It's been snowing all day today and finally sticking. I've been out in it most of the day off & on. The final day of the workshop I led went well. I've already written about my experience of trying and failing to have a press conference.
In the evening, I went to show my films at one of several restored gas stations around the city, retrofitted for art, in this case, curated by a man from Berlin: Dede. Comments and ideas shared afterwards were inspiring and interesting, including that tomorrow, I move to another household for my remaining time in Copenhagen. This will relieve Oleg & Susanne of the stress of sharing thier newly expanded family with any more people than is essential and may be a more comfortable set-up for me. Someplace along the line of transition, I hope to get a real newspaper and finally know what is being said, in some detail about events here.
Since it was mostly the folks from my workshop at the screening, in addition to their responses, I was able to understand more about their work and have insight into ways to develop my own future work. Fabian and I discussed a film project he's beginning about migration issues. I mentioned that of all the work with Jim, that migrations were the most pressing issue that had emerged about climate change. I said it's only a symptom of the problem of climate change, but like dying as a symptom of cancer, the symptom can be quite severe.
I like an orderly society as much as anyone but not at the cost I'm experiencing here. I spoke to eyewitnesses (people known to me), who watched Danish plain clothesmen infiltrate the protestors and become provocative until the police charged, at which time the police encircled the phony agitators to bring them back into the folds of their own, while going on to beat up the rest of the crowd.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/16/protests-in-copenhagen-de_n_393784.html
Bill McKibben of 350.org, sent out a mailing this evening enjoining us all to stick with pressing for the numbers. But I want the world to know the price being paid here by individual people who have been physically hurt, arrested and silenced. Numbers are important but some clear & balanced reporting means we don't just hear the pollyanna side of what's going on.
As furious as I am with the UN Secretariat's decision to shut out NGOs (Avaaz and Friends of the Earth had their entire delegation, a first at a COP, thrown out) and all our information, experience & insight, today was the first time in my life that I felt resentful towards protestors. Was it really necessary to storm the Bella Center this morning announcing it would be "taken over"?? I get it: people feel shut out and want to be part of the process. Who's fault is that? The lazy reporters? The conservative publishers? The ordinary ciitizens who don't ask probing questions? The employers who don't leave workers enuf time to feed their families & get a good night's sleep, let alone read a newspaper for the scant reporting that does get thru? I also resent colleagues warmly, safely inside the Bella Center with apparently no thought for the rest of us.
I admire the NGOs & delegates who walked out to join the protestors today, knowing they wouldn't get back in. I'm furious at myself for not having the foresight to have a back-up plan with a press badge. Look in the mirror and find the enemy, inc moi-meme.
From my point of view, the work of thousands has been trashed today by the combination of the UN Secretariat and the Danish police shutting down the Bella Center to NGOs, in effect, for the remainder of the conference. Which incidentally, included anything I might have said in my press conference today, about art's role in policy & science, to help people adapt to traumatic change as climate refugees. Since I too was shut out. The snow has been as wet & cold as the Danish reception here.
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Page 1 of Press Release for the Press Conference that Never Happened
For Immediate Release: December 16, 2009 Contact: Aviva Rahmani Asger Jorn Room, Bella Center, Copenhagen ghostnets@ghostnets.com www.ghostnets.com
Art can help build the capacity and facilitate adaptation needed at COP15;
SOS Gulf to Gulf is a virtual model for the role of art
Protestors world wide see COP15 as a conflict between money and legalisms. This press conference asserts that is why art needs to be at the table, “ [supporting] [assisting] [enabling] all developing country Parties, particularly the most vulnerable, in undertaking adaptation measures.” Art is how people express their experiences. Millions of artists have another approach to environmental issues.
Artists can help COP15 communicate between parties
The media can convey how art can enable adaptation and implement climate justice
Contemporary and indigenous art practices provide relatively low-cost, uncontentious models for adaptation and mitigation that can contribute to long term cooperation and capacity building. Art is a vehicle to express what words and numbers can’t.
When we take “aspirational goals” seriously for the Least Developed Countries (LDC), we see that the arts in each culture and between cultures are a means to express aspiration, sustain it’s people, bridge communication gaps and be a container for important historical information, including indigenous environmental knowledge. Art is the glue holding societies and cultures together, under stress, means to intimately connect people.
In the 21rst century, art can create ways for technology transfer and development to translate and protect bodies of cultural knowledge, because artists are innovative.
Ecological art is a recognized practice that embraces an ecological ethic in both its content and form/materials, embracing collaborative opportunities.
SOS Gulf to Gulf is an example of how an ecological art practice can help
SOS Gulf to Gulf developed in virtual collaboration to reduce carbon emissions
Artist Aviva Rahmani and scientist Dr. Jim White, director of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado at Boulder, initiated a cross-disciplinary virtual collaboration, addressing the international global warming crisis in gulf regions.
The story reveals parallels between Bangladesh, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Maine, the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf connecting water, war, pirates, fisheries, education and migrations.
SOS Gulf to Gulf was inspired by the Trigger Point Theory of environmental restoration developed by Rahmani
Presentation Credits: dialog is between artists Aviva Rahmani and Peter Buotte, curator Tricia Watts, Ecoartspace, Marda Kirn, director EcoArts Connection, Dr. Jim White, INSTAAR, Dr. Ed Maibach, George Mason University, Dr. Eugene Turner, Louisiana State University, Dr. Michele Dionne, director of Research at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells Maine and Tuku Ahmed, a New York City taxi cab driver and immigrant from Bangladesh.
Art can help build the capacity and facilitate adaptation needed at COP15;
SOS Gulf to Gulf is a virtual model for the role of art
Protestors world wide see COP15 as a conflict between money and legalisms. This press conference asserts that is why art needs to be at the table, “ [supporting] [assisting] [enabling] all developing country Parties, particularly the most vulnerable, in undertaking adaptation measures.” Art is how people express their experiences. Millions of artists have another approach to environmental issues.
Artists can help COP15 communicate between parties
The media can convey how art can enable adaptation and implement climate justice
Contemporary and indigenous art practices provide relatively low-cost, uncontentious models for adaptation and mitigation that can contribute to long term cooperation and capacity building. Art is a vehicle to express what words and numbers can’t.
When we take “aspirational goals” seriously for the Least Developed Countries (LDC), we see that the arts in each culture and between cultures are a means to express aspiration, sustain it’s people, bridge communication gaps and be a container for important historical information, including indigenous environmental knowledge. Art is the glue holding societies and cultures together, under stress, means to intimately connect people.
In the 21rst century, art can create ways for technology transfer and development to translate and protect bodies of cultural knowledge, because artists are innovative.
Ecological art is a recognized practice that embraces an ecological ethic in both its content and form/materials, embracing collaborative opportunities.
SOS Gulf to Gulf is an example of how an ecological art practice can help
SOS Gulf to Gulf developed in virtual collaboration to reduce carbon emissions
Artist Aviva Rahmani and scientist Dr. Jim White, director of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado at Boulder, initiated a cross-disciplinary virtual collaboration, addressing the international global warming crisis in gulf regions.
The story reveals parallels between Bangladesh, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Maine, the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf connecting water, war, pirates, fisheries, education and migrations.
SOS Gulf to Gulf was inspired by the Trigger Point Theory of environmental restoration developed by Rahmani
Presentation Credits: dialog is between artists Aviva Rahmani and Peter Buotte, curator Tricia Watts, Ecoartspace, Marda Kirn, director EcoArts Connection, Dr. Jim White, INSTAAR, Dr. Ed Maibach, George Mason University, Dr. Eugene Turner, Louisiana State University, Dr. Michele Dionne, director of Research at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells Maine and Tuku Ahmed, a New York City taxi cab driver and immigrant from Bangladesh.
Day 10 Copenhagen Day 9 COP15
They closed the Bella Center to all NGOs today, effectively cancelling my scheduled press conference. Before I arrived, at 1:30: the police were beating demonstrators. There were lines of police vans for miles before we reached the Center. we were let out a ten minute walk away from the Bella Center.
I walked upstream against a tide of unhappy NGOs to reach the police lines, a few hundred feet from the entrance. When I told them I had a press conference they directed me to the VIP entrance for advice. I tried to contact my organizer, Marilyn Averill, who was inside and had offered me her secondary badge. At first my new blackberry locked and no one around me could unstick it. Eventually I could call. Meanwhile, I stopped a couple people with a media badge & asked them if they'd be willing to bring my press releases inside. They thought about it, then said, "not my job," and walked on. After a moment of feeling stunned by their lack of generosity, I felt like yelling, "then what do you think you job IS?" But by then, tall & long-legged, they were far beyond earshot, long gone to whatever they considered their REAL job.
I got to the VIP gate and was able to connectw ith Marilyn, who ahd to run a gauntlet to be sure she could get back inside. I gave her the press release and she said she would put them on a shelf. Who knows if anyone will see them? On the other hand I made a nice friend in the line, working on coastal island issues and whose husband works on environmental funding.
I trudged back to Oleg's getting progressively more angry & hungry, where I emailed the U press office, one reporter and a couple others to see what I could do: not much. In a couple minutes I leave to show my films. Later, I'll post photos. Meantime, I'll post the text of the press release for the press conference that never happened.
I walked upstream against a tide of unhappy NGOs to reach the police lines, a few hundred feet from the entrance. When I told them I had a press conference they directed me to the VIP entrance for advice. I tried to contact my organizer, Marilyn Averill, who was inside and had offered me her secondary badge. At first my new blackberry locked and no one around me could unstick it. Eventually I could call. Meanwhile, I stopped a couple people with a media badge & asked them if they'd be willing to bring my press releases inside. They thought about it, then said, "not my job," and walked on. After a moment of feeling stunned by their lack of generosity, I felt like yelling, "then what do you think you job IS?" But by then, tall & long-legged, they were far beyond earshot, long gone to whatever they considered their REAL job.
I got to the VIP gate and was able to connectw ith Marilyn, who ahd to run a gauntlet to be sure she could get back inside. I gave her the press release and she said she would put them on a shelf. Who knows if anyone will see them? On the other hand I made a nice friend in the line, working on coastal island issues and whose husband works on environmental funding.
I trudged back to Oleg's getting progressively more angry & hungry, where I emailed the U press office, one reporter and a couple others to see what I could do: not much. In a couple minutes I leave to show my films. Later, I'll post photos. Meantime, I'll post the text of the press release for the press conference that never happened.
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Numbers
Between James Brady and myself, we calculated close to 1 million people are engaged directly or indirectly in ecological art or audience members for it's ideas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ecoart
This is how we estimated it:
1. How many schools/ museums/ books-journals internationally the ecoart list serve alone (about 100 invited members) represents (ie., including residencies, publications, group & individual exhibitions)?
2. Estimate 2,000 audience venue impact total (av. 20 times 100 per person, a conservative figure I think)
3. Each venue represents about 200 min audience access per... = 400, 000 if my math is correct...+ secondary effect has to double that figure = close to 1 million (chatter with family members & friends assuming at lease one conversation per person and then there are workers for each venue: guards, bookkeepers, etc)
That's a mighty constituency.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ecoart
This is how we estimated it:
1. How many schools/ museums/ books-journals internationally the ecoart list serve alone (about 100 invited members) represents (ie., including residencies, publications, group & individual exhibitions)?
2. Estimate 2,000 audience venue impact total (av. 20 times 100 per person, a conservative figure I think)
3. Each venue represents about 200 min audience access per... = 400, 000 if my math is correct...+ secondary effect has to double that figure = close to 1 million (chatter with family members & friends assuming at lease one conversation per person and then there are workers for each venue: guards, bookkeepers, etc)
That's a mighty constituency.
Can Haste Make Waste when time is of the essence?
I love 350.org: www.350.org/vigil-vid
The magic number of 350 is critical.
But the devil is in the details. I worry about adequate oversight in allocations.
I worry about vague language based on differing carbon emissions models.
I worry about adequate transparency.
I worry about small successful programs becoming engulfed in flashier ones with better photo ops but less track record.
I worry about all the ways movements have tripped on ourselves in the past.
The magic number of 350 is critical.
But the devil is in the details. I worry about adequate oversight in allocations.
I worry about vague language based on differing carbon emissions models.
I worry about adequate transparency.
I worry about small successful programs becoming engulfed in flashier ones with better photo ops but less track record.
I worry about all the ways movements have tripped on ourselves in the past.
End of Day 9 Copenhagen Day 8 COP15 Narrowing my Focus
My focus has narrowed down for the next 30 hours to being in the right place at the right time, being a conduit for what's going on and what I have to present and maybe, just maybe getting some good rest.
The title of my Press Conference was:SOS Gulf to Gulf Gulf Degradation Internationally and a Model for the Role of Art at COP15
Then I changed it to:
Art can help build the capacity and facilitate adaptation needed at COP15;
SOS Gulf to Gulf is a virtual model for the role of art
I changed the body of the text to first clarify the role of art.
Confirmation has arrived for delivering my press conference 3:30 PM at COP15 Bella Center and I have access to a badge to get into the Bella Center tomorrow afternoon. The press release & info sheet is completed. Now I just need to get from the morning workshop I'm leading at the North end of town to the Bella Center on time, look & act presentable (despite my bad cold and no chance to wash my hair), deliver my materials, present clearly & convincingly, get something to eat and then find my way back (to a new venue) by 5: PM in the evening to show my films. We have changed the venue for fear of violence at Christiana.
Day 9 Copenhagen Day 8 COP15 Day 2 workshop on Trigger Point Theory as Aesthetic Activism
The seasons's first heavy wet snow is falling in Copenhagen. There are reports of violence against the demnstrators on the part of the police but I have no details. This is the first day I have no access to the Bella Center. Many have given up and gone home. The NY Times, from who Andrew Revkin is depating for a life in academia, reports that China & USA are at an impasse. There was an announcement of an intercession by Ban Ki-Moon for all parties to discuss calmly ("can't we all just get along?"). The press office is trying to help me make an alternative time for tomorrow to re-schedule my press conference and I'm waiting to hear back.
The third day of my workshop on Trigger Point Theory as Aesthetic Activism, has been really exciting. We began yesterday, by my outlining how my theory developed, how it works and how it could applied to any problem solving.
Today, we focused on three problems brought to the workshop. Fabian, one of the Climate Pirates who brought 5 ships to Copenhagen, saw his colleagues surrounded by the melee of violent police on the way to the World Culture Center where we are working. He perceives that the police are deliberately sustaining the high tension of the situation by making arrests and quick releases.
Andrew, from the University of Copenhagen, perceives that the rigidity of separations between scientific disciplines makes it impossible to great a useful knowledge base. Oleg is concerned with the empty spaces between gathering places that create social isolation.
Our task in this second day, was to overlay these individual concerns with the larger matrix of the earth, global warming and my theoretical approach and begin to see new constellations that lead to solutions. We generated about 20 large drawings and tomorrow will move on to the problem of identifying one small point of leverage, a "trigger point," which will allow us to move to a position where we can heal the disruptions that concern us each.
The third day of my workshop on Trigger Point Theory as Aesthetic Activism, has been really exciting. We began yesterday, by my outlining how my theory developed, how it works and how it could applied to any problem solving.
Today, we focused on three problems brought to the workshop. Fabian, one of the Climate Pirates who brought 5 ships to Copenhagen, saw his colleagues surrounded by the melee of violent police on the way to the World Culture Center where we are working. He perceives that the police are deliberately sustaining the high tension of the situation by making arrests and quick releases.
Andrew, from the University of Copenhagen, perceives that the rigidity of separations between scientific disciplines makes it impossible to great a useful knowledge base. Oleg is concerned with the empty spaces between gathering places that create social isolation.
Our task in this second day, was to overlay these individual concerns with the larger matrix of the earth, global warming and my theoretical approach and begin to see new constellations that lead to solutions. We generated about 20 large drawings and tomorrow will move on to the problem of identifying one small point of leverage, a "trigger point," which will allow us to move to a position where we can heal the disruptions that concern us each.
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