Can art change our view of nature? Researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Leiden University and Delft University of Technology are asking this question in a joint project. It is one of the proposals selected for funding in the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus programme for Climate and Biodiversity.
The research focuses on how creative professionals and scientists can work together to restore the connections between humans and nature. This is being studied in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss.
An additional objective is to strengthen education, research and community involvement in this regard.
Connecting people and urban ecosystems through art
The research is based on the alienating effect of urbanisation, climate change and loss of biodiversity on people and their daily experiences of nature. The question the researchers ask is how these connections can be restored.
The project brings together professionals, students and young people to explore their relationships with local environments in Dutch cities – including rivers, forests and coastal areas.
Creative workshops
In three creative workshops, participants will engage with art and science. This includes not only visual arts, but also storytelling and other expressive methods focused on small-scale ecological explorations.
The more-than-human world of cities
Activities may include foraging for local plants, conducting mini biodiversity surveys, or documenting observations of urban flora and fauna.
Guided by artists and researchers, participants will translate these encounters into individual and collective artworks that reflect how they experience the more-than-human world of their cities.
Stories about nature shared between communities
The results and artworks from the project will be shared with a wider audience at an event and public exhibition. The aim is to initiate a dialogue about environmental change and to reflect on how humans, animals and plants can relate to each other, now and in the future.
Leiden-Delft-Erasmus
The collaboration between the universities provides a solid foundation for this type of research. The Institute for Housing Solutions at Erasmus University Rotterdam contributes expertise in the areas of nature-based solutions, community spirit and co-creation.
Leiden University provides creative-critical and ecological research perspectives, and the Faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology contributes knowledge in the fields of design, sustainable architecture and urban resilience.
Artists and a creative location
Artist partners Sunjoo Lee and Rafael Martig bring experience at the intersection of art, ecology and community, and social partner Buitenplaats Brienenoord offers a unique space where nature, art and social interaction come together.
The project is a unique test for linking empirical insights and creative results. The initiators aim to establish a growing transdisciplinary art-science network.
More information via Elena Marie Ensenado from the Erasmus University Rotterdam: ensenado@ihs.nl
