S+T+ARTS4Water II Challenge and STARTS Residency
Carlos Casas – Allied Governance. From the Venice Lagoon and its Citizens to the Ports
Host / Region
TBA21–Academy/ Madrid, Spain/ Venice, Italy – Venice Lagoon
Abstract
The residency envisions the future of port areas like the Venice Lagoon through collaborative governance, fostering alliances between citizens, economic activities and more-than-human life.
Keywords
citizenship, decentralization, governances: rights of nature, rights of more-than- human, rights of animals, future of oceans
Description of the regional challenge
In recent years, plans for the preservation of water ecosystems have mobilized various governance pathways to consider the ecosystem’s own agency, multiplicity, and entanglements. These strategies include revisiting cosmological visions and ancestral knowledge, animal conservation frameworks, and the notion of the rights of nature—the Mar Menor in Spain being the first case in Europe. Even within the dispute in the field of law of the best approach to deploy an inherited liberal system, these efforts aspire to create a framework that respects more-than-human life and understands that a sustainable future is not thinkable without targeting ecological justice as well.
The historic governance of Venice’s canals reveals key principles of a traditional understanding of water agency. Current research and activist movements in the region are reviving historical social and legal orders that constitute respectful and caring cooperation, as well as exploring the possibilities of the newly gained subjecthood cases in Europe. How can we extend these effects to broader society?
How is the mission S+T+ARTS driven?
We invite creative practitioners to search for the ghosts and hidden layers within maritime infrastructures and their relation to the more-than-human ecosystems. Community engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration are integral to the proposed project: we encourage applicants to consider how their projects might interact with communities, policymakers, and other stakeholders to envision the long-term impact of their work on the sustainable futures of the lagoon.
The result of the residency will be shown during Ocean Space June 2025.
Artist-in-residency – Carlos Casas
Carlos Casas (b. 1974, Barcelona, Spain) is a filmmaker and artist whose practice encompasses film, sound and the visual arts. His works have been presented in International exhibitions like Venice Biennale, Shanghai Biennale, Bangkok Biennale, and Istanbul Biennial. His films have been screened and awarded in festivals around the world, like the Venice Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Buenos Aires International Film Festival, Mexico International Film Festival, CPH DOX Copenhagen, FID Marseille. Retrospectives of his films have been presented international festivals and cinemateques from Madrid, Mexico to Bruxelles, his work has been exhibited and performed in international art institutions and galleries, such as Tate Modern in London, Fondation Cartier, Palais de Tokyo, Centre Pompidou in Paris, NTU CCA Singapore; Hangar Bicocca and La Triennale in Milan, CCCB Barcelona, Matadero Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía Madrid, MAAT Lisbon, Bozar, Kunsten Festival des Arts Bruxelles among others.
About The Project – Allied Governance. From the Venice Lagoon and its Citizens to the Ports
This project explores a speculative narrative of the origin of Venice. By capturing the above and underwater richness of spatial sounds, the project creates an unprecedented auditory map of the lagoon. It aims to foster new ways of connecting with neighboring species and environments, illuminating the unexplored and benthic zones of the lagoon. Sonifying and transducing climate data into sound, the final output will make complex and abstract concepts more tangible and accessible. The audience’s journey will go through the sounds of the turbid waters, from surface to underwater, experiencing the calls of migrating birds and the sounds of fish, gray shrimp, and mussels, as well as the human activities from ports and infrastructures to research activities.
Jury Statement
“Very interesting concept that fits the call, it is a strong proposal, well articulated in the written proposal as well as in the interview. The artistic vision is clear and promises strong artistic output. The artist can deepen understanding and empathy of the Venice lagoon to local audiences and beyond. The interactive element of this project could be impactful on different audiences (citizens/tourists/holidaymakers, scientific experts, artist experts, fisher experts, etc.) and even challenge their views/perceptions. The final outcome might include all senses of the visitors, and has the potential to experience and transmit the feeling of liminal spaces of the lagoon.”
