Workshop
26 – 27 April 2023
Keynote: Michael Marder
With Christine Arncken and Mariateresa Lazzaro, Ursula Damm, Marcos Filardi, Taita Hernando Chindoy, Birgit Schneider, Katja Tielbörger, Alexandra Toland, and Heraldo Vallejo
26 April 2023, from 4 pm
D 1.02, Tower Building, HGK Basel FHNW
26 April 2023, 6.30 pm
Michael Marder
The Senses of Extended Cognition in Plants: An Exploration
Keynote
Studio Cinema D 0.01, Tower Building, HGK Basel FHNW
27 April 2023, from 9 am
Seminar room, HEK House of Electronic Arts, Basel
Organized by the team of the SNSF research project Plants_Intelligence. Learning like a Plan: Yvonne Volkart (project lead), Felipe Castelblanco, Julia Mensch, and Rasa Smite
Current research proves what ancient practices already knew: plants are more complex beings than previously assumed. They are wide open to the world, sense it, respond to it, change it, communicate, and cooperate with many actors; they make decisions, solve problems, play with others. In short, they have agency and display forms of intelligence that are neither only human, nor machine based, but ancient and not always well-known. What does this mean for botanists, organic breeders, (indigenous) farmers, philosophers, media theorists, and artists? How can the different disciplines learn from each other? And what can we gain, in terms of eco aesthetic and (agro)political goals?
With this first interdisciplinary partner workshop, we bring together local and international practitioners and researchers exploring the many ways plants are and act in the world. The goal of this gathering is to present the overall project to the partners and the public, to work on the definitions of and alternatives to the debatable term “plant intelligence,” and to elaborate ways of cooperation and participation.
Public Program
DAY I
26 April 2023
D 1.02, Tower Building, HGK Basel FHNW
4 pm Welcome and introduction
Partner Presentations I
Working with the Intelligence of Plants in Breeding and Farming
4.20 pm Christine Arncken and Mariateresa Lazzaro
4.40 pm Heraldo Vallejo (online)
5 pm Coffee break
5.20 pm Hernando Chindoy and Media Collective Nambi Rimai (online)
5.40 pm Marcos Filardi (online)
6 pm Break and Snacks
26 April 2023, 6.30 pm
Michael Marder
The Senses of Extended Cognition in Plants: An Exploration
Keynote
Studio Cinema D 0.01, Tower Building, HGK Basel FHNW
DAY II
27 April 2023
Seminar room, HEK House of Electronic Arts, Basel
9 am Welcome and wrap-up
Partner Presentations II
Tracking Plant Intelligence in Art and Science
9.20 am Birgit Schneider
9.40 am Ursula Damm
10 am Break
10.10 am Katja Tielbörger
10.30 am Alexandra Toland
10.50 am Coffee break
11.10 am Team Plant Intelligence and Discussion
1 pm End
Guest
Prof. Dr. Michael Marder, Author and Research Professor, Department of Philosophy, The University of the Basque Country
Partners
Dr. Christine Arncken and Dr. Mariateresa Lazzaro, Plant Breeding Department of Crop Sciences, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL
Prof. Ursula Damm, Head of the Media Environments chair, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, and artist
Marcos Filardi, Human Rights and Food Sovereignty Lawyer, Director Museo del Hambre, Buenos Aires (online)
Taita Hernando Chindoy, Inga Leader and representative from Wuasikamas Colombia (online)
Prof. Dr. Birgit Schneider, Professorship for Knowledge Cultures and Media Environments, Department of European Media Studies, University of Potsdam
Prof. Dr. Katja Tielbörger, Head of Plant Ecology / Director Botanical Garden, University Tübingen
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Toland, Professor of Arts and Research, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, and artist
Heraldo Vallejo, Agroecologist and representative of Tierra de Selva Foundation, Colombia (online)
→ More information on the SNSF research project Plants_Intelligence. Learning like a Plant
Field Research for the SNSF research project Plants_Intelligence. Learning like a Plant, Yuyo Colorado, amaranth, herbicide-resistant weed in GM soy plantation, Bolívar, Buenos Aires Province, 2023, photo by Julia Mensch
Workshop
26. – 28. April 2022
Keynote: Michael Marder
Christine Arncken & Mariateresa Lazzaro, Ursula Damm, Marcos Filardi, Taita Hernando Chindoy, Birgit Schneider, Katja Tielbörger, Alexandra Toland, Heraldo Vallejo
26. April 2023, ab 16:00
D 1.02, Hochhaus, HGK Basel FHNW
26. April 2023, 18:30
Michael Marder The Senses of Extended Cognition in Plants: An Exploration
Studio Kino D 0.01, Hochhaus, HGK Basel FHNW
27 April. 2023, ab 9:00
Seminarraum, HEK Haus der Elektronischen Künste, Basel / Münchenstein
Organisiert vom Team des SNF Forschungsprojekts Plants_Intelligence. Learning like a Plant: Yvonne Volkart (Leitung), Felipe Castelblanco, Julia Mensch und Rasa Smite.
Die aktuelle Forschung beweist, was von althergebrachten Praktiken längst bekannt ist: Pflanzen sind komplexere Wesen als bisher angenommen. Sie sind offen für die Welt, nehmen sie wahr, reagieren auf sie, verändern sie, kommunizieren und kooperieren mit vielen Akteur:innen; sie treffen Entscheidungen, lösen Probleme, spielen mit anderen. Kurz gesagt, sie sind handlungsfähig und zeigen Formen von Intelligenz, die weder nur menschlich noch maschinell sind, sondern uralt und nicht immer bekannt sind. Was bedeutet dies für Botaniker:innen, Biozüchter:innen, (indigene) Landwirt:innen, Philosoph:innen, Medientheoretiker:innen und Kunstschaffende? Wie können die verschiedenen Disziplinen voneinander lernen? Und was können wir im Hinblick auf öko-ästhetische und (agrar)politische Ziele gewinnen?
Mit diesem ersten interdisziplinären Workshop mit Partner:innen bringen wir lokale und internationale Praktiker:innen und Forscher:innen zusammen, die sich mit den vielfältigen Möglichkeiten beschäftigen, wie Pflanzen in der Welt sind und darin handeln. Ziel dieses Treffens ist es, Definitionen und Alternativen zum diskutierbaren Begriff «Pflanzenintelligenz» zu erarbeiten.
