S+T+ARTS4Water II Challenge and STARTS Residency
Parliament of Streams S+T+ARTS4Water II
Host / Region
Klima Biennale Wien / Vienna, Austria – Danube River
Abstract
This residency invites an exploration of the Danube’s ecosystem, examining the impact of human interventions and regulations on its aquatic habitats and eco cultures.
Keywords
sea level rise, ecocentrism, biodiversity, interspecies ethics, pollution, water quality
Description of the regional challenge
Since the beginning of the industrial age, the character of the interventions in riverscapes has changed dramatically. Especially the high level of fragmentation of riverbeds by hydropower plants, dams and other engineered constructions and the agricultural use of riverscapes reshapes the way ecosystems in and around rivers work. An interdisciplinary team of experts and researchers headed by the Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management (IHG) of the BOKU University Vienna is working on the matter of so-called Industrialized River Landscapes and is the main expert partner for this residency hosted by Klima Biennale Wien.
As a global economic artery, the port, the city, and the interlinked partners face urgent challenges in governing their numerous water challenges. Water quality and pollution, sediment management, the loss of biodiversity and disruption of aquatic habitats, sea level rise and flood rise, water resource management, and ballast water management contribute to the spread of invasive species.
How is the mission S+T+ARTS driven?
The Residency aims to explore new ways of learning from ecosystems that undergo human-made changes and find ways to convey these to the public. It also aims to entangle scientific and artistic languages and ensure their translatability. The main goal is to speculate and ultimately create new sensibilities, responsibilities, and realities.
The result of the residency will be shown during the Klima Biennial Wien 2026
Artist-in-residency – Carlos Monleón
Carlos Monleón (Spain/UK) works with a variety of processes and materials, both living and non-living, that result in sculptural and participatory artworks. These span across different levels of bodily sensation and awareness; from the microbiological to the performative and social bodies. His main line of line of work traces evolutionary processes that stem from digestion and cognition and result in the distribution of biological functions across multi-species entanglements and cybernetic metabolisms. He has developed collaborative projects at spaces such as Autoitalia, Seventeen Gallery and Diaspore Project Space, London, Cráter Invertido, Mexico, Hangar, Lisbon as well as institutions such as CA2M, and Matadero, Madrid, HIAP Helsinki, and has shown his individual practice at LUMA Arles, Z33, Kai_ Tallin, the Istanbul Design Biennial, Porto Design Biennial amongst others.
About The Project – Parliament of Streams
Parliament of Streams proposes an immersion into the different material flows and perceptive worlds present in riparian ecosystems in order to reconnect audiences to the life and needs of rivers and foster a sense of belonging to the hydro-social cycle.
The work integrates deep listening practices with digital listening possibilities, mediating between human and non-human cultures and translating diverse perceptive environments into the human audible spectrum and proposes the properties of sound and listening as media for water management. By giving voice to voiceless ecosystems of the Danube and their individual species, the project aims to transcend the boundaries of human understanding and immerse audiences in the tapestry of biotic exchanges that make up a riparian (meta)ecosystem in its scales and temporalities. Through the medium of sound, it imagines methods of artistic and data-driven characterisation of other-than-human riverine cultures and sentiences.
The process of voicing involves composing data-driven synthetic soundscapes that follow eco-acoustic principles and structuring them into sound installations in which the complexity of perspectives and data streams is made perceptible through polyphonic arrangements . This experience is deepened through staging and crafting of sculptural loudspeakers that allow for embodied experiences.
Jury Statement
“The jury has unanimously chosen Carlos Monleón-Gendall as the winner of the residency Transforming Danube from Living Spaces to Livable Spaces organized by Klima Biennale Wien in partnership with the Institute for Hydrobiology of the BOKU Wien. His project, Parliament of Streams, is a brilliant fusion of technology, philosophy, politics, and poetry. The depth of his understanding of river bodies and the scientific aspects and research methos related to them and the seamless integration of art, science, and nature in his concept is truly impressive. What sets Carlos Monleón’s project apart is his innovative approach to artistic translation, using diverse strategies to connect different elements on a sensory and emotional level. The combination of synthetic sound composition and field recordings promises a transformative experience for the audience, profoundly making the inaudible audible and engaging emotions. We cannot wait to see the impact of Parliament of Streams and congratulate him on the residency!“
