Mystery 43 School of Waves and Weeds

From 25th May to 1st June, the 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture and EIGHT, critical institute for arts and politics are organising Mystery 43 The School of Waves and Weeds, two participatory workshops for all those interested in the arts, environment and politics, leading to the creation of a participatory artwork.

Through interdisciplinary collaborations between scientists and artists from the fields of visual and performing arts and music, the educational approaches of the two workshops Seeds and Weeds (25th-28th May) and Together, All Islands Make an Archipelago (28th May-1st June) trace the journeys of seeds and the rhythms and shapes of the sea, respectively. By exploring poetic and political interrelations between production, development, parasitism and inertia, they seek to highlight local ecosystems and networks of mutual support, while raising more general questions about the critical new practices, methodologies and educational approaches that respond to the needs of today and their corresponding repercussions in the urban, natural and socio-political realm.

The participatory artwork produced by the participants of the two workshops will be presented, in September 2023, in the framework of the Ecoculture Festival.

The workshops in detail:
Seeds and Weeds | 25th to 28th May 2023

The first open workshop investigates theories of biodiversity, symbiosis and interaction and how they apply to various plant production and farming systems. How can these theories and practices help to approach the challenge of coexistence with its implications in the urban and political realm? Monoculture and/or biodiversity are proposed as models for critical thinking and creative action. The meetings will involve scientists, farmers and performing artists.

Together, All Islands Make an Archipelago | 28th Μay to 1st June 2023

The first open workshop examines, through examples of theories and scientific practices around the Aegean Sea, the creative patterns and formations of island clusters. The workshop aims to explore the creation of symbiotic structures, local ecosystems, networks of mutual support through the micro-scale of the human body. Through artistic participatory processes, it proposes to highlight the importance of the archipelago as a useful model for new practices of symbiosis and human geography. The meetings will involve scientists, musicians and performing artists.