Unete a este movimiento para reconectar con el SUELO!
Join this movement to reconnect with SOIL!
(Para leer los detalles de la campaña en español, favor visitar www.estudionuboso.org) Gracias!
Panamá has one of the worst erosion and soil decay problems in Latin America, with a process of slow, growing degradation in almost all of its watersheds, soils and water sources. This leads to desertification and the
loss of productive capacity, with a significant social impact on populations that live from agriculture.
-According to the National Environment Authority (ANAM) in the year 2000
Over a decade ago the alarm was sounded. Today, in the face of unsustainable development trends in Panama and the global environmental crisis, the situation is even more critical. Solutions need be inspired by diverse approaches.
Estudio Nuboso aims to use art and the creative process (so close to the scientific process) as a medium to address social and environmental challenges.
a) connect expert changemakers of various disciplines - to promote multidisciplinary collaboration among organizations, individuals and communities - and strengthen rural - urban and local - global networks.
b) address social and ecological issues in site specific locations in Panama - adapting to each particular ecosystem.
c) share knowledge through publications, videos and workshops/talks/symposia, as well as artistic practice.
Proyecto Suelo is the pilot project to be held in San Lorenzo de Veraguas. It will engage participating scientists, artists, educators, organizations, businesses and communities in facilitated discussions and skill-sharing
around the theme of soil and land-use. It will result in a series of workshops in various locations, a publications and visual material for mass distribution.
ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES OF PROYECTO SUELO:
1- KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE amongst participants of the residency and the local community & environment. Establishing a long-lasting relationship with the communities in San Lorenzo, Veraguas.
We have tapped into the important geological history of the area: the presence of Pillow lava rock formations, which are 70 million years old and are witness to the history of how Panama emerged from the Ocean 3 million years
ago and changed global climate. This is not general knowledge in the community and could represent an important source of self-esteem and income by adding to the attraction of the place.
We will use the residency to adapt the history of this pillow lava and this place, for the community to own, share in schools and tours, etc.
2- SHARING of techniques such as composting and gardening; ceramics and building with soil; thoughts on land and territory.
3- SUPPORT of sustainable development projects in the community - by sharing feedback and ideas.
4- DOCUMENTATION AND OUTREACH through creation of audiovisual material; the SUELO BOOKLET; workshops and talks in Panama City and beyond.
5- DEVELOP A MODEL which can be implemented in other locations in Panama.
CALENDAR
OF EVENTS:
January 8th: Talk in Panama City by one of our guest facilitators - Claire Pentecost or Brian Holmes
January 10-17, 2104: SUELO Residency in SaLo & workshops with residents of El Arrimadero, Veraguas.
Janary 19, 2014: Sharing of the experience with guest facilitators and participants in Panama City
February and March, 2014: Workshops and Talks in Panama City; Launch of videos and SUELO BOOKLET. Followed by assessment and planning for Estudio Nuboso and SUELO follow-up
Join us!
Donate - to help us reach our goal. If we reach $12,000 we have donors that will give us the rest -- Help us get there! any little helps
Participate - There are three spots left! Visit www.estudionuboso.org to learn about the open call
Join our Network and the SUELO movement! Write us at [email protected]
Also, Follow Estudio Nuboso on Facebook and Instagram
* You will receive your reward between the time our campaign ends successfully and May (or the time the packages will take to travel, once we’ve launched the booklet and videos)
Visit www.estudionuboso.org to view more details about our rewards.
* There are 2 spots still available to participate in the SUELO residency. Information on how to apply is also on the website.
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ABOUT SALO:
SaLo is a property on the Pacific coast of Veraguas. The site emerged from the ocean depths some 70 million years ago, which makes it one of the oldest rock formations in Panama - the site of the birth of the Isthmus – a
great place to start!
It is an open and flexible structure, with solar power and water collection systems, designed around the hearth, kitchen and common space. It is a living example of experimentation and dialogue with the elements.
The nearest communities are: El Arrimadero and Madre Vieja, where most people live off the land and the ocean – cattle, fishing and tourism. Nearby are the islands Gobernadora, Cébaco and Coiba National Park.
THE RESIDENCY January 10-17th, 2014
Co-facilitated by members of Estudio Nuboso & guests: artist Claire Pentecost and researcher Brian Holmes. An immersive experience designed to enable lasting connections between people and encourage knowledge
exchange collaboration to better spread practices related to soil, food, land and grounding. Among the topics addressed are issues around territory, climate change and resilience in an ever-changing landscape.
About the guest speakers:
“Claire blew my mind with her piece about the value of soil and the power of composting in DocumentA(13) last year. Brian is a writer and researcher on the effects of globalization on culture and territories. Their experiences
and interests will bring the depth and flexibility this project requires."
- Ela Spalding, founder of Estudio Nuboso and generator of Proyecto Suelo.
GUEST SUELO PARTICIPANTS:
Emma Sayer is an ecosystem ecologist. She is one of the organizers of ‘Sex and Bugs and Rock ‘n Roll’, which aims to promote ecology at music festivals .
Débora Rivera is an environmental engineer with a focus on renewable energy and a yoga instructor. She is founder and director of the urban gardening project in Panama, Mi Abasto.
Jorge Ventocilla is a Panamanian-Peruvian biologist who writes about biological and cultural diversity, and territory issues. He is a facilitator of alternative artistic and cultural projects in urban and
rural areas such as the islands of Gobernadora and Cébaco.
Pauline Desbats is an artist based in Bordeaux and Berlin. She is manager of Hyle // Subtle Matters, a green construction and design company. She investigates the use of raw materials in green building.
Geologists, who have researched the area
Organizations that currently work towards San Lorenzo's empowered development.
More on Estudio Nuboso...
Estudio Nuboso has been facilitating exchanges and residencies around Performance and Art in Context with socio-ecological concerns in Panama since 2010. Our first artists in residence continue to tour their piece (Roses
& Beans) around Europe, and the local dance & performance scene has seen considerable growth since our yearly Investigación Colectiva in Panama City started in 2011. As the world evolves, so do we and our priorities are now focused on raising awareness
and sharing knowledge about the great value of our land!
MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST FACILITATORS
Claire Pentecost
Despite its importance in everything we depend on, the quality of water, food, and atmosphere, soil is still very poorly understood... At the same time it’s increasingly clear that soil is as endangered as the rest of
earth’s ecosystem...
Claire’s work proposes artistic practice as a research practice. She engages a variety of strategies: collaboration, research, teaching, field work, writing, lecturing, drawing, installation and photography in an ongoing
investigation and interrogation of the institutional structures that organize and order knowledge.
In the Chicago area, she collaborates with Compass, recently initiating a series of public hearings on the activities of the Monsanto Corporation. In 2012 Pentecost was a presenting artist at dOCUMENTA(13) in Kassel, Germany,
with a multi-layered installation about the value of soil. She is a Professor in the Department of Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Brian Holmes
Brian is a Chicago-based art and cultural critic and essayist, involved with issues of globalization and social change over the last twenty years. In Chicago he works with a collective of artists and researchers known as
The Compass, dedicated to exploring the Midwest Radical Cultural Corridor (www.midwest-compass.org). Over the past fifteen years Holmes has been an essayist writing in English, French, and Spanish
for a large number of web venues, artists’ publications, exhibition catalogues, magazines and journals. He lectures frequently in museums, universities and self-organized spaces across Europe and the Americas, teaches an art theory course at the University
of Illinois at Chicago and has recurrently been a guest lecturer at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
