News
Intervention: NOAH Friends of The Earth Denmark – Institute of Eternal Utopias | EcoArtLab
«Shaping Utopias:
Methods and Practices in Art, Activism and Climate Research»
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
17:00 – 19:00 Auditorium
Bern Academy of the Arts
Fellerstrasse 11
3018 Bern
Interviews of the Dreamers – Reflections on the Transdisciplinary EcoArtLab Collaboration
«Shaping Utopias:
Methods and Practices in Art, Activism and Climate Research»
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
17:00 – 19:00 Auditorium
Bern Academy of the Arts
Fellerstrasse 11
3018 Bern
Interviews of the Dreamers – Reflections on the Transdisciplinary EcoArtLab Collaboration
How do artists, activists, and researchers collaborate through different practices to create utopias? The Institute of Eternal Utopias will take you on a twisted lecture that blends academic reflection with performative and embodied modes of presentation. Sharing an alchemical transformation on how we could look at the world, it will introduce you to their work, or will it unfold as a dream?
This event will elaborate on the motivations, frames, and actions of the
Institute for Eternal Utopias. It will also reflect on the participatory action research process led by PhD researcher Johanna Paschen and share initial insights from multiple perspectives. The presentation will evolve into an open discussion, inviting collective reflection and dialogue.
This event will elaborate on the motivations, frames, and actions of the
Institute for Eternal Utopias. It will also reflect on the participatory action research process led by PhD researcher Johanna Paschen and share initial insights from multiple perspectives. The presentation will evolve into an open discussion, inviting collective reflection and dialogue.
17.00 – 17.30
Twisted Lecture Performance by NOAH
17.30 – 18.00
Reflection on the participatory action research process and sharing initial insights from multiple perspectives
18.00 – 18.30
Open Discussion Round
18.30 – 19.00
Apéro
The SNSF-funded research project Relational Encounters between the Arts and Climate Research examined the collaborative working process between artists, activists, and researchers. Through participatory action research, the research focused on practices and forms of methodological integration within transdisciplinary collaboration with the artists and activists as co-researchers.
The Institute of Eternal Utopias is a space where artists and activists meet to process, digest, perform and reflect on utopias. It takes its roots in the Danish environmental organisation NOAH (part of the Friends of the Earth network) and employs artivism as a method and tool to share visions and embody the change it seeks in the world. Combining ecofeminist approaches with the praxis of ecological care, the initiative originated to gather people’s dreams and bring them to the European Union, transforming our relationship to politics by ‘wearing the costume of power’ as we would like it to be: soft, flowery, supportive and in solidarity. The Institute aims to be a sense-based, meditative and collaborative laboratory for inspiration, dreams, hope, togetherness, and cultivating tasty and sensory alternatives.
Speaker:
Emmeline Werner, Mads Kjærgaard Lange & Annika Nilsson, activists and artists, NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark; Asger Hougaard, external lecturer, University of Copenhagen
Moderation:
Johanna Paschen,researcher, EcoArtLab, Univeristy of Bern & Bern Academy of the Arts (HKB)
Host:
EcoArtLab, Institute Practices & Theories in the Arts (HKB)
Access:
Wheelchair access. For more details or questions, please contact thubten.shontshang@hkb.bfh.ch. Talk will be in English.
Publication: GEO: Geography and Environment | Johanna Paschen
«Transdisciplinary Art and Climate Science Collaborations: Framework Conditions Creating Epistemic Injustices»
Johanna Paschen
We are excited to share another publication!
Johanna’s article was published in Geo: Geography and Environment.
Transdisciplinary art-science collaborations addressing the climate crisis aim to co-create knowledge by integrating diverse perspectives and knowledge types to tackle complex sustainability challenges. Despite growing institutional and funding support, little research has been done on how framework conditions shape such collaborations. This study examines how framework conditions of transdisciplinary art-science collaborations influence collaborative dynamics of knowledge integration and contribute to epistemic injustice. Framework conditions refer to circumstances, thus structural and situational factors shaping collaboration, which can enable or constrain it. Epistemic injustice involves knowledge-related injustices, including the exclusion or silencing of knowers. Applying semi-structured interviews and the transdisciplinary storywall method, six Switzerland-based transdisciplinary art-science collaborations addressing climate, ecological or sustainability issues were analysed. The exploratory thematic analysis identified the six key framework conditions of temporality, financing, location, internationality, partnering and outcome, which elicit circumstances creating epistemic injustice. Applying four epistemic injustice dimensions to categorise collaborators' experiences on conditions further, the findings show that these conditions most frequently contribute to participatory and procedural, followed by distributive and then recognition epistemic injustices. Early phases of collaboration were found to be particularly influential in shaping unjust processes. This study suggests the need for greater awareness of injustice among scientists, practitioners and artists and calls for structural adjustments by those shaping or initiating such collaborations. It offers practical recommendations to reduce epistemic injustices and strive for more inclusive and pluralistic knowledge integration and co-creation in art-science contexts, as well as across broader transdisciplinary sustainability efforts to address the climate crisis.
Read the full article HERE.
«Transdisciplinary Art and Climate Science Collaborations: Framework Conditions Creating Epistemic Injustices»
Johanna Paschen
We are excited to share another publication!
Johanna’s article was published in Geo: Geography and Environment.
Transdisciplinary art-science collaborations addressing the climate crisis aim to co-create knowledge by integrating diverse perspectives and knowledge types to tackle complex sustainability challenges. Despite growing institutional and funding support, little research has been done on how framework conditions shape such collaborations. This study examines how framework conditions of transdisciplinary art-science collaborations influence collaborative dynamics of knowledge integration and contribute to epistemic injustice. Framework conditions refer to circumstances, thus structural and situational factors shaping collaboration, which can enable or constrain it. Epistemic injustice involves knowledge-related injustices, including the exclusion or silencing of knowers. Applying semi-structured interviews and the transdisciplinary storywall method, six Switzerland-based transdisciplinary art-science collaborations addressing climate, ecological or sustainability issues were analysed. The exploratory thematic analysis identified the six key framework conditions of temporality, financing, location, internationality, partnering and outcome, which elicit circumstances creating epistemic injustice. Applying four epistemic injustice dimensions to categorise collaborators' experiences on conditions further, the findings show that these conditions most frequently contribute to participatory and procedural, followed by distributive and then recognition epistemic injustices. Early phases of collaboration were found to be particularly influential in shaping unjust processes. This study suggests the need for greater awareness of injustice among scientists, practitioners and artists and calls for structural adjustments by those shaping or initiating such collaborations. It offers practical recommendations to reduce epistemic injustices and strive for more inclusive and pluralistic knowledge integration and co-creation in art-science contexts, as well as across broader transdisciplinary sustainability efforts to address the climate crisis.
Read the full article HERE.
Publication: Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook | Waterscape Imaginaries
«Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook»
Riikka Tauriainen & Marta Musso
«Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook»
Riikka Tauriainen & Marta Musso
DOWNLOAD
EN:
We are happy to share Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook, a publication emerging from the artistic-scientific research project Plankton Ecosystems. The workbook accompanies our ongoing research and documents fieldworks, workshops, and shared exercises developed through collaboration between the marine biologist Marta Musso and the visual artist Riikka Tauriainen.
Conceived as a living document, the workbook is not only a record of processes, but an open and adaptable format meant to be activated. It introduces artistic and community science exercises that invite readers to observe, sense, draw, map, and sample water bodies in their own contexts. Alongside documentation, it proposes ways of engaging with microorganisms that are central to aquatic ecosystems and climate regulation, yet largely invisible beyond scientific discourse.
The workbook brings together four Plankton Studio exercises, two field trips from mountain rivers to the Limfjord in Denmark, and a range of visual materials and research tools. It moves across scientific protocols and artistic practices, working with sampling methods, taxonomy tools, mapping, drawing, and cyanotype impressions made with sunlight and water.
Waterscapes is an invitation to think with plankton, to drift with water, and to explore ecological processes through both scientific and artistic lenses. The workbook is trilingual and works in English, Italian, and German, reflecting the multilingual nature of our collaboration.
Plankton Ecosystems is a programme by EcoArtLab at the Bern Academy of the Arts HKB in collaboration with Kunsthaus Biel Centre d’art Bienne, ETH Zurich, European Research Institute, and Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, with the support of Pro Helvetia Synergies
Musso, Marta; Tauriainen, Riikka. "Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook" produced by EcoArtLab, Institute for Practices and Theories in the Arts (IPTK), Bern Academy of the Arts HKB, BFH, Bern, 2025.
DE:
Wir freuen uns Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook teilen zu dürfen. Eine Publikation, die aus dem künstlerisch-wissenschaftlichen Forschungsprojekt Plankton Ecosystemshervorgegangen ist. Das Arbeitsbuch begleitet unsere laufenden Forschungen und dokumentiert Feldforschung, Workshops und gemeinsame Übungen, die in Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Meeresbiologin Marta Musso und der bildenden Künstlerin Riikka Tauriainen entwickelt wurden.
Das Arbeitsbuch ist als lebendiges Dokument konzipiert und dient nicht nur der Dokumentation von Prozessen, sondern ist ein offenes und anpassungsfähiges Format, das zum Mitmachen einlädt. Es stellt künstlerische und Community Science Übungen vor, die Leser*innen dazu anregen, Gewässer in ihrem eigenen Umfeld zu beobachten, zu ertasten, zu zeichnen, zu kartieren und zu beproben. Neben der Dokumentation zeigt es Möglichkeiten auf, sich mit Mikroorganismen auseinanderzusetzen, die für aquatische Ökosysteme und die Klimaregulierung von zentraler Bedeutung sind, aber ausserhalb des wissenschaftlichen Diskurses weitgehend unsichtbar bleiben.
Das Arbeitsbuch vereint vier Übungen aus dem Plankton Studio, zwei Exkursionen von Gebirgsflüssen zum Limfjord in Dänemark sowie eine Reihe von Bildmaterialien und Forschungswerkzeugen. Es bewegt sich zwischen wissenschaftlichen Protokollen und künstlerischen Praktiken und arbeitet mit Probenahmemethoden, taxonomischen Instrumenten, Kartierung, Zeichnen und Cyanotypie-Abdrücken, die mit Sonnenlicht und Wasser hergestellt werden.
Waterscapes ist eine Einladung, mit Plankton zu denken, sich mit dem Wasser treiben zu lassen und ökologische Prozesse sowohl aus wissenschaftlicher als auch aus künstlerischer Perspektive zu erkunden. Das Arbeitsbuch ist dreisprachig und erscheint in Englisch, Italienisch und Deutsch, was den mehrsprachigen Charakter unserer Zusammenarbeit widerspiegelt.
Plankton Ecosystems ist ein Programm von EcoArtLab an der Hochschule der Künste Bern HKB in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kunsthaus Biel Centre d’art Bienne, der ETH Zürich, dem European Research Institute und dem Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, mit Unterstützung von Pro Helvetia Synergies
We are happy to share Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook, a publication emerging from the artistic-scientific research project Plankton Ecosystems. The workbook accompanies our ongoing research and documents fieldworks, workshops, and shared exercises developed through collaboration between the marine biologist Marta Musso and the visual artist Riikka Tauriainen.
Conceived as a living document, the workbook is not only a record of processes, but an open and adaptable format meant to be activated. It introduces artistic and community science exercises that invite readers to observe, sense, draw, map, and sample water bodies in their own contexts. Alongside documentation, it proposes ways of engaging with microorganisms that are central to aquatic ecosystems and climate regulation, yet largely invisible beyond scientific discourse.
The workbook brings together four Plankton Studio exercises, two field trips from mountain rivers to the Limfjord in Denmark, and a range of visual materials and research tools. It moves across scientific protocols and artistic practices, working with sampling methods, taxonomy tools, mapping, drawing, and cyanotype impressions made with sunlight and water.
Waterscapes is an invitation to think with plankton, to drift with water, and to explore ecological processes through both scientific and artistic lenses. The workbook is trilingual and works in English, Italian, and German, reflecting the multilingual nature of our collaboration.
Plankton Ecosystems is a programme by EcoArtLab at the Bern Academy of the Arts HKB in collaboration with Kunsthaus Biel Centre d’art Bienne, ETH Zurich, European Research Institute, and Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, with the support of Pro Helvetia Synergies
Musso, Marta; Tauriainen, Riikka. "Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook" produced by EcoArtLab, Institute for Practices and Theories in the Arts (IPTK), Bern Academy of the Arts HKB, BFH, Bern, 2025.
DE:
Wir freuen uns Waterscapes: An Art-Science Workbook teilen zu dürfen. Eine Publikation, die aus dem künstlerisch-wissenschaftlichen Forschungsprojekt Plankton Ecosystemshervorgegangen ist. Das Arbeitsbuch begleitet unsere laufenden Forschungen und dokumentiert Feldforschung, Workshops und gemeinsame Übungen, die in Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Meeresbiologin Marta Musso und der bildenden Künstlerin Riikka Tauriainen entwickelt wurden.
Das Arbeitsbuch ist als lebendiges Dokument konzipiert und dient nicht nur der Dokumentation von Prozessen, sondern ist ein offenes und anpassungsfähiges Format, das zum Mitmachen einlädt. Es stellt künstlerische und Community Science Übungen vor, die Leser*innen dazu anregen, Gewässer in ihrem eigenen Umfeld zu beobachten, zu ertasten, zu zeichnen, zu kartieren und zu beproben. Neben der Dokumentation zeigt es Möglichkeiten auf, sich mit Mikroorganismen auseinanderzusetzen, die für aquatische Ökosysteme und die Klimaregulierung von zentraler Bedeutung sind, aber ausserhalb des wissenschaftlichen Diskurses weitgehend unsichtbar bleiben.
Das Arbeitsbuch vereint vier Übungen aus dem Plankton Studio, zwei Exkursionen von Gebirgsflüssen zum Limfjord in Dänemark sowie eine Reihe von Bildmaterialien und Forschungswerkzeugen. Es bewegt sich zwischen wissenschaftlichen Protokollen und künstlerischen Praktiken und arbeitet mit Probenahmemethoden, taxonomischen Instrumenten, Kartierung, Zeichnen und Cyanotypie-Abdrücken, die mit Sonnenlicht und Wasser hergestellt werden.
Waterscapes ist eine Einladung, mit Plankton zu denken, sich mit dem Wasser treiben zu lassen und ökologische Prozesse sowohl aus wissenschaftlicher als auch aus künstlerischer Perspektive zu erkunden. Das Arbeitsbuch ist dreisprachig und erscheint in Englisch, Italienisch und Deutsch, was den mehrsprachigen Charakter unserer Zusammenarbeit widerspiegelt.
Plankton Ecosystems ist ein Programm von EcoArtLab an der Hochschule der Künste Bern HKB in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kunsthaus Biel Centre d’art Bienne, der ETH Zürich, dem European Research Institute und dem Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, mit Unterstützung von Pro Helvetia Synergies
Nomination: Creative Climate Changemaker Switzerland 2026 | Riikka Tauriainen
Creative Climate Changemaker Switzerland 2026
Congratulations to our EcoArtLab Researcher Riikka Tauriainen for the nomination as a Creative Climate Changemaker Switzerland 2026!
What is Creative Climate Changemakers?
Previously named Creative Climate Leadership, CCC is a transformational residential programme for creative changemakers committed to taking action on the climate crisis through the arts and culture. Acknowledging the urgent need for renewal, our approach is rooted in reciprocity and care, creating an immersive experience where participants can learn and unlearn together, develop new creative approaches, strengthen communities of practice, and reimagine what leadership looks like in driving meaningful climate action through arts and culture.
CCC will be held at Mattli Antoniushaus in Morschach, Switzerland in 2026. This year’s candidates work in areas as varied as critical theory, architecture and visual art.
Creative Climate Changemaker Switzerland 2026
Congratulations to our EcoArtLab Researcher Riikka Tauriainen for the nomination as a Creative Climate Changemaker Switzerland 2026!
What is Creative Climate Changemakers?
Previously named Creative Climate Leadership, CCC is a transformational residential programme for creative changemakers committed to taking action on the climate crisis through the arts and culture. Acknowledging the urgent need for renewal, our approach is rooted in reciprocity and care, creating an immersive experience where participants can learn and unlearn together, develop new creative approaches, strengthen communities of practice, and reimagine what leadership looks like in driving meaningful climate action through arts and culture.
CCC will be held at Mattli Antoniushaus in Morschach, Switzerland in 2026. This year’s candidates work in areas as varied as critical theory, architecture and visual art.
Public Lecture: Interdisciplinarity a process of negotiated imagination? | Center for Applied Ecological Thinking (University of Copenhagen)
«Interdisciplinarity a process of negotiated imagination?»
Our EcoArtLab Researcher Johanna Paschen co-organised an exiting lecture on why the humanities matter for climate research, that was taking place at the Center for Applied Ecological Thinking (University of Copenhagen).
This talk addressed the limitations of siloed expertise and science-technocratic solutions that lack critical, reflexive, and cultural grounding.
The talk also asked whether and how interdisciplinarity can be more than a buzzword. Because what does interdisciplinarity really mean? Can it be something that serves as a meaningful mode of shared inquiry? A way of working that values epistemic justice and embraces productive friction tensions not only between the humanities and natural sciences, but also among social sciences and the arts?
The talk with professor Marianne Achiam, Science Communication at the Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen, was followed by a conversation with artistic postdoc EVA la Cour and visiting PhD Johanna Paschen about shifting interdisciplinary terrains and how artists, scientists, and citizens can collaborate to shape more just forms and cultures of knowledge.
«Interdisciplinarity a process of negotiated imagination?»
Our EcoArtLab Researcher Johanna Paschen co-organised an exiting lecture on why the humanities matter for climate research, that was taking place at the Center for Applied Ecological Thinking (University of Copenhagen).
This talk addressed the limitations of siloed expertise and science-technocratic solutions that lack critical, reflexive, and cultural grounding.
The talk also asked whether and how interdisciplinarity can be more than a buzzword. Because what does interdisciplinarity really mean? Can it be something that serves as a meaningful mode of shared inquiry? A way of working that values epistemic justice and embraces productive friction tensions not only between the humanities and natural sciences, but also among social sciences and the arts?
The talk with professor Marianne Achiam, Science Communication at the Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen, was followed by a conversation with artistic postdoc EVA la Cour and visiting PhD Johanna Paschen about shifting interdisciplinary terrains and how artists, scientists, and citizens can collaborate to shape more just forms and cultures of knowledge.
