Artistic investigations of nature and climate change, as well as biodiversity and various ecosystems, are currently enjoying an enthusiastic reception in exhibitions and lecture series. In the publications that accompany these events, and in the study of art more generally, such subjects are receiving increased attention in the contexts of human-animal studies, critical plant studies, ecocriticism, and the “(re-)activation” of discourses around indigenous knowledge. These examinations illuminate both the complex relationship between Earth’s inhabitants – that is, between humans and other living organisms – and the impact of the human species on the environments or habitats it has shaped and reshaped. Art is often credited with transformative potential, underscoring the power it holds for activism in the Anthropocene epoch.

The section “Ecologies in Art” extends an invitation to a transdisciplinary conversation in the expansive field of art and ecology. Scholarly papers may be submitted from all disciplines that deal with ecological questions and critiques in the realm of the visual and performing arts. Articles may focus on contemporary or historical works in the interest of (re-)examining both past and current concepts of nature. Indigenous art and (animistic) ideas of nature may also be presented and placed in relation to anthropocentric discourses. We are happy to receive methodological and theoretical investigations of the topic as well; reviews, project descriptions, and conference proceedings are also welcome.

 

Contact: oekologien@kunsttexte.de 

Editors

Silke Förschler
Silke Förschler is a Privatdozent at the Kunsthochschule Kassel and oversees the work of the international artists in residence in the Stiftung Berliner Leben’s Fresh A.I.R. program. She also holds positions as a lecturer and interim professor at Hochschule Hannover – University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Dresden University of Fine Arts, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Since 2024 she has been a member of the German Research Foundation’s Jagdgeschichten network. Together with Dr. habil. Christiane Keim and Astrid Silvia Schönhagen, she has curated the c/o HABITAT TIER research project for the Mariann Steegmann Institut at the University of Bremen since 2016. From 2012 to 2017 she was a research assistant for the LOEWE-funded research initiative Animals – Humans – Society at the University of Kassel.

Astrid Silvia Schönhagen
Astrid Silvia Schönhagen, M.A., is an independent editor, art historian, and culture theorist. She is also a research associate at the Mariann Steegmann Institut. Kunst & Gender, and in 2016 she cofounded the c/o HABITAT TIER project within the wohnen +/- ausstellen research group at the University of Bremen. Areas of focus in her writing and research include human-animal studies in art history, the political iconography of domestic space, the intertwined reception of textile, fashion, and architectural dressing theory in contemporary art, and the everyday material culture of modernity (especially exotic scenic wallpaper from ca. 1800).