The residency is a space to collectively reflect on mining through the investigation of physical and historical sites, both as a material practice of extraction, and as a metaphor for a mode of existence based on possession, separation and exploitation, inviting artist participants to move beyond this narrative. The program explored artistic practices in this context as a tool of contestation, mobilisation and resistance, in order to transform the narratives that imprint our landscapes, our economic and political systems, and our imaginaries.

Concept

Notions of change happen individually and collectively. In a world where personal challenges are echoed in others, these become sites for social justice. How could we shift from the singular my to ours? How could we reimagine my into the plurals and transform it into ours: our life, our planet, our existence?

In the context of multi-dimensional and interconnected global crises (environmental, economic, social, political), this 4 months residency of Initiatives of Change USA, in partnership with Collective Webs, Exploring Visual Cultures Project, and Art Africa magazine aimed to collectively speculate and practice strategies in order to create movements which are plural and creative, considering that there’s no life without a whole ecosystem of collaboration and codependency.