Name: HZ University of Applied Sciences
Price range: $

The climate is changing, biodiversity is declining, inequality is on the rise and our democracy is under pressure. We can see what is happening. We have drawn up plans, developed policies and built up knowledge about possible solutions. Yet we continue to live, do business and act in ways that are not sustainable.

Transition is about more than just organising systems differently. It also requires a cultural shift. We look at the world and make decisions based on narratives that are deeply embedded in our culture. Narratives about growth, progress, predictability and control, with people at the centre, shape our view of the world. They help determine what we see and what remains out of sight, which knowledge we take seriously and which we do not, and which futures we can or cannot imagine.

The stories we live by are so familiar to us that we scarcely notice how they shape our thoughts and actions. That is why we must unearth them, reveal them, dust them off and scrutinise them. By telling, experiencing and sharing stories with one another, we can explore how they work. What do they make possible, and what do they not? Who is given a voice and who remains out of the picture? What values and beliefs do they convey? In this way, it becomes clear where things go wrong – and that things can be different. Changing circumstances call for new stories: stories that help us understand what is happening, see connections and make sense of them.

This is where artistic research begins: creating, observing, experiencing and visualising are ways of exploring and understanding the world. Artistic research brings in sensory, embodied, material and imaginative knowledge, and reveals experiences and possibilities that are easily overlooked within a culture of growth, efficiency and control. In this way, taken-for-granted narratives, values and assumptions can be brought to light and questioned. At the same time, new narratives can be proposed, imagined and put into practice.

The art | culture | transition community comprises artistic researchers, artists, students and academics. Together, amidst the transitions of our time, we explore how we can perceive, experience, imagine, create and become in different ways. In doing so, we actively collaborate with arts and cultural organisations in Zeeland. The Research Group forms part of the Delta Climate Centre.