna Remešová and Karolína Žižková (in Czech with German interpretation)
  • 18:45 Guided tour of the exhibition Symptoms of the Future with curators Martina Johnová, Anna Remešová and Karolína Žižková (in English)

PROGRAM SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2024:

  • We will meet in Cínovec at Hotel Pomezí at 10:35 . 
  • From Ústí we will take bus 488 from the Pod Holoměří stop at  9:22 a.m. to Teplice.
  • You can get to Cínovec from Teplice by bus 398, which departs from Teplice railway station at 10:11 . Get off at the Cínovec/Dubí, České pomezí stop , which is right next to the hotel. 
  • Departure from Cínovce is planned again by bus at 14:55 to Teplice.

 

 

 

Timezone
CEST
Address
Galerie Hraničář, Prokopa Diviše 1812/7, Ústí nad Labem
Language
Czech
German
English
Cooperation Partner
Spolek Hraničář