Lectures
Past and upcoming speaking engagements on the subjects of art and cultures of sustainability, education for sustainable development, aesthetic education, social sculpture and intercultural dialogue include:
Aus dem Gleichgewicht (out of balance). Talk at the opening of art installation by artist Martin R. Wohlwend, Kunstraum Engländerbau, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, March 8th 2016.
Sustainability – a utopia? Talk at the 2016 GWS Forum “Utopia to what end? Incubator for new thinking and action in the working world”. Oberursel, February 25th 2016.
From unlimited growth to a responsible culture of connection. Podium discussion with Ulrich Grober und Joerg Weber. Museum of Applied Art, Frankfurt am Main, October 12th 2015.
The new Muse. Predisciplinarity as an approach to sustainability. Talk as part of the project “Networked for Sustainability”, organised by the Goethe Institute Georgia. Tiflis, Georgia, November 10th 2015.
Expedition in the field of perception. Perception as Dialogue. New perspectives in art, social practice and science. Podium discussion with Rainer Hagencord, Martin Müller, Johannes Oberthür and Hartmut Schröter, as part of the exhibition “Opening. The paintings of Johannes Oberthür”, held at the Evangelisches Forum Kassel, November 6th 2015, Kassel.
Predisciplinarity as a tool for social change. Talk at the Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environmental Agency), Dessau, October 28th 2015.
Mindfulness – Catalyst for social ecological transformation? Talk as part of the conference “Mindfulness and experiencing nature”, organised by the Bundesamt für Naturschutz (Federal Agency for Environmental Protection) and the Forestry Research and Testing Institute Baden-Württemberg at the International Academy for Nature Conservation, Isle of Vilm, October 13th 2015.
Imagining the future to transform the present. Podium discussion as part of the Citizen Art Days 2015, with artist Surekha (India) and cultural activist Flavia Vivacqua (Brazil), moderated by Stefan Krüskemper. RADIALSYSTEM V, Berlin, September 4th 2015. Aesthetic practices in times of change. Talk as part of the community summer festival, Schloss Tempelhof, August 5th 2015.
Aesthetic practices in times of change. Talk as part of the community summer festival, Schloss Tempelhof, August 5th 2015.
Aesthetics of Sustainability, lecture organised by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - University of Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Helmholtz Association. Karlsruhe, July 16th 2015.
From Deep Down - Social Sculpture in the UN-Year of Soils, lecture organised by Transition Town Kassel. Kassel, May 8th 2015. Art Creates Knowledge - Science and Art, lecture at the "Leuphana Conference for Sustainability", Leuphana University. Lueneburg, February 25th 2015.
Art and Sustainability, lecture at the conference "Art and Sustainable Development" organised by the Hannes Pauli Gesellschaft, University of Bern, Switzerland, August 15th 2014.
Sustainability, lecture at the 13th Austrian Congress for Geriatric Care, Eisenstadt, Austria, June 27th 2014.
At Home in Reality, lecture at the 29th Wildunger Congress for Psychotherapy, Bad Wildungen, March 17th 2014.
Who has Rights? On Participation of Human Beings and Other Beings, panel discussion with Thomas Fatheuer and Leonie Bellina within the Leuphana Conference for Sustainability, Leuphana University, Lueneburg, February 26th 2014.
Is Sustainability an Artistic Challenge?, lecture at the Karl Ballmer Saal Berlin-Kreuzberg, organised by SinneWerk e.V., Berlin, December 13th 2013.
New Horizons for Cultures of Sustainability, lecture within a strategy workshop for the boards of EuroNatur, BN und BUND, organised by the International Academy for Nature Conservation, Vilm, November 2nd 2013.
On the Spiritual in Sustainability, lecture organised by modem conclusa, Munich, October 1st 2013. The Shifting Gardens, organised by the Centre for Anthroposophy and Transition Town Kassel, Kassel, September 27th 2013.
Social Sculpture and the Challenge of Sustainability, keynote speech at the conference "Pannonian Internationality. On the Shaping of International Communities as Works of Art", organised by Europahaus Burgenland, Eisenstadt, Austria, March 19th 2014.
The Spell of the Sensuous, a series of symposia with David Abram, Andreas Weber and Shelley Sacks, organised by thinkOya, March 6th-12th 2013, in Berlin, Hannover, , Munich and Prague. Activism - Campaigns - Social Sculpture II, lecture and social sculpture process, organised by Impuls - Agentur für angewandte Utopien e.V., Berlin, February 5th 2013.
Activism - Campaigns - Social Sculpture I, lecture and social sculpture process, organised by Impuls - Agentur für angewandte Utopien e.V., Berlin, December 12th 2012.
Finding One's Own Agenda, organised by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and Fundus e.V., Potsdam, November 2nd 2012.
How Do We Shape the Transition Process from Within?, panel discussion at the congress “Growth in Transition”, organised by the Austrian Ministry for Environment, Vienna, October 10th 2012.
Cultivating Capacity, lecture with Shelley Sacks at the 11th European Permaculture Convergence (EuPC), gASTWERKe Escherode/Kassel, August 2nd 2012.
'Fishbowl', contribution to the symposium “Sufficiency Economy - What is missing on the Rio Agenda?”, organised by the Wuppertal Institute and the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Berlin, May 21st 2012.
Moderation of the symposium “Culture of Sustainability - Welfare or Growth?” with Prof Dr Julian Nida-Ruemelin and Prof Dr Meinrad Miegel, organised by BenE Muenchen e.V., Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, February 14th 2012.
Every Human Being a Leader?, lecture at Europahaus in Eisendstadt, Austria, December 5th 2011.
What has Sustainability got to do with an Expanded Understanding of Art?, lecture at the University of Ulster, Belfast, May 25th 2011.
Which Technique Do We Need?, lecture at “Energy Talks Ossiach 2011”, Stift Ossiach, Austria, May 5th 2011.
'What has Sustainability got to do with an Expanded Understanding of Art?', lecture within the seminar “Agents of Change. Ecological Citizenship and The Art of Changing One´s Mind(set)” at the Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, March 18th 2011.
Climate Change - a Good Climate for Change, lecture and workshop at “Forum for Creative Minds II - Cities and Climate Change”, organised by the Goethe-Institute Zagreb, Zagreb, March, 3rd - 5th 2011.
Why Desirable Social Change Needs an Expanded Concept of Art, lecture and workshop within the EU-project “Sostenuto - thinking culture as a factor of economic and social innovation” in Ljubljana, Slovenia, December 2nd - 4th 2010.
From Spirit to Action, lecture and workshop at the opening of the art & ecology happening “Gentle Actions”, Oslo, October 23rd 2010.
Towards a New, Radically Ecological Humanism, lecture at the seminar "Towards a New Solar Age", organised by the Provincia di Firenze, Florence, May 28th 2010.
On the Need for Climate Change, lecture as part of the Centre for Art, Design, Research and Experimentation 2008-09 Research Lecture Series. University of Wolverhampton, UK, March 17th 2009.
The World as Growing Sculpture, lecture at the Bern University of the Arts, organised by the Division of Design and Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland, March 13th 2009.
Growth! On The Human Being in the Solar Age. A Cultural-Philosophical Approach, at the Dobbiaco Colloquia 2008, Academy of the Dobbiaco Colloquia, Dobbiaco, Italy, September 26th 2008.
Being an Artist in a Dying World, keynote speech at the “Artful Ecologies 2” conference organised by Research in Art, Nature & Environment (RANE), University College Falmouth, UK, July 9th 2008.
Sustainability - a Challenge to Art?, at the “Grassroots” conference organised by Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland, April 16th 2008.
Consumption and Lifestyle in the Solar Age, at The Dobbiaco Colloquia 2007, Academy of the Dobbiaco Colloquia, Dobbiaco, Italy, October 19th 2007.
Social Sculpture Today, opening speech for the Social Sculpture Today exhibition at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, May 3rd 2007.
Time of Beginnings. New Forms of Thinking and of Being in the World, keynote speech at the 6th Annual South Florida Environmental Ethics conference, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Lauderdale, USA, March 16th 2007.
Sustainability - a Challenge to Art?, in the lecture series "Food for Thought", organised by the Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Environment, Vienna, Austria, December 14th 2006.
Towards a Culture of Life, at the symposium “Sustainability and Contemporary Art”, organised by Maja and Reuben Fowkes in cooperation with the Central European University Budapest, Hungary, March 3rd 2006.
Art - Resource for a Sustainable Modernity?, lecture and workshop as part of the project "EcoTopia. Contemporary Art and Nature in the Caucasus", organised by the Goethe-Institute Tbilisi, Tiflis, Georgia, September 29th 2005.
Towards the Spirit of Sustainability, Geumgang Nature Art Biennale 2004, organised by the Association of Korean Nature Artists - YATOO, Gongju, South Korea, August 14th 2004.
c u l t u r a 21 - Art and Sustainability in Rural Spaces, within the seminar "Art, Culture and the Environment", organised by the Arts Council of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, May 10th 2004.
Aesthetics of Sustainability, at the symposium "Social Sculpture / Connective Aesthetics", organised by the Social Sculpture Research Unit, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK, June 25th 2003.