READING RIVERS #5

In parallel to the exhibition programme of ar/ge kunst, the fifth Reading Rivers session lends new depth to the experience of the archive as a living entity. An archive can be considered a system of classification that compiles and orders various forms of knowledge, be these ideas and visions or physical objects. Drawing on text excerpts from the natural sciences and cultural studies, we leave behind the notion of a stable and unchanging archive and allow ourselves to be propelled instead by the thought of an archive constantly expanded by the power of our imaginations, fiction, and interrelation.

After an introduction by the public programme curators, participants take a walk together on the banks of the Talvera, while listening to a 40-minute podcast in English. The texts cover issues such as the role and operation of a geological archive, possible artistic approaches to an archive, and the earth itself as an archive in which soil, sediment, iron and stones serve as major records for climate research. Thus, the archive becomes a place that not only explains the past but also has a transformative political impact on the present day. The walk ends with a brief discussion of the questions raised by the podcast.

About Reading Rivers
What interplay unfolds between flowing waters and our movements when we take a walk while listening to or reading texts about landscape? Like water in a river, texts have a clear source. Through collective readings, they come into contact and combine with new things before merging in a greater whole. They cross different landscapes, periods, and characters. They come up against obstacles and take the path of least resistance to overcome them. A river flows just as knowledge does; it is bound by solid ground yet remains in a permanent state of flux, allowing new readings of complex contemporary questions.

Further practical and thematic details will be sent to you following registration.

The Green Pass and a FFP2 mask are mandatory for all participants

Podcast Unpacking Knowledges Credits
Voices: Simone Mair, Sophie Boobyer
Editing: Daniel Mazza