To build a degrowth society, we need artistic imagination
The fifth episode of the podcast series Raut entitled Degrowth prevents burnout is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud
The cultural sector faces pressure to perform and is seeking strategies for how to make art more sustainable. Listen to a conversation with Martina Johnová of the Hraničář Gallery in Ústí nad Labem and Ivan Buraj of HaDivadlo Brno, where the ideas of degrowth are utilized in shaping the program and management.
"Degrowth is not an elaborate ideology. It is an idea that challenges the status quo of our society which is organized in accordance with economic interests and goals. The highest mantra should not be the highest GDP possible," says Ivan Buraj, the artistic director of Brno's HaDivadlo. "I agree that it is impossible to continue to operate like this. But we are facing a major challenge, and nobody seems to have a definite answer. We all must strive to find a solution within our daily practice."
Both Hraničář and HaDivadlo have made an effort to organize their own work in accordance with the principles of degrowth and also adjusted their artistic direction accordingly. In Ústí, they have made a strategic decision to limit themselves and produce only two long-term exhibitions a year and expand the framework of these by means of an interdisciplinary accompanying program of lectures, discussions, and other events. The current season in the HaDivadlo theater is entirely devoted to degrowth. Over the course of the season, there aren't any new production premieres scheduled. Instead, the audience is invited to the existing repertoire of older productions that are being revived under new circumstances or contexts or amended with parallel events.
Listen to the fifth episode of the podcast series Raut on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts. Please note that the podcast is available in Czech only.
