In Search of the Pluriverse

Getting in the mood for Mull #2 – with Jay Tompt

On the weather-beaten island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, two artists from the Netherlands set up camp, taking a vow to “work with the elements, not fight them”. Over time they grew a garden, a seasonal residency programme and a neighbourhood barn-in-a-barn. How to thrive and make kin with other humans and non-humans in such a remote place, year-round? The team of In Search of the Pluriverse will find out by temporarily relocating to this northern edge of Europe.
Wong & Krier needed some more context before they left for the UK, Scotland, Mull. To touch base before the actual travel. They choose for a climate/activist perspective – Climate conference COP26, Glasgow is coming up in November – and they wanted to gain more insight in economic/political innovation at a local/community level in the UK. Listen to their conversations with Suzanne Dhaliwal and Jay Tompt.
Jay Tompt is a lecturer in the MA Regenerative Economics at Schumacher College and co-founder of the Totnes REconomy Project (UK), for which he regularly delivers trainings in transition. A ‘political entrepreneur with California style enthusiasm’. Jay works as an executive, consultant, activist and writer. His areas of expertise include citizen-led economics, ethical consuming, green supply chain and waste reduction. A talk about the marginal position of local politics in the UK, the come back of the commons, about the potential of dragons and the power of participation. Listen to an insider who plays the outsider-card whenever needed. 
References
Totnes REconomy Projectreconomycentre.org/
Local Spark Torbaylocalsparktorbay.org/
Schumacher College, MA Regenerative Economicswww.schumachercollege.org.uk/campus.dartington.org/regenerative-economics/
On Making the Yes and the No, with Jay Jordan and Isa FrémeauxHetnieuweinstituut – Warming-up-to-the-pluriverse-8-on-making-the-yes-and-the-no
The 1999 Battle in Seattle against WTO rules of tradewww.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhi…otests-in-seattle
Anti and alter globalisation movementwww.dw.com/en/a-brief-history-…movement/g-39573255
World Social Forumwsf2021.net/
Transition Town movement, Totneswww.transitiontowntotnes.org/transitionnetwork.org/
Scotland’s independence movementwww.cfr.org/in-brief/whats-next…dependence-movement
Flatpack democracy: power tools for reclaiming local politicswww.flatpackdemocracy.co.uk
On the Welfare State, and its start in Darlingtonwww.centreforwelfarereform.org/library/r…stem.html
Open Space methodwww.mind.org.uk/media-a/4924/open-space-method.pdf
The Local Entrepreneur Forum and the Community of Dragonsreconomycentre.org/home/lef/
Brexit slogan “Getting back control”www.irishtimes.com/culture/take-ba…urope-1.3824393
The Dragons’ Den TV showwww.youtube.com/channel/UCDAzmE9V4Xw5CdLkn3pvO3A
Myrtle Cooper, Wild & Curiouswildandcurious.org.uk
Incredible Edibleswww.incredibleedible.org.uk/
Incredible Farmincrediblefarm.co.uk/
Community Interest Company (CiC)www.gov.uk/government/publicat…report-2020-to-2021
Community Benefit Society (CBS)www.mondaq.com/uk/charities-non-…y-benefit-society
Guerilla Gardeningwww.guerrillagardening.org/
On relocalisation as a permaculture principle: David Holmgren, Pathways to Sustainabilitystore.holmgren.com.au/product/princi…-and-pathways/
Biogregionalism: becoming native to a placecascadiabioregion.org/what-is-bioregionalism
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.

Getting in the mood for Mull #1 – with Suzanne Dhaliwal

On the weather-beaten island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, two artists from the Netherlands set up camp, taking a vow to “work with the elements, not fight them”. Over time they grew a garden, a seasonal residency programme and a neighbourhood barn-in-a-barn. How to thrive and make kin with other humans and non-humans in such a remote place, year round? The team of In Search of the Pluriverse will find out by temporarily relocating to this northern edge of Europe.
Wong & Krier needed some more context before they left for the UK, Scotland, Mull. To touch base before the actual travel. They choose for a climate/activist perspective – Climate conference COP26, Glasgow is coming up in November – and they wanted to gain more insight in economic/political innovation at a local/community level in the UK. Listen to their conversations with Suzanne Dhaliwal and Jay Tompt.
Suzanne Dhaliwal is ‘climate justice campaigner’ and artist. She was part of the Art Not Oil coalition, challenging BP and Shell's corporate sponsorship in the arts, and strives for more inclusivity within the climate movement. Because: Why is Britain’s green movement still an all white affair? Brexit, the pandemic and ‘activist fatigue’ made Dhaliwal relocate to Croatia recently, from where she continues her work. A talk about making privileges productive, a megaphone as listening tool, and the power of making the absent present.
References
www.suzannedhaliwal.org/
Why are Britain’s Green Movements an All White Affairwww.theguardian.com/environment/201…ll-white-affair
MA Social Sculpture in the Arts, Oxford
www.social-sculpture.org/taught-maste…sculpture-2/
MA Ecology Futures, AKV St Joostwww.akvstjoostmasters.nl/programmes/e…logy-futures
No Tar: Sands (Canada)www.no-tar-sands.org/
Zapatistas set sail for Europe in a gesture of solidaritywww.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/…y-and-rebellion
Laing Olivia. The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone, Picador: 2016www.olivialaing.com/
Bus sculpture by British-Nigerian artist Sokari Douglas-Campwww.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34777859
Jon Daniel (1966-2017), columnist, independent creative director and social activistwww.designweek.co.uk/issues/16-22-o…iel-1966-2017/
UK COP 26. COP stands for Conference of the Parties. Parties are the signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - a treaty agreed in 1994 which has 197 Parties (196 countries and the EU).ukcop26.org/
Have you read the IPCC report? “The IPCC embodies a unique opportunity to provide rigorous and balanced scientific information to decision-makers because of its scientific and intergovernmental nature.”www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/
Further reading/listening
Serpentine podcast Back to Earth: How do we get there? (Suzanne intervenes at 12 min).
Mothers of Invention podcast“Climate change is a man-made problem. With a feminist solution!”www.mothersofinvention.online/
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.

Testing İstanbul’s Waters spin off: Dersim’s Waters

As part of the podcast episode Testing İstanbul’s Waters, impact maker and Dutch politician with Kurdish roots Kıvılcım Özmen shares the stories of her grandmother Besê Diribaş (1915-1996) about the layered meaning of water in Dersim. Eastern Anatolia has been home to many Kurds for centuries. Some continue to live there even after the Dersim massacre (1937-1938).Slow down, and let this circular tale of belonging cradle you. The original story is by Kıvılcım Özmen; the English narration is by İlke Ercan; and the song Ferfecir is by Metin and Kemal Kahraman. Many thanks to Ayşe Gül Altınay and Gülser İlgan who helped shine a light on Kurdish Alevism.

Thirst Walk & Talk - Bonus track

In four short audio notes, Sophie and Erik reflect on the Thirst Talk. Sophie brings in Arturo Escobar’s writings and Erik announces an epilogue of our İstanbul adventure…
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.

Thirst Walk & Talk: On water as continuity.

With designer Nur Horsanalı, urbanist Yaşar Adnan Adanalı, river mobiliser Li An Phoa and architect Eva Pfannes from OOZE.
Finally Sophie and Erik meet up with Nur Horsanalı, Yaşar Adnan Adanalı, Eva Pfannes from OOZE and Li An Phoa at the same time, in virtual space. After a synchronised one hour walk, following the THIRST WALK instructions Sophie wrote, we meet online in public space. Calling in from İstanbul, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague. Accompanied by the sound of mosques, playing children and a Dutch breeze, we talk about water inside and outside our bodies, about water as infrastructure, as lifeline, as disappointment, as part of our practice and as a continuous flow that connects everything and everybody across generations.
Cited references
Vliet Canal, The Hague, Netherlands, dated back to 47 ADen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vliet_(canal)
Taksim Square fountain, Beyoğlu, İstanbulartsandculture.google.com/exhibit/taks…ICzpgA-6ypJg
2013 Gezi protestsbianet.org/english/crisis/1515…i-resistance-report
Çesme (public fountain)www.ktb.gov.tr/EN-113835/fountai…man-istanbul.html
Thirst Walk Instructions (Exercise #4)pluriverse.hetnieuweinstituut.nl/en/exercises
Amstel river, Amsterdamen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstel
Hamidiye bottled waterhamidiye.istanbul/
Ayazağa Creek, Sarıyer/Istanbul41.114407, 28.998969
Hefbrug Rotterdamrotterdammakeithappen.nl/en/media-obj…the-hefbrug/
Rhine Watersheden.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_watershed
Vortex (the etymological root of the word vertical)en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex
Deltaen.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_delta
Trekvaartwww.britannica.com/topic/Trekvaart
Swimming in the Maaswww.rotterdamcityblog.com/city-rotterd…m-swim-2015/
Swimming in the Bosphoruswww.youtube.com/watch?v=e0WEHmZl5nk
Animal çesme (automated style)www.tuzla.bel.tr/icerik/888/7188/…-su-otomati.aspx
Bird architecture (Ottoman bird houses)www.cnnturk.com/yasam/osmanlinin-kus-koskleri
Center for Spatial Justice roof garden @ysrdnlwww.instagram.com/p/CNM8zQwAkof
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.

Testing İstanbul‘s Waters: Thirst Talk #5 – with Serkan Taycan

In this extra Thirst Talk, Sophie crosses – virtual – paths with engineer and artist Serkan Taycan who initiated the Between Two Seas Walk: an artwork, a heritage walk and an open air laboratory at the same time. By combining the notion of engineering with an artistic practice, Taycan tries to make us aware of how spatial decision-making can have enormous cultural and ecological consequences.
Cited references
Serkan Taycanwww.serkantaycan.com/
A Wall of Water (5’48’’), Serkan Taycan, 2018
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu says only a handful of people will benefit from the Kanal Istanbul project.
bianet.org/english/environment…al-istanbul-project
Between Two Seascultureroutesinturkey.com/between-two-seas/
Gezi Park protests, 2013en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gezi_Park_protests
Ece Uzmay Asya, “Hydropolitics and Water Geographies of Istanbul” (master thesis), Kadir Has University, July 2019 (unpublished). See Ece Uzmay Asya, “ The 1970 Cholera Epidemic in Sağmalcılar: Unveiling the Entangled Water Relations of Istanbul”, İstanbul Unbound Conference, 2021 (replay starts around 39 minutes)
www.crowdcast.io/e/istanbul-unbound/8
Lignite Mining in Turkeywww.gem.wiki/Turkey_and_coal
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.

Testing İstanbul‘s Waters: Thirst Talk #4 – with Yasar Adnan Adanalı

In Thirst Talk #4, Sophie meets up with urbanist and İstanbulite Yaşar Adnan Adanalı. A talk about how all spatial issues have social consequences. Also the idea of walking as a way to produce knowledge and the importance of ‘scale’ pop up during this short, animated talk.
Cited references
Yaşar Adnan Adanalıyasaradanali.com
Infected Cities Seriesdutchculture.nl/en/events/infecte…cities-8-istanbul
Center for Spatial Justice, Mekanda Adalet Derneği (MAD)centerforspatialjustice.org/
Beyond İstanbulbeyond.istanbul/
Kanal İstanbul (official narrative)www.kanalistanbul.gov.tr/tr
Kanal İstanbul (environmental contestation)www.nationalgeographic.com/science/art…tal-impacts
Müşterek (commons)musterekler.sehak.org/
River Basin Studiesmekandaadalet.org/en/program/river-basin-studies/
Hope Archivemekandaadalet.org/en/hope-archive/
Ecological Manifesto for a post pandemic worldmekandaadalet.org/en/ecological-ma…-pandemic-world/
Guest Column Funambulist magazine on design & racismthefunambulist.net/articles/guest-…r-adnan-adanali
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.

Testing İstanbul’s Waters: Thirst Talk #3 – with Eva Pfannes (OOZE)

In Thirst Talk #3, Erik has a conversation with Eva Pfannes, one of the founders of OOZE. A talk about ‘oozing’ as a slow process without boundaries. The conversation starts in a Rotterdam neighbourhood and ends in a temporary natural swimming pond in London. Dip in!
Cited references
Ooze (Eva Pfannes and Silvain Hartenberg)www.ooze.eu.com/
IABR “Down to Earth / Whose Energy is it, anyway?”: Local Energy Action Plan (LEAP)www.iabr.nl/en/projectatelier/leap2www.ooze.eu.com/en/urban_strategy local_energy_action_plan_rotterdam/
Harvesting energy from rivers: aquathermywww.cedelft.eu/en/publications/2…essment-framework
Venice Architecture Biennale, “How Will We Live Together.www.labiennale.org/en/architecture…t-hashim-sarkis
Future Island, Ooze’s contribution with Marjetica Potrč for the exhibition “As One Planet” (Central pavilion, Giardini)www.ooze.eu.com/en/urban_prototype/future_island/
Humans have only been around (half) a second in Earth’s life.earthhow.com/earth-timeline-geo…al-history-events/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale
Of Soil and Water: King’s Cross Pond Club, Londonwww.ooze.eu.com/en/urban_prototyp…_cross_pond_club/
MIF - ministry of fence, The Bartlett Diploma, 1996, Eva Pfannes
The Biosphere dome experiment: “a colossal failure” (1991)www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/sunday…imate-change.html
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.

Testing İstanbul’s Waters: Thirst Talk # 2 – with Nur Horsanalı

In this second Thirst Talk, Sophie meets designer and Istanbulite Nur Horsanalı, who spent a lot of time on the famous Galata bridge to observe fishermen and the social and economic structure that surrounds them. There is a lot of ‘halletmek’ going on there. What is halletmek? Tune in and find out.
Cited references
Nur on instawww.instagram.com/nurhorsanali/
Young Curators’ Group, 5th İstanbul Design Biennaleempathyrevisited.iksv.org/en/5th-istan…rators-group
Desiccate with Care, part of New Civic Ritualsempathyrevisited.iksv.org/en/project/1…te-with-care
Finnish Pavilion of the 22nd Triennale di Milanotriennale.org/en/events/aalto-un…oto-mikko-raskinen
4th İstanbul Design Biennial, A School of Schoolsaschoolofschools.iksv.org/
IKSV podcast (Turkish spoken)www.spreaker.com/user/11517119/tasbie-ep10-flac-se
Halletmekpluriverse.hetnieuweinstituut.nl/en/glossary
Nur Horsanalı, “Halletmek”, İstanbul Bilgi University: 2017issuu.com/nurhorsanali/docs/halletmek_pdf/
Galata bridgeFour versions and many proposals preceded the current version of the Galata Bridge (among others, a 1502 design sketch by Leonardo da Vinci), built by the Turkish construction company STFA between the districts of Karaköy and Eminönü. It was completed in 1994.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galata_Bridge
Çesme (public fountain)pluriverse.hetnieuweinstituut.nl/en/istanbul
Self-organisation and system D designwww.hathawaydesigns.org/system-d-academy.html
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.

Testing İstanbul‘s Waters: Thirst Talk #1 – with Li An Phoa

Testing İstanbul's Waters: Thirst Talk #1 – with Li An Phoa
In this first episode Erik meets up with researcher and activist Li An Phoa, who walked 15.000 kilometers in the past 10 years to mobilise all stakeholders involved in the well being of rivers. A talk about the precious 2% of fresh, drinkable water there is on this planet.
Cited references
Drinkable Rivers and the role that the Rupert river in Québec, Canada played in mobilising Li An Phoadrinkablerivers.org/our-story/
De Drinkbare Maas Afl. 1-3 (NPO Start, De Boeddhistische Blik)www.npostart.nl/de-boeddhistische…3-2020/KN_1713433
De Nieuwe Waterwegwww.rijkswaterstaat.nl/water/vaarweg…euwe-waterweg
Francesco Careri, Walkscapes. Walking as an aesthetic practice, Culicidae Architectural Press : 2017)culicidaearchitecturalpress.com/careri-walkscapes/
To walk, Rebecca Solnit writes, is to take a “subversive detour.” See Solnit Rebecca, Wanderlust: a history of walking, Verso: 2002. (See also from the same author the great A Field Guide to Getting Lost).www.newyorker.com/recommends/read/…y-rebecca-solnit
Following complaints from citizens, İstanbul’s mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu recently took up the task of restoring and reactivating the city’s fountains, çesmes.pluriverse.hetnieuweinstituut.nl/en/istanbul
Mayors Network Reportdrinkablerivers.org/download/mayors…2f0ab1618757154
Only 2% of the water on the planet is drinkablewww.worldwildlife.org/industries/fre…hwater-systems
Clean up your personal care : an insightful infographic design by Angela Morellithewaterweeat.com/
Riverbed (miscellaneous online definitions)The ground over which a river usually flows.The channel in which a river flows or has flowed.The area between the banks of a river usually covered by water.The path where a river runs, or where a rivers once ran.
“An optimist for the Twenty-Second Century. Meeting Arne Naess High Up in the Mountains.” This interview by eco artist Jan van Boeckel, published on Open Air Philosophy, was held as part of the production of the film “The Call of the Mountain: Arne Naess and the Deep Ecology Movement” (1997). Within the field of environmental philosophy, Arne Naess is perhaps most known for coining the term “deep ecology”, an approach to environmental problems that looks for its roots deep in the structure of our western society and the world views that guide it.
openairphilosophy.org/wp-content/upl…VanBoeckel.pdf
For more information about In Search of the Pluriverse visit hnix.nl/pluriverse and follow @insearchofthepluriverse on Instagram.