Circular Cultures: Topographies of Waste
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In English with simultaneous interpretation in Greek, and Greek sign language
In the new edition of Circular Cultures, designers, artists, scientists, and academics will be looking at waste through the topographies of urban systems.
They will explore sustainable urban practices while showcasing important city design projects that serve communities while promoting equity and social justice. Having as a starting point our rapidly expanding city — our land — the program will focus on waste management through the spectrum of food and nature production and highlight the correlation between consumption and making or creating.
“Topographies of Waste” will examine different waste management systems and suggest design solutions to the visible environmental and social challenges that waste creates. It will showcase networks and initiatives that promote resilience and boost social capital by raising awareness around the climate emergency and the impact on the city.
Τhe British Council and Onassis Stegi present a two-day program comprising of an online conference on the first day, with keynotes and panel discussions and the second day is dedicated to digital & interactive face-to-face workshops and masterclasses.
Circular Cultures aims to engage with artists, designers, urban planners, makers and the general public in making their cities more sustainable and foster interdisciplinary, holistic strategies to promote urban resilience by raising awareness and helping people learn new skills.
Thursday, 3 March 2022 | 14:00 – 19:00 | 12:00 – 17:00 (GMT)
14:00 – 16:00 | Water Ecologies
Hosted by Maria Papaioannou, Head of Arts at the British Council in Greece
14:00 – 14:15 | Welcome Remarks
14:15 – 14:20 | Scene Setting by Parvinder Marwaha, Program Manager for Architecture Design Fashion at the British Council
14:20 – 14:40 | Keynote by Mariana Pestana, Co-founder and Director of The Decorators, Curator of the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial
14:40 – 14:55 | Provocation by:
- Jane Withers, Design consultant, Curator and Writer
- Dr. Naho Mirumachi, Associate Professor in Environmental Politics at King’s College London
14:55 – 15:15 | Keynote by Eleni Myrivili, Consultant on Resilience and Climate Change for the City of Athens and Arsht-Rock Resilience Center (Atlantic Council)
15:15 – 15:40 | “Pipe dreams” panel discussion moderated by Parvinder Marwaha, Program Manager for Architecture Design Fashion at the British Council
- Monish Siripurapu, Founder of Ant Studio
- Elissa Brunato, Co-founder of AusBlau Studio
15:40 – 15:55 | Intervention – keynote by Apostolos Korkolis, Quality Control Lab Manager, Polyeco S.A.
15:55 – 16:00 | Video Break
16:00 – 17:20 | Food Waste
Hosted by Prodromos Tsiavos, Head of Digital and Innovation, Onassis Foundation
16:00 – 16:05 | Scene Setting by Parvinder Marwaha
16:05 – 16:25 | Keynote by Lydia Kallipoliti, Assistant Professor at The Cooper Union
16:25 – 16:45 | Keynote by Vicky Barboka, Food Officer, WWF Greece
16:45 – 17:20 | Panel Discussion moderated by Kika Kiriakakou, Artistic Director of PCAI
- Vicky Barboka, Food Officer, WWF Greece
- Karishma Rafferty, Festival Programmer at Kew Gardens
- Katerina Zachou, Associate Curator, Biennale of Western Balkans
17:20 – 17:30 | Intervention by Christos Carras, Executive Director, Onassis Stegi
17:30 – 17:35 | Break
17:35 – 18:50 | Circular By Design
Hosted by Seth and Akil Scaffe Smith, Directors of RESOLVE Collective
Designers in dialogue:
- Christiana Vardakou, Textile Designer
- Eva Grigoriadou, Head of Research and Educational Programmes, Urbana
- Mara Angelidou, Director, InCommOn
- Imandeep Kaur, Co-founder and Director of Civic Square
- Joel De Mowbray and Morgan Da Silva, Directors at Yes Make
- Alix Bizet, Material Researcher, Designer and Educator
18:50 – 19:00 | Thank you notes
Read more about the participants
Mariana Pestana
Jane Withers
Naho Mirumachi
Eleni Myrivili
Monish Siripurapu
Apostolos Korkolis
Architect, engineer, and scholar
Lydia Kallipoliti
Vicky Barboka
Kika Kyriakakou
Karishma Rafferty
Katerina Zachou
RESOLVE Collective
Christiana Vardakou
Eva Grigoriadou
Mara Angelidou
Yes Make
Alix Bizet
They are invisible in our minds, yet present in our lives.
We regard the objects that surround us as existent for as long as we use them, but we forget that they continue to exist and—probably—to pollute for a much longer time after they leave our homes and workplaces. We give thought to the design of a house, a piece of furniture or a garment, but we ignore their lives when we no longer use them.
What would happen if we took the design of our waste and trash as seriously as we take the design of an everyday item or an aesthetic object? Can we think of our clothes, food or coffee focusing on the water they consume or the soil they pollute? How can digital technology help us with all this, what are the politics and ethics of circular economy, and what does it mean to be able to reuse parts of devices, clothes, and objects after their original use?
The fourth year of collaboration between Onassis Stegi and the British Council for Circular Cultures, under the title “Topographies of Waste,” revolves around one question: What does it mean to “design our trash”? We seek environmental justice and observe how the practices of circular economy bring about another kind of design, more political, more inclusive, and, ultimately, more humane.
The event Circular Cultures – “Topographies of Waste” is part of Onassis Stegi’s wider initiatives to support and promote climate and environmental justice, as a key aspect of cultural activity, and also as central to the design and use of digital technologies and to enhancing innovation. It is directly related to the Onassis Foundation educational actions, especially in the context of Science Technology and Arts (STARTS), which features a circular economy and digital technologies program, its digital actions for schools, as well as to its energies that support technology transfer and innovation, mostly through the production of relevant works of extended and virtual reality at the ONX accelerator of Onassis USA.
—Prodromos Tsiavos
Friday 4 March 2022 | 11:00 – 16:00
11:00–12:30 | WWF: Let’s… eat for change!
13:00–14:30 | CO3(6)5: Can our food waste be used for something useful and propagate a circular economy?
15:00–16:00 | Platforming Social Infrastructure through Local Design
Circular Cultures is a new British Council sustainable design and creative economies program in EU Europe, which aims to promote greater awareness around sustainable design, circularity, and making cultures. It aims to embed a more critical dialogue around design and circularity, develop the skills and knowledge of creative leaders, and create new EU networks around sustainability and circularity.
In Greece, Circular Cultures is organized in collaboration with Onassis Stegi and is an integral part of the broader collaboration between the British Council and the Onassis Foundation aimed at the development of an ongoing and action-oriented public space for ethical crafts, circular design, materials and fashion sustainability.
Circular Cultures is part of the British Council global program Making Matters, which aims to foster a global dialogue around the topic of circular design. The multidisciplinary program explores how principles of the circular economy can be a catalyst for creativity, collaboration, and regenerative thinking within architecture, design, and fashion practice.
Credits
Program Management
Maria Papaioannou (British Council Greece), Prodromos Tsiavos (Onassis Foundation)
Webinar platform coordination
Heracles Papatheodorou (Onassis Stegi)
Production Management
Katerina Galani (British Council), Ioanna Margariti (Onassis Stegi)
UK Advisor on Architecture, Design and Fashion
Parvinder Marwaha (British Council)
The conference is in collaboration with the British Embassy in Athens and supported by PCAI
The interpretation services in Greek sign language are supported by Onassis Stegi within the framework of the European network Europe Beyond Access, co-funded by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union
Sponsors / Partners
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