Online Event: Reading group II by Borbála Soós

23/04/20

On Thursday, 2 April 2020 tranzit.sk was supposed to open the new exhibition entitled Ecologies of the Ghost Landscape, The Word for World is Forest curated by Borbála Soós. The exhibition reflects on the state of a world suffering climate crisis, deforestation and mass-extinction, in which the memories of lost or near-extinct species and sensations linger.

In the meantime, in response to the spread of COVID-19, the streets of our cities have turned into ghost landscapes themselves and many of us are searching the refuge in the countryside and yes, in the forests. This sudden urgency surprised us but we hope that the particular time of common isolation will paradoxically help us to recognize our mutual interdependencies and explore new formats of solidarity. A part of the exhibition project will thus move online and will consist of reading groups, textual and audiovisual contributions curated by Borbála Soós and participating artists.

Please follow tranzit.sk on Facebook or Instagram for online research materials, information about the reading groups and other updates. More info on exhibition here.

The second online event will be a reading group led by Borbála Soós on Thursday, 23 April, 5 – 6.30 pm (CEST). The reading group will be also related to the project Ecologies of the Ghost Landscape, the Word for World is Forest and it will address the idea of rewilding.

Rewilding originates in an ecosystem management strategy that aims to counter manmade ecological devastation. By (re)introducing certain keystone species into areas depleted in biodiversity, it speeds up natural processes and gives rise to rich ecologies of multi-species entanglements. Without necessarily romanticising the past, it challenges traditional ecological conservation through a holistic, interdisciplinary and resilient approach. First used in the 1990s, discussions of rewilding have since expanded to incorporate ecological experiences of everyday life (Monbiot 2013), society and politics.

Registration is required. Please register by 21 April here. The number of participants is limited to 20. The reading group will be held in English.

Florian Bauer

Director Social Finance, Sustainability and Innovation
Since 2023, Florian Bauer has been responsible for social finance, sustainability and social innovation at ERSTE Foundation. Prior to this role, Florian worked in the NGO & Social Entrepreneurship sector for more than 13 years. He led the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), an international multilateral NGO that works to accelerate market-based deployment of renewable energy and energy efficient systems in developing countries, and was Managing Director & COO of the Impact Hub Vienna. From 2020-2023, Florian established strategic alliances with key partners and helped to create innovative semantic technology solutions at Semantic Web Company (SWC), a leading IT company in semantic AI solutions.