AER Conversations: Joya: arte + ecología, Almera - Spain

Speakers: Camilla Palestra, Simon Beckmann, Matt Parker and Stephen Bennett. The Art for the Environment Residency Programme (AER) provides UAL graduates with the opportunity to apply for a 2 to 4 week fully funded residency at one of our internationally renowned host institutions, to explore concerns that define the 21st century – biodiversity, environmental sustainability, social economy and human rights. Founded in 2015, internationally acclaimed artist Professor Lucy Orta, UAL Chair of Art for the Environment – Centre for Sustainable Fashion, launched the programme in partnership with international residency programmes and UAL Post-Grad Community. While the residencies are currently on pause due to the Covid-19 restrictions, Art for the Environment – Conversations aims to offer a platform in which ideas and experiences are exchanged. Within the current climate emergency, AER partners, residents and UAL alumni come together to reflect on the impact and legacy of their practices and to reflect on their creative role in envisioning a world of tomorrow. This series of conversations is organised by Camilla Palestra, AER Curator, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, in collaboration with UAL Post-Grad Community. Contact: Camilla Palestra c.palestra@fashion.arts.ac.uk While the residencies are currently on pause due to the Covid-19 restrictions, Art for the Environment – Conversations aims to offer a platform in which ideas and experiences are exchanged. Within the current climate emergency, AER partners, residents and UAL alumni come together to reflect on the impact and legacy of their practices and to reflect on their creative role in envisioning a world of tomorrow. This series of conversations is organised by Camilla Palestra, AER Curator, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, in collaboration with UAL Post-Grad Community and the UAL Climate Emergency Network. Joya: arte + ecología is an art led field-research centre and not for profit arts organisation based at the farmstead of Cortijada Los Gázquez. The residency offers an ‘off-grid’ experience in the heart of the Parque Natural Sierra María-Los Vélez in the north of the Provincia de Almería, Andalucía. The family-home environment of Joya aims to facilitate, through production and collaboration, artists whose work manifests a discourse with the environment and sustainability. Simon Beckmann is co-founder and curator of Joya: arte + ecología / AiR, a residency for international artists and writers in the heart of the Parque Natural Sierra María-Los Vélez in the north of the province of Almería, Andalucía, Spain. He is a researcher, activist, artist and designer. He studied Fine Art at Manchester Polytechnic, and received his MFA at The Royal Academy Schools in London. Matt Parker is a Sonospheric Investigator; an artist researching the resonances between things. His research engages with sound studies, media ecology, field recording and geohumanities through a critical and spectral art practice. His PhD from the London College of Communication, UAL investigated the relationship between Internet infrastructures and the Anthropocene. He is currently a Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University. Stephen Bennett is an artist and policymaker whose work explores the interaction between art, science, and politics. His work explores whether art can bridge the gap between science and public decision-making. Data visualisation and maps are points of departure, taking information from electronic and relatively inaccessible data repositories and presenting it in analogue, tangible and interactive formats. He works in a participatory and interactive way increasing agency and engagement in evidence. Stephen holds an MA Art and Science from Central Saint Martins, UAL.