Workshop: Where Are We At? A Collective Imaginarium

Namrata Narendra, Critical Pathways Fellow 2024, will be leading a workshop on human-nature entanglements. Namrata Narendra is an artist and urban researcher from Bangalore, India. She is interested in exploring human-environment collaborations and contestations within our immediate natural and constructed landscapes.

This two-part workshop, co-hosted by Utrecht University’s Critical Pathways to Sustainability community and Casco Art Institute, invites participants to explore the interplay between humans, nature, and history through a combination of physical exploration and creative expression. By focusing on both visible and invisible aspects of the environment, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of the land we inhabit. The workshop will be given by Namrata Narendra, who is visiting Utrecht University on a Critical Pathways Fellowship.

Part 1: Speculative Landscape Walk

During a foraging walk across the university campus, participants will be encouraged to reflect on the evolution of the landscape around them. Together, we will create a speculative history of the environment, imagining how it has changed over time. This activity will draw on the participants' observations and comparisons with historical maps and archival data to consider how landscapes are shaped by natural and human forces.

Part 2: Hands-on Imaginative Exploration

In the interactive and hands-on second part of the session, participants will explore and express the often "invisible" elements of the environment, such as groundwater, soil properties, insects, pipelines, and other factors that influence the land but are not always immediately visible. Through group discussion and creative engagement, we will collectively examine the relationships between humans, non-humans, and the site’s natural and built elements. Drawing from their different backgrounds and perspectives, participants will contribute to a collaborative visual tapestry—a shared patchwork of their observations and ideas about the past, present, and possible future of the landscape.

Who Should Attend: This workshop is open to everyone: students, faculty, artists, activists and all other persons interested in environmental studies, history, landscape architecture, and creative practices. No prior experience is required, just curiosity and a willingness to explore the layers of the environment around us.

Where/when: 6 December 2024, 10:00-16:00, Casco Art Institute. Lunch will be provided.