Turbine plays: an afternoon with air

Saturday 18 February

The Turbine Plays, a transdisciplinary, artistically driven project, imaginatively connects energy professionals, citizens, heritage professionals, artists, and musicians. They will work together to contribute to landscape transition and climate adaptation in innovative ways. The project reaches into our past and integrates the future. We focus on climate, weather and especially wind as a key player in our cultural heritage. Wind is a co-player in shaping our country, our identity, and cultural expressions.

Even though the universe is expanding, and vacuum space is increasing, the air around us in our atmosphere is very material. Hard to grasp, ephemeral, escaping our propensity to categorise our world in discrete tangible objects, air is incredibly dynamic, full of life and non-life, inspiring our world. Inspire, a word conventionally used to refer to a mental quality, the objective of this afternoon is to discuss a different kind of understanding, to confront the dichotomous nature of the way in which modern societies classify our world, mind-body; hardware-software; art-science. Air defies this kind of objectification and is the perfect place to put our bodies in to explore such issues.

The discussion is an open platform, and several guests will be present to provide thoughtful insights on the topic. Our guest of honour is Simon Penny, professor in Electronic Art and Design (Dept of Art) at University of California, Irvine. Annet Dekker is curator and researcher and currently Assistant Professor Archival and Information Studies, and Comparative Cultural Analysis at the University of Amsterdam and Visiting Professor at the Centre for the Study of the Networked Image at London South Bank University.
This is a hybrid event.

The Turbine Plays is organised by Knowledge Centre Arts & Society and Centre of Expertise Energy.

Saturday Feb 18

15:00 – 16:00 seminar/discussion

16:00 – 16:30 performances