JUST MATTER

This strand of the project focuses on fostering engagement with materials and historical making practices to address climate justice through art. From plants used for dye extraction, spun into fibers, or harvested for their wood, resin, or rubber; to soil transformed into pots, bricks, and cups; or coal mined for its combustible nature—the JUST MATTER theme explores questions of climate justice as deeply entwined with long-term human explorations and manipulations of the material world. Who gains or loses when an entire industry, such as coal mining, (dis)appears? Who is poisoned if it stays? How have historical making practices benefited or destroyed ecosystems? Together with societal partners and affiliated artists, JUST MATTER develops Situated Material Engagement (SME) to generate new, more inclusive perspectives on the intrinsic material nature of climate justice.