Creating space for co-species care & collaboration

What can we learn from animal and plant intelligence?

Through 2020 community activists, artists, and researchers, with specialisms in: spiders, trees, funghi, butterflies, soil, bees, dogs, birds, robotics and visual arts, were invited to participate in on and offline co-creation activities facilitated by Martha King (Arts Programme Manager at KWMC) and Nicole Foster (researcher at DCRC).
Participants received physical packages in the post, including magnifying glasses & binoculars. After meeting online they paired up and set each other creative challenges to help them explore ‘intelligence’ from a perspective they weren’t familiar with: for example, birdwatchers learned about insect intelligence and tree champions about butterflies! Raising thought-provoking questions such as what is ‘success’ for a bird? The whole group took part in online co-creation sessions attempting to think through the perspective of other species and imagine new systems designed to benefit all living things.
The insights from the co-creation activities were transformed into a beautifully illustrated set of inspiration cards for co-species care, by artist Kaajal Modi. Designed to help us think differently, see from different perspectives, and deeply consider who or what is being impacted by our decisions.
You can download the cards and accompanying booklet HERE Or if you’d like to buy a printed set in a specially made box contact us.

As part of the project, we also created a series of podcast interviews with people from Knowle West, Bristol, Berlin, Kent, and Colombia. Knowle West resident and digital intern Tatiana Powell made the podcasts, having to record them remotely through lockdown, supported by KWMC producer Lewis Campbell.
You can listen to all of the podcasts here.

Ongoing

This project will continue with more commissions and hands on workshops (when it is safe to do so) that explore materials inspired by various forms of intelligence, sensing technologies and community action around developing deeper ecologies of care.
If you work with or research animals, plants or artificial intelligence and would like to get involved we would love to hear from you.
For more information contact Martha: martha.king@kwmc.org.uk