What kind of stories should we be telling in the context of a climate-changed world, and what role does technology and the internet play in them?

This panel will feature discussions focusing on Solarpunk as movement that seeks to imagine what an environmentally and socially just world could look like, and how to get there. Solarpunk offers a courageous and pragmatic counterpoint to more pessimistic storytelling, like dystopian cyberpunk. The panelists may also discuss Other Worlds, alternatives to current paradigms that go beyond where the solarpunk imaginary takes us.

The discussion will span topics such as: decolonialism and climate justice, ecological economics, inhuman intelligences, agencies and assemblages, humans as observers, collaborators and stewards, technology and the internet, what it means to embrace the unknown, and more.

Christine Lariviere (CA): Christine Lariviere is a climate change communications professional and amateur naturalist based in Berlin. In her spare time, she gives talks exploring the links between digital media, psychology and narratives, especially in the context of the climate crisis. She’s presented her work at re:publica, Trust and Up.front, and has been featured on the New Models podcast as well as Humans + Computers. She’s been quoted in artnet and High Snobiety.

Dr. Luiza Prado de O. Martins (BR): Luiza Prado de O. Martins is an artist, writer, and researcher whose work examines themes around reproduction, herbal medicine, coloniality, gender, and race. She is part of the curatorial board of transmediale 2021 and an assistant professor and vice-director of the Centre for Other Worlds at the Lusófona University in Lisbon. She is a founding member of Decolonising Design.

Jay Springett (UK): Jay Springett is a consultant strategist and writer specialising in the distributed web, future texture, and world running. He has been an admin on solarpunks.net since 2014. Solarpunk is a movement that seeks to answer and embody the question “What does a sustainable civilisation look like, and how can we get there?.” His short story ‘In The Storm, A Fire’ was long listed for the BSFA Award for Short Fiction. Jay hosts the weekly podcast Permanentlymoved.online and describes himself as an artist without art.

Sarah Friend (CA): Sarah Friend is an artist and software engineer, specializing in blockchain and the p2p web. She is a participant in the Berlin Program for Artists, a co-curator of Ender Gallery, an artist residency taking place inside the game Minecraft, an alumni of Recurse Centre, and an organiser of Our Networks, a conference on all aspects of the distributed web. She was the smart contract lead and is currently on the advisory board of of Circles UBI, an alternative currency that aims to create a more equal distribution of wealth. She is also the technical lead on Culturestake, a platform for making better decisions around arts funding. Her upcoming exhibitions include Proof of Stake at the Kunstverein in Hamburg, Unfinished Camp at the HeK Basel and The Shed in NYC, and Contingent Systems at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery in Canada.