Over three days, the Transformation Campus, organised as part of the Transformative Territories programme, will bring together artists, researchers, thinkers, and actors engaged in ecological transition to explore and experiment with the synergies between art and territorial transformation. This hybrid event, at the crossroads of humanities, political ecology, and transformative artistic practices, aims to develop methodologies for collective learning and transmission, as well as practical tools for those working towards ecological transition through artistic practices.
Through a systemic and transdisciplinary approach, the campus offers a space for experimentation where knowledge ecologies, epistemologies of sensitive practices, and the economy of the commons intertwine. Far from being a rigid structure, this campus will take inspiration from the living world, with its capacity for adaptation and regeneration, to imagine renewed ways of inhabiting the world.
The event will facilitate co-learning tools, the sharing of situated knowledge, and the emergence of new narratives, exploring how transformative artistic practices can nurture territories and foster their ecological and social flourishing.
The programme is structured around three key areas of reflection, explored through thematic workshops, performances, artistic walks, lectures, discussions, round tables, and creative research laboratories. The objective: to explore emerging pedagogical models that support the ecological, social, and cultural transition through art.
PROGRAMME:
- DAY 1
10:00 A.M – 12:30 P.M – WORKSHOP 1: How Can Art Contribute to Territorial Transformation? Mode of Action
Rethinking the Role of Art in Society: Transforming Representations: Art plays a crucial role in the socio-ecological transformation of territories. This first workshop explores how artists can contribute to these dy- namics by reshaping perceptions of place and engaging with territorial realities in new ways. We will reflect on the role of artists in shifting sensibilities, navigating ecological grief, and redefining the need for art on a territorial scale.
Investigating Through the Arts: How can artistic practices be used as investiga- tive tools, and what are their specificities? Artistic inquiry oers new ways of producing and sharing knowledge by engaging with sensory and situated approaches. This session will focus on alternative methodologies and tools for exploring territorial transformations.
2:30 P.M – ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE by Yeva Kupchenko
Yeva Kupchenko is a researcher, designer, and artist, who delves into eco-social, political and existential contexts through design, poetry, music, theory. Her recent practice has been focused on co-creation of knowledge and interspecies + epis- temic justice. Rooted in frameworks of decolonia- lity, solidarity and care, her approach emphasizes practical application of reflexivity and lived expe- rience, grounded in an embodied perspective.
3:00 P.M – 5:30 P.M – WORKSHOP 2: Evaluating Impact & Economic Models
This workshop explores two key themes:
– How can we measure and highlight the value created by transformative artistic practices in territories? We will examine the shi”ing value of art, from market-based to territorial, and from objects to practices.
– What mechanisms support transforma- tive artistic practices in territories? We will explore strategies and economic models that sustain these approaches.
6:00 P.M – ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE by Julie Navarro
Julie Navarro is a visual artist whose work — spanning painting, sculpture, and performance — explores the perception of living beings, the materiality of flows, and the pulsating heart of light. Her artistic practice is contextual, as explained by Paul Ardenne : «Each project she develops, in search of ‘unnoticed relations’ (Yves Michaud), originates from a given situation she encounters. Her perspective is twofold: to initiate a dialogue — with a geographical place, a community, a form of sociallife—andtopoeticallyshapethisrelationship.»
8:00 P.M – DINNER by the Mação School Restauration course
- DAY 2
9:30 A.M – 12:30 PM – WORKSHOP 3: Sustaining Engagement & Building Coalitions
This workshop examines the role of art in territorial transformation by fostering public engagement, creating shared cultural prac- tices, and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration. Through the sharing of ex- periences and reflections, we will explore how art can build connections, generate collective dynamics, and catalyse tangible change.
2:30 P.M – 12:30 PM – ROUND-TABLE: Does Culture Need Its Own SDG?
Chair: John CROWLEY
Participants: Inês Camara, Emma Haitengi, Nathalie Blanc, Nuno Guimarães da Costa, Luiz Oosterbeek
5:30 P.M – 7 P.M – ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE AND TALK with french artists Julie Navarro, Stéphanie Sagot and Thierry Boutonnier
Julie Navarro is a visual artist whose work – spanning painting, sculpture, and performance – explores the perception of living beings, the materiality of flows, and the pulsating heart of light.
Artist, researcher, and lover of the land and the ocean, Stephanie Sagot is committed to caring for these elements through situated practices connected to ecofeminism, biodiversity, peasantry, and agricultural policies. Her site-specific creations range from the establishment of an applied arts centre dedicated to food and agriculture in a rural area (Centre d’art La Cuisine) to various ecotopic experiments related to agroforestry. Stephanie Sagot is currently developing a project entitled Terres Amoureuses, in which she explores and envisions transformative practices aimed at regenerating soils.
Thierry Boutonnier explores the concept of domestication. Claiming no fixed specialisation, he embraces versatility and interdisciplinarity, utilising various media such as performance, video, sculpture, photography, diagrams, and publications. Through intense collaborations, he creates actions and objects in interdepen- dence with ecosystems, as seen in projects like Lausanne Jardin (2009), Prenez Racines (2010-2016), and Eau de Rose (2014-2017).
8:00 P.M – DINNER AT ITM: Brazilian Churrasco
- DAY 3
9:30 A.M – WORKSHOP: Arts & crafts and the territory – two case studies in Cape Verde and Portugal by Ana Marta Clemente
As part of doctoral research into vernacular architecture this study looks at the cultural manifestations of communities and their relationship with the territory, questioning the transmission, valorisation and dissemination of traditional knowledge. The research broadens the field of architecture by considering the experiences and interactions of communities with their natural resources, based on two case studies, in Cape Verde and Portugal.
10:00 A.M – TALK & DIALOGUE: Focus on Tavros Creative Assembly initiative for Transformative Territories
Tavros will share their experiences of their Creative Assemblies, the flagship event of the Transformative Territories programme, as the culmination of the research, workshops, and initiatives of the projects developed by each partner in their respective territories over the past two years.
11:30 A.M – PHOTO-BALAD PART II by Kenia Ribeiro
This Balade by Kenia Ribeiro explores the sacred beyond historical sites, unveiling it in the fundamental elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Through photography, Kenia questions their role in the landscape’s regeneration. Rather than a Roman bridge, it is the water flowing beneath that holds true sacredness, essential for the land’s recovery after wildfires. How do these elements sustain the resilience of the territory? Through imagery, the project invites us to reconsider our bond with nature and its vital forces.
The event is embedded within Apheleia Week, organised by the Instituto Terra e Memoria.
