Anthropocentric Placemaking vs Cinematic Placemaking: A Talk on Cinema’s Operativity in (Making) Places

Event details

ARTSPACECITY researchers from the Centre for Postdigital Cultures are hosting a new online seminar series. The series which is centred around the theme of ‘agency’ and includes presentations, discussions, film screenings and provocations will run from April 2024 – January 2025. Please join us online on 29 April at 17.30 for the first session: ‘Anthropocentric placemaking vs cinematic placemaking: a talk on cinema’s operativity in (making) places’.

AGENCY explores political autonomy in relation to the multifaceted ways that the city and urban space come into being. Given the depoliticization processes of neoliberal governments, exacerbated by divisions in the UK and the ascent of populist ideologies, and amidst ongoing culture wars, we ask what can we do to support democratic processes of city making?

The disruption created by deindustrialisation, the financial crisis, austerity, Trump, Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, and wars in Ukraine and recently in Palestine, is an opportunity to rethink the city beyond existing paradigms. The city needs a multiplicity of actors - independent of the usual suspects of professional politicians, bureaucrats, auditors, councillors, think-tanks, landowners, investors and retired middle-class professionals with experience in local and third sector politics - to participate in the (re)making of cities according to the specific needs and requirements of each situation.

At a time when we are disillusioned about the power of our individual actions we want to question, what can be done and, how can we maintain hope for change towards more inclusive and equitable cities for all? We will explore the paradoxes of action and engagement given our own bodies which are those of artists, researchers, and academics. When thinking about agency we utilise Judith Butler’s thinking in relation to performativity. Agency here is about embodying the autonomy to resist and/or subvert predefined social and political norms. Our hope is that it can lead to the repetition of actions in such a way that they contribute to the development of new ways of living together.

We envisage a more-than human perspective towards our world-making. We favour emergent assemblages of agents instead of autonomous and individual assets. In claiming this we are close to Karen Barad’s agential realism, where intra-activity and entangling of agency performs spatial and material practices.

Booking information

To register and acquire the Zoom meeting details, please email Mel Jordan or Giorgia Rizzioli.

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