Free Radicals
“Free Radicals" is a hybrid collaborative toolkit for individuals and entities within the European creative and cultural sectors designed to enhance their understanding of plant biodiversity in their practice. It will serve as a comprehensive resource, providing the community with the knowledge and tools necessary to explore and incorporate plant biodiversity into art, design, architecture proposals, or exhibitions. It will discuss various plant species, their ecological significance, and the role they play in supporting biodiversity.
The toolkit will equally delve into the connections between plants and cultural heritage, highlighting the importance of preserving and championing botanical diversity, indigenous knowledge as well as scientific research. Additionally, it will feature practical guidance on sustainable sourcing of plant materials, ethical considerations, and methods for responsibly incorporating natural elements into various processes commonly applied within the creative and cultural sector.
Working towards the toolkit's creation are six non-profit organisations based across Europe. From Portugal and Spain to Armenia, Hungary to Germany via the Czech Republic, these established cultural institutions and initiatives are already bringing innovative arts-sustainability concepts into practice in their respective fields.
Together, we have formed a unique alliance that will lead to the creation, piloting and implementation of the toolkit with the help of artists and / or artist collectives and a host of eminent experts and mentors from the fields of material science, circular economy, sustainable arts practice but also biodiversity, indigenous knowledge and plant sciences such as economic botany or ethnopharmacology.
During the course of the two-year project, the following activities will be hosted among the partners: an inaugural event hosted in Prague, Czech Republic, three artist residencies held in rural locations in Spain, Portugal, and Armenia, followed by three living labs hosted in Spain, Hungary, and Berlin. A final exhibition showcasing both the artworks developed in the residencies as well as a formal launch of the toolkit will take place in Lisbon. Throughout the project, participants - and general audience alike - will receive mentoring from experts on the arts-biodiversity axis that will also contribute to the creation of the toolkit itself. Although primarily aimed at providing methodology and resources to the arts and culture sector, the project aspires to reach a larger audience including the academia, public sector as well as general audience that is expected to participate in several activities.