Utopian Space Sustainability
Workshop with Sandra Teitge
Federal Congress of Independent Performing Arts
Hebbel am Ufer
2020
“It will, therefore, be the greatest art in these lands to preserve and cultivate wood in such a manner that a constant and sustainable use is ensured, because it is an essential thing without which the land shall not retain its existence.« (translated from Hans Carl von Carlowitz, »Sylvicultura Oeconomica«, originally published in 1713)
This brief mention in »Sylvicultura Oeconomica« by von Carlowitz in reference to forestry is considered to be the moment that the currently overused term Nachhaltigkeit (sustainability) originated. Von Carlowitz wrote his book during an energy crisis in which the mines and smelters had to be provided with a considerable amount of wood as a source of energy, while a booming population and urban growth were also contributing to a wood shortage.
What does the term sustainability, which is often employed as a guiding principle for political, economic and environmentally friendly action, mean for the field of the independent performing arts? What could a practical implementation within a production look like? Who would fund it? Is social sustainability being played off against environmental sustainability? How is sustainability addressed in other areas of the arts and how are these principles turned into practice?
Franziska Pierwoss and Sandra Teitge have been working together on questions of the political, social and financial economies of waste management in their artistic projects for several years, and invite you to a discussion, aperitif and workshop in the utopian space of sustainability.
Guests: Alicia Reuter & Jacob Bilabel