Abstract
Along the lines of art projects reflecting on the ecological crisis, which are now becoming a trend in the Western world order, Indigenous narratives, previously associated with magical thinking, are gaining attention in the art world. Whereas their narratives had previously only attracted attention among anthropologists, the ecological crisis has led to an increased interest in practices of sustainability and a different understanding of nature, which has brought indigenous projects to the world’s most prominent exhibition spaces. The paper highlights, through some contemporary activist projects (Ailton Krenák, Selvagem project; Ernesto Neto and the Huni Kuin project; Ursula Biemann and the Devenir Univesidad; Karribing film collective) the “multi-species” conceptions of self/person that essentially reshape approaches to contemporary ecological projects. The focus of the study is an experimental activist community project that was created in February 2025 in collaboration with artist Maria Chilf, local artists Consuelo del Toro and Daniela Jauregui and female members of the multicultural indigenous communities living in the outskirts of Playa del Carmen, Mexico and the Indigenous Office. The project posits indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants, forest and water justice as a shared, mutually sustaining, reciprocal agency. The research focuses on the long-term vision of the project in the context of indigenous activism and ecological art projects that would offer new perspectives for art discourse, and show novel forms of artivism for ecological, as well as social justice.
Presenters
Tunde VargaAssociate Professor, Art Theory and Curatorial Studies, Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Hungary
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Indigenous Culture, Multicultural Activism, Forest Justice, Indigenous Medicinal Plants, Artivism
