When? 9, 10, 11 May: 10.30am-14.00pm & 16.00 pm-18.pm (Local time).

Where? Madrid, Spain: Faculty of Fine Arts, Complutense University of Madrid and Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid.

EMPACT is pleased to announce this seminar/workshop in the framework of the innovative project EMPACT – Empathy and Sustainability: The Art of Thinking like a Mountain, co-funded by the EU Creative Europe Programme (Grant Agreement No: 101055903 – EMPACT – CREA-CULT-2021-COOP-2). The workshop focuses on introduce, discuss and clarify the meaning of «empathy» in arts, which has important implications for artistic research, training and practice and demonstrate how empathy as an abstract concept can be applied in the arts so that people are motivated to care for non-human others and the environment by using concrete examples.

This three-day interactive seminar has six major objectives:

• We will explore how artists and cultural organisations can connect effectively their creative work, actions and strategies with environmental issues, empathy and sustainability.
• We will explore key theoretical discourses of empathy, sustainability, eco-social crisis from different perspectives.
• We will discuss successful practices and artistic applications of empathy, environment and sustainability: approaches, applications and artworks by Spanish artists, experts and students.
• We will analyze opportunities, risks, and future trends and will seek together new ways of cooperation between artists, experts/researchers, social scientists for a more empathic and environmentally sustainable future.
• We will work together guided by creative professionals in smaller groups on a specific theme/topic/subject of interest and/or a creative idea.

The three main themes for each day are split into a morning session with interactive presentations and discussions, and an afternoon of collaborative creative work in smaller groups (artistic atelier) on a specific theme, or topic of interest.

• Day 1: 9 May – Empathetic art in the face of the eco-social crisis
• Day 2: 10 May – Life at the centre: empathetic environments
• Day 3: 11 May – Art, Science and Gender

The seminar is organized by the Asociación Espacio Rojo, an EMPACT consortium partner,  and will be held in the Spanish language (with visual material in English).

Seminar speakers/moderators are renowned experts and professionals in the field of environment, empathy, sustainable development and arts management: PhD Candidate Danae Loannou , Asst. Prof. Efi Kyprianidou, Prof. José María Parreño, Asst. Prof. Dr. Salim Malla, Prof. Dr. Pablo Álvarez Couso, Prof. Mariano Sánchez García, Prof. Rocío Arregui Pradas, Asst. Prof. Nerea Moran, Prof. Mª Paz Martín Esteban, Prof. Dr Alicia Helda Puleo García and as a moderators Prof. Rocío Nogales Muriel and Prof. Dr.Toya Legido.

Afternoon workshops will be led by creative professionals – Asst. Prof. Dr. Yiannis Christidis, Jesús A. Hernando Buendía, Dr. Laura Lío and Dr. Pilar Soto. Also, some talented artists from the Master’s Degree in Research in Art and Creation, MIAC, Complutense University of Madrid, will present their own projects: David Camilo Gutiérrez Almonacid, Brayan Salgado, Fiorella Tazza Guevara, Javiera and Ivonne Freraut Rodriguez.

If you are an artist, cultural professional, arts manager, researcher, educator, student, or cultural policy-maker, join us!  The seminar has a limited number spaces available: to reserve your place, please fill in the short registration form here (the number of participants is limited):

https://forms.gle/3RT2A4zGLiUvt1zL8  (please open with Chrome web browser).

For additional information about the seminar, please contact:

Prof. Dr. Alberto Vázquez,  Asociación Espacio Rojo, email: albertovazquez@espaciorojo.com.

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Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.