From Energy to the Arts: Navigating Complexities in Brazil

May 5th! Join my online lecture on the relationship of mining, the green revolution, and the arts in Brazil!

The extraction of natural resources represents a complex dilemma of our modern way of living. For the envisioned energy transition more minerals are needed. Their exploration, however, has irreversible impacts on the environment and communities. The talk will draw on efforts by artists in navigating the net of power complexities in Brazil that verge on politics and development. The latter is still characterized by economic growth and commodification, coined by Alberto Acosta as the “trap of the curse of plenty.” How do art interventions raise voices of protest and reflection? How do artists approach tragedies and engage with communities and female survivors affected by tailing dam ruptures like in Córrego do Feijão in Minas Gerais? Spanning colonial history and contemporary global socio-economic dependencies, the discussions will evolve around the arts’ space between resistance and cooperation, and the artists’ aim to generate empowerment, healing and economic diversification in extractive zones.