Friday, April 24, 2020

Venice – Zoom Press Conference – Ocean Space – TBA21-Academy


Photograph courtesy Casadorofungher


 "In recent months we have witnessed a progressive emptying of Venice, due to the dramatic effects of the pandemic from Covid-19 which forced most of the world to a common lock-down. Many of the major international events have suspended. A tragedy, of course. But Venice has rediscovered that solidarity and that strong sense of innate community that had already emerged during the big water emergency. Furthermore, not all evil comes to harm: The Lagoon has returned to breathe, free from the swell. The water is transparent, and you can see fish swimming, birds and other animals. The rhythms are slowed down, leaving space for reflection and the passage of time that follow the cycles of nature. And here we want to insert ourselves, with initiatives that want to intercept and interpret all the driving force of this moment, imagining together with the Venetians what will come next. "
Markus Reymann
director of TBA21 – Academy and Ocean Space

The Reflected City
Three - Digital Initiatives

In this moment of profound transformation, Ocean Space and its parent organization TBA21 – Academy presented via Zoom a series of digital initiatives dedicated to Venice and its lagoon under the title The Reflected City, confirming their great commitment on the territory and their attention to environmental issues. They will be dedicated to the Lagoon and its sustainability, pending the Territorial Agency: Oceans in Transformation exhibition in the Chiesa di San Lorenzo.
La Citta Riflessa

Photograph - Enrico Fiorese - courtesy Casadorofungher

The Reflected City
# 1 - Nowtilus - Podcast - in Italian
Stories from an urban lagoon in the 21st century

Nowtilus, stories from an urban lagoon of the 21st century, is the program of eight original podcasts - conducted by Enrico Bettinello and edited together with Alice Ongaro Sartori they will be broadcasted on TBA21 - Academy Radio – from April 24 – every two weeks –  and will deepen, with the intervention of guests from the world of literature, science, sustainable fishing, various issues related to the lagoon sustainability and the city of Venice.   How to restore the delicate balance between humanity and nature in the city that par excellence reflects the relationship between man and the sea?

Ocean Space - Chiesa di San Lorenzo



 
Enrico Bettinello



 
 Photograph – Gianluca Moro - courtesy Casadorofungher

Nowtilus’s first guest – April 24 – will be the Venetian writer Tiziano Scarpa, winner of the 2009 Strega Prize with the novel Stabat Mater, he will talk about Venice through the physical and emotional experiences that can only be done in this city.

Tiziano Scarpa

  Photograph – Shaul Bassi - courtesy Casadorofungher


The Reflected City
# 2 - Dear Venice – Digital Project
A call to artists

This is a "call to action" directed at artists, who collaborate with TBA21−Academy, in order to reflect upon the current global crisis, caused by COVID-19, which is specifically tangible in the case of Venice. The Acqua Alta, the red zone, and the pandemic are facing the city with critical questions it has long been able to avoid. In solidarity with all Venetians, but also to stimulate this debate and to rethink the very identity and future of our city, Ocean Space and TBA21−Academy is asking its network and community of artists, to make contributions: to send messages to Venice both of affection and solidarity with Venice, in whatever medium they choose, be they images, videos, sound, statements or other. These contributions will be shared through our social media channels and on the ocean-archive.org platform.


The Reflected City
# 3 - A Different Tide – Digital Project
Contributors

A Different Tide is a project that collects thoughts and emotions of those in Venice, who are experiencing the current dramatic global health emergency caused by COVID-19. Containment measures have radically impacted all of our lives, also and especially affecting our city, symbolic of an increasing mass tourism. Permanently overcrowded by a constant flow of people, Venice suddenly finds itself empty, suspended and enveloped by a surreal silence.
Contributors
For all those who wish to be involved in the project. An invitation to contribute is being sent out to a selected groups to build diverse and heterogeneous perspectives and contributions.



Copyright - Territorial Agency – courtesy Casadorofungher

Ocean Space - Chiesa di San Lorenzo
Territorial Agency: Oceans in Transformation - exhibition

The Reflected City series - above - of digital initiatives dedicated to the Lagoon and its sustainability are projects awaiting the Territorial Agency: Oceans in Transformation exhibition – hopefully to open - May 20 - at the Chiesa di San Lorenzo – which was commissioned by TBA21 – Academy and curated by Daniela Zyman. The videos are synthesizes of three years of inter-sectional research, commissioned by TBA21–Academy that investigates the transformation of the world oceans during the Anthropocene. Assessing the latest scientific knowledge about the effects of a wide array of human-induced interference's on marine and coastal ecosystems, the project reiterates the critical role of the oceans in respect to planetary survival. TBA21–Academy and Territorial Agency have collaborated with a network of researchers and institutions to give exposure to new forms of visibility and understanding of the ocean brought by science, culture and art.

Territorial Agency: Oceans in Transformation
The rapid depletion of coastal ecosystems in the Mississippi delta, combined with sea level rise scenarios.


Copyright - Territorial Agency – courtesy Casadorofungher

Territorial Agency: Oceans in Transformation
Reykjanes Ridge multibeam sonar sound in the Atlantic Ocean