Two-day symposium featuring dialogue, performance and film
November 19–20, 2024
Ina Lou / Dear Mother Earth is a two-day symposium organized by Cristina Baldacci, Natalie King and Francesca Tarocco during the closing week of the 60th International Art Exhibition—the Venice Biennale that binds the South-East Asian, Portuguese and Timor-Leste pavilions with dialogue, performance and film screening. Forming a cross pavilion alliance, artists, curators, activists, academics and researchers will come together to delve into shared concerns and commonalities.
Ina Lou / Dear Mother Earth is a title derived from a traditional Timorese song performed in the Indigenous language Tetum by artist Maria Madeira invoking environmental reverence and harmony. A clarion call to mother earth, the symposium will collectively consider ecological art practices, soil and sovereignty, water and wellness.
The Spirits of Maritime Crossing reflects on how ocean and waves wash up maritime memories of long forgotten geopolitical histories and Buddhist teachings from South-East Asia. Greenhouse is a living habitat, a Creole garden inside Palazzo Franchetti, blending plant species with a stage for discussion and assembly. NICHE at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice is a research institute devoted to transdisciplinary environmental and water studies, ecological art practices and public engagement initiatives.
Topics range from water sovereignty, contested maritime boundaries, soil as a site of resistance and anti-colonial, liberatory struggles. Comprising pavilion tours, discussion and panels, speakers include: Cristina Baldacci, Valeria Burgio, Marcela Canadas, Chiara Famengo, Suzie Fraser, Maria Madeira, Kim McGrath, Natalie King, Jorge Soares Cristóvão, Apinan Poshyananda, Noemi Quagliati, Amalia Rossi, Francesca Tarocco, Francesco Vallerani. A highlight of the symposium is a screening of films by Mónica de Miranda, Elena Mazzi, Antonio Rovaldi and Ettore Favini, Angela Tiatia, Kaylene Whiskey at Cinema Rossini.
Venues: Timor-Leste Pavilion (Spazio Ravà), Portuguese Pavilion (Palazzo Franchetti), Palazzo Smith Mangilli Valmarana, Cinema Rossini, NICHE (Ca’ Bottacin).
Partners: THE NEW INSTITUTE Centre for Environmental Humanities (NICHE), The UNESCO Chair on “Water Heritage and Sustainable Development” and the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage (DFBC) at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; Maria Madeira: Kiss and Don’t Tell, Timor-Leste Pavilion; Greenhouse, Portuguese Pavilion, Hangar–Artistic Research Center and Mónica de Miranda Studio and The Spirits of Maritime Crossing (BAB–Bangkok Art Biennale) at the 60th International Art Exhibition—the Venice Biennale.
Organizers: Cristina Baldacci is associate professor of Contemporary Art History in the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage (DFBC) at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and principal investigator of the Ecological Art Practices research cluster at NICHE; Natalie King is enterprise professor of Visual Arts in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, Victorian College of the Arts at University of Melbourne and curator of Timor-Leste Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition—the Venice Biennale; Francesca Tarocco is professor of Buddhist Studies and Chinese Religions in the Department of Asian and North African Studies (DSAAM) at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and director of NICHE.
Program
Performance—Maria Madeira: November 19, 10–11am, Kiss and Don’t Tell
Timor-Leste Pavilion, Spazio Ravà, San Polo 1100
Pavilion Tour—Greenhouse: November 19, 11:30am–12:30pm with Marcela Canadas
Production Director of Hangar/Mónica de Miranda Studio. Portuguese Pavilion, Palazzo Franchetti, San Marco 2847.
Film screening—Reimagining Sea and Soil: November 19, 2:30–4:30pm
Films by Mónica de Miranda, Elena Mazzi, Antonio Rovaldi, Ettore Favini, Angela Tiatia, Kaylene Whiskey. Cinema Rossini (room 3), Salizada de la Chiesa o del Teatro, San Marco 3997/A.
Semiotics of the Elements in Flowing Images: November 19, 4:30–5:30pm
Presentation by Valeria Burgio (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice–DFBC, NICHE) with Suzie Fraser (University of Melbourne).
Cinema Rossini (room 3), Salizada de la Chiesa o del Teatro, San Marco 3997/A .
Exhibition visit—The Spirits of Maritime Crossing: November 20, 10–11:30am
Presentation by Apinan Poshyananda, Curator/Artistic Director, Bangkok Art Biennale. Palazzo Smith Mangilli Valmarana, Cannaregio 4392.
Timor-Leste, Sovereignty and Shifting Maritime Boundaries: November 20, 12:15–1pm
Presentation by Kim McGrath (Timor-Leste Land & Maritime Boundary Office) with commissioner Jorge Soares Cristóvão (Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste). Ca’ Bottacin (Main Hall), Calle Crosera, Dorsoduro 3911.
Bangkok’s Buddhist Waterways and Canal Temple System: November 20, 2:30–3:10pm
Presentation by Amalia Rossi (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, NICHE). Ca’ Bottacin (Main Hall), Calle Crosera, Dorsoduro 3911.
Panel discussion—Sea, Soil and Solidarity: November 20, 3:10–4:10pm
With Chiara Famengo (Ca' Foscari University of Venice, NICHE), Noemi Quagliati (Ca' Foscari University of Venice–DFBC, NICHE) and Francesco Vallerani (Ca' Foscari University of Venice, NICHE). Ca’ Bottacin (Main Hall), Calle Crosera, Dorsoduro 3911.
