(re)programming: Strategies for Self-Renewal
February 15–November 15 2021 // aksioma.org/reprogramming
As a growing population is sharing an ever-shrinking planet, we have found ourselves at an existential crossroads: do we bring the mistakes of the enlightenment and industrialization to their logical conclusion or should we develop a capacity to reprogram ourselves as a species, in order to survive? Some of the solutions might be technical but most of the obstacles are not.
Through surveillance, manipulation and escapism, multinationals and foreign governments are using the powerful tools that could help us manage the climate emergency to manage us instead. The apocalyptic narratives of destruction, natural selection and space colonization distract us from the urgent need to manage our resources and mitigate a disaster.
Politically, the principles of liberal democracy have been put to test. Pre-fascist leaders are democratically elected, from Narendra Modi in India to Victor Orban in Hungary and Erdogan in Turkey. Following his refusal to engage in climate action and his brutal backlash against migrants and refugees, Donald Trump became the presidential candidate who won the second most votes in US history, beaten only by Joe Biden.
Aksioma’s Reprogramming series will aim to respond to the following two questions: what will it take for humanity to change its course and build a responsible future for the generations to come, and what can really be accomplished when we finally do this? The series will focus on solutions, finding tools, words or visions across the different disciplines, from energy and infrastructure to community building and AI.
We will analyse the strategies used by successful communities and proposed by social and scientific institutions to help us reset and find the way back. Not to the way it was, but to the way it should have been: an engaged community that encompasses all living beings on this planet.
— Marta Peirano
Curator: Marta Peirano
Artistic director: Janez Fakin Janša
Head of the production: Marcela Okretič
Executive producer: Sonja Grdina
Webcast operators: Jure Kreft, Jan Marin
Chat editor: Dražen Dragojević
Community relations: Neža Oder
Public relations: Ksenija Repina, Rok Avbar
Coordinator at Kino Šiška: Anja Zver
Technicians: Valter Udovičić, Matej Marinček, Matevž Ftičar
Greenscreen camera: Gregor Gobec
Web developer: Igor Kovačič
Visual identity: Federico Antonini, Giovanni Spera (superness.info)
Animated graphics: Domen Dimovski
Documentation: Nika Maltar
Organised and produced by:
Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana
In partnership with:
Kino Šiška – Centre for Urban Culture
For the series:
Tactics & Practice
In the framework of:
konS – Platform for Contemporary Investigative Art
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The project konS – Platform for Contemporary Investigative Art was chosen on the public call for the selection of the operations “Network of Investigative Art and Culture Centres”. The investment is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union.