Eco-Poetics and Environmental Artivism
Pembroke Lodge (Richmond Park) and Online
Organization: London Arts-Based Research Centre
Eco-Poetics and Environmental Artivism
A Transdisciplinary Conference
July 4-5, 2025
July 4: In person participation at Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park (and online)
July 5: Fully online
Fees** (for both attendees and presenters):
£180 (In person participation)
£100 (Online participation)
**Prices exclude eventbrite fees
The London Arts-Based Research Centre is delighted to announce the upcoming Eco-Poetics and Environmental Artivism hybrid conference in London, taking place at Pembroke Lodge in the iconic Richmond Park on July 11, 2024 (as well as fully online on July 12).
Richmond Park, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a National Nature Reserve (NNR) due to its rich biodiversity and important habitats, offers an immersive experience to the conference theme, which aims to explore the intersections between creativity, ecology, and environmental activism. Environmental aesthetics in different art forms such as poetry, writing, painting, photography, fashion and fabrics, sculpture, drama, dance, film and music play significant roles in shaping our aesthetic appreciation of the natural world around and within us.
We seek to bring together scholars, creatives, and arts-based researchers to discuss a wide array of topics on ecopoetics and various kinds of eco-aesthetics while looking at recent trends and innovations in the creative field, as well as the future directions of eco-creativity.
Ecopoetics, as well as other types of environmental artivism, attempts to locate us—humans—in the world, with the intention of focusing on ecology (from Greek oikos, or “home” and logos, or “reason”). So environmental aesthetics contemplate the way we exist within this oikos and how this “home” is perceived; they also navigate the borders between human and non-human nature, and how images, places, spaces and memories assist our desire to explore the self in the world. Ecopoetry and environmental artivism in general, therefore, view humanity’s relationship with the planet, instead of merely focusing on the unfolding scenes of nature through different modes of art; thus, they highlight the complexities of our interrelationships within and our responsibilities toward our environment.
We welcome proposals from scholars, poets, activists and creatives from diverse backgrounds and disciplines (including literary studies, cultural studies, philosophy, environmental studies, and creative writing) whose work engages with ecological themes and environmental concerns in creative expression.
We invite proposals for 15-minute academic or creative presentations that engage with (but are not limited to) the following topics:
Arts-based research projects and methods in environmental studies
Ecological imagination and poetic language
Poetry and environmental justice
The role of poetry and other forms of art in environmental activism
The representation of nature and the non-human in creativity
Ecopoetry and the Anthropocene
Ecofeminism and poetry
Eco-poetics and eco-criticism
Environmental ethics and poetic practice
The symbolism of water in creative works and/or religion
Environmental symbolism in myths and folktales
Creative depictions of nature as sacred
Nature and photography
Wildlife in docuseries and film
Sustainable fashion and innovations in synthetic material
Future directions in environmental aesthetics
Ecopoetics and language
Ecofeminist perspectives in the visual and performing arts
Utopian/dystopian depictions of nature in literature and film
Environmentalism in music
Environmental photography
The impact of the environment on creative thinking
Creative technology for environmental art (eg: astrophotography, fashion, digital art)
Environment-friendly innovations in the culinary arts
Modernist and post-modernist ecology in literature and visual art
Presenters may either share academic papers and/or creative work (poetry, prose, photography, music, painting, etc.), as we highly encourage arts-based research, as well as research which stimulates reflection on creativity, image, symbol and archetype. Please fill out our proposal form on https://forms.gle/d3TcQrJCxmpHR8kZA, by May 15, 2025. We will be announcing our plenary speakers and the full programme of the conference will be ready after the presenters are selected.
https://labrc.co.uk/2025/02/23/ecopoetics-2025/
Roula Maria DIb
