Discussion: Symbiogenesis- Friday, October 16th
Dive into Symbiogensis with special guests, educators, growers, activists and artists to explore the beginning of life, our planet; a holistic system of parts. Soils, the foundation of diversity.
“The nature of Nature.”, “Cooperation, not Competition.”, “Becoming by living together.”
This session will explore the fabric that evolved and sustains life, and the role of soils in facilitating evolutionary change, systemic change, a change for the better!
Special Feature:
Our Land, an ongoing photography series by Cindy Qiao, portrays the fleeting layers of leaves, fruits, seeds, and twigs on the ground in the area between two steps in urban green spaces. It’s a record of the limited area of soil found in public parks, botanical gardens, and sidewalk tree beds in three major urban cities, New York, London, and Los Angeles. The fallen foliage, flowers, and fruits turn the land into an ephemeral canvas that documents the ongoing negotiations and reconciliations between urban human life and forces in nature: gravity, wind, sunlight, and rain. There are traces of activity and hints of the time of the year and places, a nibbled acorn from a squirrel, a leaf blown from across the field, or a pile of industrial mulch.
Throughout the series, the topology of the ground shifts in tonality, structure, density, and luminance, mirroring the paradoxical feelings the artist has about land, feeling displaced geographically, culturally, and emotionally, and at the same time, feeling grounded, at awe, and uplifted by the nurturing power shared by all land.
Speakers:
Dorian Sagan, Writer, theorist and independent scholar. Author/co-author of twenty-five books, several with biologist Lynn Margulis on planetary biology and evolution by symbiosis.
Topic: Symbiogenesis, or, Beetlemania Has Not Bitten The Dust
Time: 2:15 - 2:45 pm EST (New York City)
Dr. Paul S. Mankiewicz, Co-Founder USI, explores through research, development, design and education the interrelationship between human communities and natural systems. Dr. Mankiewicz’s philosophy, which provides the foundation on which the Gaia Institute is based, holds that human communities and natural systems can coexist to mutual benefit. This rests on the hypothesis that where the flow of 'waste' materials from human activities can be cleaned and utilized to create habitat, human industry can be coupled with conserving and creating landscapes that provide an abode for life. Such material cycles can enhance environmental quality, where ecological productivity and diversity become goals of human activity.
Topic: TBA
Time: 2:50 - 3:05 pm EST (New York City)
Cindy Qiao, Cindy Qiao (b. China) is a visual artist who explores the human-nature relations through photography. Her images are close observations of nature in urban environments where reality verges into abstraction as they become objects for contemplation. Her works have been exhibited in Boston and New York. She has a BA in Philosophy and lives and works in Long Island City, New York.cindyqiao.com
Topic: Our Land (A Photo Series)
Time: 3:10 - 3:20 pm EST (New York City)
Marietta J. Tanner, taught and was administrator at intermediate schools in NYC, Columnist, Amsterdam News. Community Activist. Wrote "Children are the Barometers" about Bronx JHS students and drug wars, and "Driving in Second," about 1954 Supreme Court Desegregation decision and Black struggles to overcome continuous racism. She will talk about the importance of integrating soils, and ecology-hands on experience into NYC schools.
Topic: Serengeti is Not Forever
Time: 3:25 - 3:35 pm EST (New York City)
Joshua Harrison, In addition to his work as Co-Founder of green technology company, Leaf Island, Josh is co-Director of the Center for the Study of the Force Majeure, a research institution based at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Center was founded by seminal ecological artists Newton and Helen Harrison driven by their over 50 years of experience designing large scale ecologically transformative visions for cities, watersheds and even small countries. We have worked extensively with whole systems approaches to land use, energy management.
Topic: In the Time of the Force Majeure
Time: 3:40 - 3:50 pm EST (New York City)
Moderator: Dr. Viacheslav Vasenev, Senior Researcher, RUDN - Faculty of Agriculture, Moscow
For a Full List of Speaker Bios, Please Download PDF Here!
Format
3 - 4 pm: 4-5 Presentations
4 - 4:20 pm: Break/Coffee Hour Hangout
4:20 - 6 pm: Discussions