›Scars Remind Us that our Past Is Real‹: A Queer Ecologies’ Attempt on Repair
Talk by Rahel Kesselring at University of Pittsburgh
Cluster member Rahel Kesselring gave an online presentation at the conference »Ruin and Reparation: (Dis)Repair in Art and Architectural History« on 22 March 2024 at the University of Pittsburgh. Her talk »›Scars remind us that our past is real‹: A queer ecologies' attempt on repair« was part of the first Panel »(Re)appropriating Space« and took place at 12:15 (ETD) (5.15 Berlin time).
Abstract
Manheim is a ruin due to political and economic decision making. The town in Western Germany has been largely abandoned and demolished because of the expansion of a trans-regional mining company and will be completely razed to the ground by end of this year. Since 2021, as part of her artwork »Manheim Calling«, artist Silke Schatz has been documenting and archiving the slow disappearance of the abandoned town and the »rewilding« of the local landscape. »Repair« is omnipresent in contemporary discourses of art and architecture, referring to very different epistemologies and conceptual nuances. The notion relates to activist, feminist, queer and postcolonial practices, furthering issues on (ecological) justice, accountability and reparation. So what is meant by repair? And how can ecosystems such as the ruined landscape of Manheim be repaired through artistic practices? Looking at »Manheim Calling«, Rahels contribution will discuss different aspects of repair from the perspective of queer theory and queer ecologies.
Registration & Information
https://haa.pitt.edu/event/ruin-and-reparation-disrepair-art-and-architectural-history