SPARK #36: Degrowth Toolkit for Artists

How can a degrowth approach to the arts be imagined and implemented? Art is often mobilised within activist movements in the service of social change, but how can activist values enter artistic practices to create a more equitable and humane field?

Emerging from the field of political ecology, degrowth signifies, first and foremost, a critique of the narrative of perpetual economic growth, and of the centering of growth as a social objective. Degrowth intersects with multiple streams of ecological and social thought (such as decolonial theory, institutional critique, politics of care, and mutual aid practices), and calls for bringing forward a new imaginary – a change of culture and a rediscovery of human identity, disentangled from economic representations.

In this session we will explore degrowth in the context of artistic practices. Through discussion and creative mapping, the aim of this workshop is to create a space for us to come together and imagine artistic practices that are centred on the values of well-being of human and more-than-human life, equitability, autonomy, simplicity, conviviality, and care.

Participants are invited to think about what they would like to see ‘degrown’ in the art world (or their own practice), then to collectively map out these demands, identify how they intersect, and finally discuss how they can support each other (sharing skills & resources, or collectively organising) to bring about these changes. We aim to finish the session with a map of what degrowth might look like in practice for SPARK artists and some practical next steps.

This workshop is part of Alexandra Papademetriou’s ongoing artistic research project The Degrowth Toolbox for Artistic Practices. For more information about the project, visit degrowthtoolbox.net.

Please note that this session takes place on Zoom. It will include breaks and some time outside. You are very welcome to bring food and drink to the session!