Earthbound. Ecologie di genere
CURATED BY
KABUL
WITH
Dario Giovanni AlìValeria MinaldiSimona SquadritoFrancesca VasonThe Cool Couple
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Italian Council (8th edition, 2020)WITH THE CONTRIBUTION OF
Regione Lombardia
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15 December 2021, h 18.00 online via Zoom
(meeting ID: 844 5441 3959 / Passcode: 348135)
Within the project “The Cute and the Useful” by The Cool Couple, Careof presents “Earthbound. Gender ecologies”, an online meeting curated by KABUL and open to the public which concludes a workshop where the terms “ecofemminismo” (ecofeminism) and “maschiocene” (“androcene”) were analyzed.
Is climate change also a gender issue?
Even though climate change affects everyone without distinction, its effects on social groups cannot be considered identical. In particular, not only do women make up 80% of climate migrants in the world, being at high risk of facing violence and exploitation, but they are also still widely excluded from decision-making processes about climate change.
Is it possible, then, to adopt a critical perspective on gender when looking at the current climate crisis? How can linking gender oppression to the intensive exploitation of the ecosystem redefine the discussion and reflection on possible solutions? Can ecofeminism and queer theory find a common ground?
Starting from these questions and the readings by Timothy Morton’s, Greta Gaard’s, and Giovanna Di Chiro’s writings, KABUL’s editorial staff and The Cool Couple tackle and retrace some theoretical perspectives originating from the studies on this topic, opening up to discussion to encourage the debate and define new areas of investigation.
We would like to thank the participants of both CAT’S CRADLE workshops: Rachele Adda, Alessia Bernardi, Cecilia Bima, Marta Cuscunà and Giacomo Raffaeli, Martina De Rosa, Fiorile di Stasi, Arianna Ferrari, Anita Fonsati, Mariangela Lavaia, Jessica Murano, Ana Laura Piana, Pamela Pintus, Maria Rinaldi, Sonia Rezzonico, Simone Rossi.
The meeting is part of the project “The Cute and the Useful” by The Cool Couple, winner of Italian Council (8th edition, 2020), a program for the international support and promotion of contemporary Italian art by the Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea (DGCC) for the Ministry of Culture.
Illustration by Anisa Spaho, from “Earthbound. Superare l’antropocene”, 2021, KABUL Editions
KABUL
KABUL Is a contemporary arts and culture magazine (KABUL magazine), an independent publishing house (KABUL editions), a free digital translation archive (KABUL digital library), and a non-profit cultural organization (KABUL projects). KABUL has been working since 2016 for the promotion of contemporary culture in Italy. Together with critics, university lecturers, and industry professionals, it handles the vulgarization of central themes and research in the current international artistic and cultural debate.
www.kabulmagazine.com
"The Cute and The Useful" by The Cool Couple
Faced with the rapid changes that characterize our times, we are now used to the saying according to which nature just stopped existing. However, it seems difficult to accept its consequences: in the middle of the sixth mass extinction, collective imagination is populated by hyper realistic visions of heavenly landscapes, while throngs of anthropomorphic animals inhabit our daily life. Even when the discussion moves on to the topic of environmental preservation, the dominant vision dreams of an Arcadia where nature is a synonym of freedom and purity. “The Cute and the Useful” places itself at the intersection of these tensions.
The expression “the cute and the useful” refers to the species which will survive the current mass extinction thanks to their emotional or economic relationship with human beings.
The Cute and the Useful describes a specific faunal preservation model, native to South Africa, which took the shape of a true economic industry.
The so-called wildlife industry is based on the concept of conservation by utilization. It transforms animals into an asset that can be bought, given up, or rented, and consequently protects them. Most of the animals in South Africa are owned by the State or private individuals. They are listed on the stock market and are dependent on market rules. Periodically, in the country, auctions allow people to buy or give up animals. However, the wildlife industry led to a 400% increase in the number of wild animals since 1970. This data probably makes the wildlife industry the most effective faunal preservation system in the world.
The absurd logic that would have environmental preservation go through the conversion of life into an asset is in deep conflict with many stereotypes that are still present in the western mindset.
"The Cute and the Useful" intends to narrate them, describing the transformation of the capitalist system in its "green" version.