It’s your last chance to go and see the More-than-Planet exhibition at Old Observatory, Leiden (until 23 December)! Join us at the finissage on Friday 16th of December, where invited artists and experts will provide a glimpse at what further activities the international project More-than-Planet (2022 – 2025) will develop.

It’s also a great chance to combine the finissage with a guided tour visit to the exhibition. The exhibition shows works of Dani PloegerTerritorial AgencyForensic Architecture and others.

What to expect

The finissage features conversations about interactions between artistic research and satellite data research, with presentations by Disnovation (art and research collective) and Space4Good (social enterprise for a better planet and society), and a roundtable discussion joined by Meta Knol (director of Leiden European City of Science) and Frans Snik (Leiden University).

Guided tours and drinks will be provided.

The conversations will focus on the importance of artistic perspectives and experiments on and with earth observation technologies. How can we create new public imaginaries of Gaia, and strengthen public agency in the context of global social and ecological issues?

Program

  • 15:30 – 16:00 guided tour
  • 16.00 – 16.05 words of welcome from Waag
  • 16.05 – 16.15 speech by Meta Knol
  • 16.15 – 16.35 Disnovation presentation on post-growth planetary imaginary
  • 16.35 – 16.55 Space4Good presentation
  • 16.55 – 17:30 roundtable discussion
  • 17:30 guided tour
  • 18:00 – 19:00 drinks

Meta Knol, director of Leiden European City of Science will welcome our speakers Nicolas Maigret from Disnovation and Federico Franciamore and Alexander Gunkel from Space4Good. Art collective Disnovation will introduce the project that they will develop within More-than-Planet with partner ART2M/Makery in Paris. The collective has an always creative yet critical view on technological phenomena such as the dark web, synthetic agriculture, NFT’s and more.

Space4Good develops environmental sensing and observation and conflict monitoring projects and it values the creative and artistic perspectives in its practice. Therefore, Space4Good participates in More-than-Planet as the partner from the industry sector.

After the presentations, there will be a round table discussion with Meta Knol, Frans Snik (Leiden University), Nicolas Maigret, Federico Franciamore and Alexander Gunkel.

About the speakers

Disnovation
A research collective that works at the interface between contemporary art, research and hacking, and compose tailor-made teams for each investigation together with academics, engineers, and designers. More specficially, their recent artistic provocations seek to empower post growth imaginaries and practices while challenging dominant techno-solutionist ideologies.

Space4Good
A certified Benefit Corporation, supporting by a team of impact-driven data scientists, remote sensing & GIS experts, software developers as well as environmental and urban planners using our unique skills and experience for social and environmental impact. 

Meta Knol
Director of Leiden European City of Science 2022. She gained her master’s degree in art history from Utrecht University, specializing in modern and contemporary art. Since then, Meta has curated numerous exhibitions, published on the visual arts, and co-initiated cultural initiatives, such as Framer Framed in Amsterdam and, more recently, the Ministery of the Future.

More⁠-⁠than⁠-⁠Planet

MtP expo opening
More-than-Planet expo opening at Old Observatory. Credits: Pim Rusch Photography

The European project More-than-Planet (2022 – 2025) finds an urgency to re-examine the way people understand and picture the environment on the level of the planet as a conceptual whole. The way we picture and imagine our planet defines, impacts and transforms it. When over 75% of the earths land mass is experiencing measurable human pressure, we might require new ways of picturing it, new imaginaries as current concepts, values and technologies observing the globe are neither neutral, nor inclusive.

More-than-planet is a collaboration of Waag (NL), Leiden University (NL), Space4Good (NL), Ars Electronica (AT), Northern Photographic Finland (FI), ART2M/Makery (FR), Leonardo/Olats (FR) and Zavod Projekt Atol (SI). In a collaboration with artists, critical thinkers, and various experts from cultural, environmental, and outer space institutions, the project will address a crisis of planetary imaginary.