10 artists or artistic collectives have been chosen for the STARTS4Water residencies that will kick-start a series of collaborative processes and generate projects that raise awareness and offer concrete solutions for regional water challenges in Europe.
Following an open call that was launched in July 2021, the STARTS4Water Consortium received 294 eligible applications from 56 different countries, out of which 39,3% came from Europe and 60,7% from non-Europe based artists. The average age of the applicants was 42 years old.
Each residency will address a different region-specific water management challenge and relates to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (especially SDG6 and SDG14). The challenges have been defined by the Consortium partners with the support of a regional expert network, including digital experts, entrepreneurs, regional leading art and research institutions, specialists in digital transformation, administration and public governance.
The STARTS4Water residencies will lead to tangible artworks that develop knowledge and raise awareness of water challenges, or to digital applications & processes that contribute to the local development of sustainable water use and management.
Residencies start from October 2021 to June 2022 for a duration of maximum 6 months.
The winners are:
- Joshua G.Stein for the residency Rebuilding relationships with fluvial systems: exploring people’s relationships with rivers and streams hosted by Cittadellarte
- Theresa Schubert for the residency Rebuilding Relationships with Fluvial Systems: Fluvial Systems as Indicators of Climate Change and its Impact hosted by Cittadellarte
- Marjan Žitnik and Robertina Šebjanič for the residency Zero Pollution Adriatic hosted by UR Institute
- Haseeb Ahmed for the residency Pharmaceutical Pollution hosted by LUCA School of Arts and GLUON
- Anna Ridler for the residency Water Capitalism hosted by LUCA School of ARTS & GLUON
- Leonor Serrano Rivas and Diego Delas for the residency The Future of High Waters: Geo-engineering Solutions for the Venetian Lagoon hosted by TBA21
- Sonia Levy, Heather Anne Swanson , Meredith Root-Bernstein, Alexandra Arènes for the residency The Future of High Waters: Nature Based Solutions for the Venetian Lagoon hosted by TBA21
- Zack denfeld, Cathrine Kramer, Emma Conley (Center for Genomic Gastronomy) for the residency Draught in Waterland hosted by V2_Lab for Unstable Media
- Mark IJZerman for the residency Port of Rotterdam hosted by V2_Lab for Unstable Media
- Carlos Loperena & Alexandros Vaitsos (DECA Architecture) for the residency Cisterns Know hosted by Ohi Pezoume/UrbanDig Project
Find more about the winners here.
Contact: Matina Magkou- Communications (matina.magkou@urbandigproject.org)
About S+T+ARTS
STARTS is an initiative of the European Commission to foster alliances of science, technology, and the arts, that effectively implement a European approach to technological innovation centered on human needs and values.
Science, Technology and Arts form a nexus with an extraordinarily high potential for creative and reflective innovation. And such innovation is considered to be precisely what is called for to master the social, ecological and economic challenges that Europe is facing.
With disruptive methods of exploration and an accurate critical eye on the use of technology,
artists decisively raise awareness of the societal challenges and global concerns we are tackling. The artistic practices are seen as innovative processes and have a wide-reaching potential to contribute to the development of new economic, social and business models.
About STARTS4Water
Bringing together art, technology and science, STARTS4Water aims to tackle one of the most pressing challenges of our times: water management. The project supports artists, researchers, technology experts and other stakeholders in finding a common ground and language to respond to regional water-related challenges. STARTS4Water builds on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 and especially on SDG 5 ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’ and SDG14 ‘Life Below Water’.
Through 10 artistic residencies and a series of STARTS Academy workshops, intersectoral and transversal networking activities, field expeditions and discussions engaging local communities, STARTS4Water will engage with wider communities and propose new narratives to inform and communicate on a common challenge.
The STARTS4Water Consortium is lead by LUCA School of Arts (Belgium) and includes Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary – TBA21 (Austria), Universal Research Institute (Croatia), V2_Lab for the Unstable Media (The Netherlands), Ohi Pezoume/ UrbanDig Project (Greece) and Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto (Italy) and in collaboration with STARTS partners Gluon (Belgium) and BOZAR (Belgium)
