Kapybara The Art Collective

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Agenda

Our multidisciplinary event highlights the importance of green innovation, nature, and community through dance, music, art, and technology. The program consists of multidisciplinary workshops, lectures, dance performances, art displays, and a panel discussion. The program is formulated around the quest for Phototropia, a magical city, where people live in harmony with nature and each other.

12-4 PM ”Imagining positive futures through Technology and Art” – a workshop for youth, artists, and The Climate Hackathon community organised by Avoin, hosted by Anatomic Jack & Dance Company.

4–5 PM Guest lecture: Solarpunk futures and climate justice.

5–6:45 PM Family/teen activities with guided hosts and creative tasks, multidisciplinary art displays around the themes of Nordic natural wisdom, Midsummer traditions, and climate activism curated by Kapybara The Art Collective.

7–8 PM Narnia Presents: Phototropia – a Solarpunk-themed performance featuring shorter pieces by various dance artists curated by The House Dance Project, and a work-in-progress version of “Timeless Traveler”, a full-length dance piece by CDCN, music composed for the event, and projected visuals. 

8:15–9:15 PM Panel and audience Q&A on Nordic heritage, urban sustainability, and positive future visions.

9:15–10:00 PM Informal networking

10:00PM- afterparty TBA

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What is Solarpunk? 

Solarpunk is a sustainable design movement, the origins of which can be traced back to an anonymous blog post from 2008 titled ”From Steampunk to Solarpunk”. For us, the goal of the Solarpunk ideology is to combine the built-in ingenuity of the natural world with human innovation, technology, and infrastructure. Biomimicry is one of the key elements of Solarpunk design, as is reusing materials and rediscovering technologies that may have been forgotten. We like to summarize the essence of Solarpunk in this slogan: Be humble and learn from nature! It is smarter than we are. 

What is Midsummer?

Midsummer celebration occurs around the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the longest day of year. In the Nordic countries, the celebration is a significant annual cultural event that holds many traditions. Midsummer is closely tied to the natural cycle, offering many people the chance to reconnect with and appreciate the beauty of our natural environments. We believe that Midsummer Day is a powerful day to engage in climate activism, which is why we chose this day for Phototropia.

What is Phototropia?

Positive phototropism = organism’s tendency to grow towards the light 

​Utopia = A society with ideal living conditions for its members​

​Phototropism + utopia = Phototropia, a multidisciplinary event imagining positive futures 

As a multidisciplinary team with members from Finland, Sweden, and the USA, we want to celebrate the Nordic tradition of Midsummer the NYC way: full of joy for artistic expression, innovation, and communal activism. Midsummer is the day when the sun stays up in the sky the longest. We think it is the perfect day for Phototropia, where the light of solarpunk will shine at its brightest!

What does the ideology of Solarpunk look like when implemented in real life? We look to answer this question by combining art and science into a single event. In the past, Solarpunk has been heavily associated with architecture. We propose its principles can be extended to formulate an aesthetic and idealistic movement that is more than a design principle – it is a positive vision of future societies.  By bringing together community, technology, artistic exploration, and storytelling, we aim to develop new, innovative solutions for future societies, all while drawing inspiration from Nordic natural wisdom.

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Call for sponsors and partners

Did our mission resonate with you? Do you want to become a part of a multidisciplinary team to create a futurist event never seen before? We would love to hear about how you would like to contribute!