Reimagining the Wetlands
Harnessing the Power of the Arts for Socio-Ecological Transformation
About the Project
This project seeks to harness the potential of the arts for socio-ecological transformation by fostering knowledge-exchange between academic and non-academic partners. The territory of the Delta de Tigre (Argentina) is an inhabited network of rivers and streams afflicted by socio-ecological problems and conflict (i.e., waste, climate change, gentrification, pollution, and real estate mega-enterprises). These problems and conflicts affect human interaction with the ecosystem and the functioning of the wetland. Over the years, human-non-human living conditions have degraded.
The project focuses on supporting local stakeholders addressing these challenges through knowledge-exchange activities (i.e., creative workshops) that value and harness the knowledge and imagination already existing in the community for pursuing a more sustainable future for the Wetlands. It combines ethnographically inspired research, arts-based participatory approaches, and political ecology studies to uncover how community-led knowledge creation for socio-ecological transformation happens.
The project is a collaboration between the University of Leeds, the University of Buenos Aires, Gino Germani Research Institute ‒ IIGG, Centro Cultural Casa Puente (Tigre) and La Residuoetca (Tigre)
Re-Imaging the Wetlands is funded by the University of Leeds’ Global Impact Acceleration Awards (GIAA) and the School of Sociology and Social Policy
Objectives
1.
To carry out social and community mapping in the territory of the Delta de Tigre to expand knowledge, recognize and record different personal narratives, imaginaries, and experiences about inhabiting the wetland.
2.
To co-create with non-academic partners three participatory workshops involving the local community at the Tigre Wetlands.
3.
To document and evidence the process and impact of community-led knowledge creation for socio-ecological regeneration.
4.
To develop a tool-kit for arts and socio-ecological transformation.
Talleres
Ronda Workshop
Residuoteca Workshop
Mapeo Workshop
Team
Dr Maria Rovisco
University of Leeds
Maria Rovisco is Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Leeds, UK. She is a cultural sociologist with interests in civil society, the public sphere, socio-ecological transformation, cosmopolitanism, and art. She is the author of Artists, Cosmopolitanism, and the Civic Imagination” and the co-editor of Visual Politics in the Global South.
Dr Lorena Verzero
University of Buenos Aires – CONICET
She is an Independent Researcher at CONICET (National Council for Scientific and Technical Research) and Professor at UBA (University of Buenos Aires). She holds a PhD in History and Theory of Arts from UBA; a Master’s degree in Humanities from Carlos III University of Madrid, and a Bachelor’s degree and Teaching degree in Literature (UBA). She is also the Director of the postgraduate program in Contemporary Art and Politics in Latin America, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, UBA and Coordinator of the Study Group on contemporary Theater, politics and society in Latin America, Gino Germani Research Institute, Faculty of Social Sciences, UBA. She specializes in the relationships between performance practices, politics, and society in the recent history of Latin America. She is the author of “Teatro militante: Radicalización artística y política en los años 70“. Among other books, she has edited: “Ciudades performativas: Prácticas artísticas y políticas de (des)memoria en Buenos Aires, Berlín y Madrid“, “Mutis por el foro. Artes escénicas y política en tiempos de pandemia“, “Perspectivas políticas de la escena latinoamericana. Diálogos en tiempo presente“
Dr Sofía Astelarra
University of Buenos Aires – CONICET
Has lived in the Tigre Delta for 15 years, holds a Bachelor’s degree and is a Professor of Sociology from the National University of Buenos Aires (UBA); has a Doctorate in Social Sciences from UBA; completed a Post-doctorate at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. Additionally, she is an Assistant Researcher at CONICET where she addresses socio-environmental conflicts in wetlands. Some publications related to the call: “La memoria del agua: el agua es río y el río es memoria” and “¿Por qué mueren los peces? Cronologías del fracaso del saneamiento del río Reconquista. Itinerarios políticos en la defensa del agua y el humedal deltáico”.
Colectivo Ecología Política en humedales
We are a collective formed by people who live permanently in the First Section of the Paraná River Delta islands, Tigre district, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We have named ourselves “Political Ecology Workshop in Wetlands.” We began meeting in 2022 at Casa Puente, a cultural and community center in the Tigre Delta. This space is part of the socio-community fabric and network that we inhabit.
Ana Mossini
Has lived permanently in the Tigre Delta for 6 years, although has been traveling to and inhabiting it for 15 years. Has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, specializing in Health and Community Health. Has participated and continues to participate in various community projects and organizations, and since living in the Delta, these are primarily subscribed to islander organizations. Identifies as a feminist, environmentalist, plant lover, and fan of any narrative that is beautiful to tell and listen to.
Ana Victoria Pérez
Has lived in the Tigre Delta for 9 years. As a Butoh Dance performer and with a Bachelor’s degree in choreographic composition, participates in artistic projects linked to socio-environmental issues. As a professor of art and language and literature, works in the field of popular education. Participates in the political ecology workshop in Wetlands since its beginnings where she trains as a socio-environmental artivist. Also works as a bio-constructor of mud houses in the 1st section of Islands.
Erica Schejtman
Has inhabited the Tigre Delta for several years. Is a chemical technician and gardening technician from the University of Buenos Aires. Worked as an assistant in the General Botany Chair at the Faculty of Agronomy at UBA. Self-managed design and maintenance of gardens. Participated for several years in a University volunteer Project giving workshops on ornamental plants, agroecological gardens, and composting in prisons with the aim of promoting social and labor reintegration in the San Martín Penitentiary Unit No. 47 and 48. Collaborated in neighborhood community gardens. Currently works with trees in the City of Buenos Aires and makes gardens with children in the INTI early childhood garden. Studies music in the popular music technical program at the University of La Plata.
Gisel Denise Cáceres
36 years old, has inhabited the islands for 12 years. Works in the field of art in different formats (writing, photographic, musical, audiovisual, and performance). Is a dancer, co-creator of the project “Cuerpo Territorio Performático“, a work of photographs and exhibitions. Co-creator of the event “Warmi Fest” an artistic gathering of women and gender dissidents from the islands and surroundings. Manager and active participant of the Casa Puente Cultural and Community Center (Paraná Delta Islands). Creator of short films and video poems. Her audiovisual art dialogues directly with the surrounding territory experienced through this medium.
Juan delGado
Interdisciplinary artist
Juan delGado is a Spanish interdisciplinary artist based in London. His work spans various media, including installation, photography, and video, focusing on themes of trauma, landscape, disability, dislocation, and gender. DelGado’s fragmented installations and films explore narratives of mobility and territory, often drawing from personal experiences and informed by cultural anthropology. His project “Drifting Narratives” includes the episodic film “In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun,” which presents vignettes of life in the Arctic Circle, reflecting on displacement and asylum-seeking experiences. His work has been supported by prestigious organizations such as the British Council and Arts Council England, and he has been featured in exhibitions like the Jerwood Open Forest and Unlimited at the Southbank Centre.
Laura del Árbol
Multimedia artist
I hold a Master’s degree in Communication Design and am a specialist in teaching. I am an audiovisual artist, focused on immersive video. I directed the research project “The didactics of immersive video in the university; Exploration and proposal of possible pedagogical devices for teaching this new narrative.” I am a professor at the University of Buenos Aires, the University of Flores, and other educational institutions.
Pablo Espinosa
Digital humanities researcher and designer
Designer and digital humanities researcher focused on projects that promote inclusivity and social impact. He holds a master’s degree in Digital Culture and Society from King’s College London. His research and artistic practice in the digital humanities examines the materiality of technology in its interfaces and infrastructures, the ethical challenges and opportunities they present, and the creative potential of AI for the development of new directions in visual media.