Home EventsPart of Land Body Ecologies Festival

Land Body Ecologies Festival Day Four

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Past
  • Free
  • Festival
Photograph of artists, Outi Pieski and Jenni Laiti holding Sámi walking sticks at the top of a snow covered mountain in Sápmi on the Scandinavian Peninsula. They are wearing arctic termal clothes with hoods up and snow goggles on. Their walking sticks are orange in colour and carry flag-like elements. Interwoven into the scene is a graphic element made up of thin blue drawn lines, which create a mountain range behind the woman which crosses from left to right in the distance. On the right side a single bare tree rises above one of the mountain peaks.
Artists, Outi Pieski and Jenni Laiti holding Sámi walking sticks at the top of a snow covered mountain in Sápmi, the Scandinavian Peninsula. © Invisible Flock.

What you’ll do

Explore the deep connections between mental health and ecosystem health in this four-day festival. Take part and experience performances, food, workshops, discussions, music, films and more. 

Events are organised by access or interpretation type for easier finding here.

The programme is created by Land Body Ecologies (LBE), from teams across India, Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, the UK and the Arctic.

LBE is a research network of artists, researchers, designers, conservationists, technologists and activists from fields including psychology, arts, ecology, sociology, medicine and human rights. LBE seeks to understand lived experiences of land trauma among marginalised communities.

A range of handcrafted items and publications from LBE’s communities and collaborators will be available at the Wellcome Shop for the duration of the festival.

The Land Body Ecologies festival is produced by Unbox Cultural Futures and Invisible Flock.

Dates

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Past

Past events

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  • Installation
Boalno
Reading Room
Experience the sound of being in the centre of 3,000 circling reindeer during the annual reindeer corral in the indigenous-governed Sápmi area of the Arctic via audio recorded at the top of Boalnotjåhkkå mountain during May 2022.

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  • Walking tour
Hub Open Studio
Information Point
Go on a behind-the-scenes tour at The Hub to learn about the work of the LBE team, who bring together experiences across India, Kenya, Uganda and the Arctic. You will have a chance to meet informally with LBE team members for discussions and conversations.

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  • Discussion
Elephant Diaries
The Studio
Join elephant biologist Nishant Srinivasaiah for an informal dialogue between him and you, the audience, where he will bring compelling stories from years of studying the behaviour of elephants in the forests of South India. Asian elephants like to move around, and as they travel, contact with humans often evolves into conflict. Understanding elephants is important so that humans can be taught to live alongside them and we can reduce contact, injuries and death to both people and elephants. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions.

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  • Workshop
Pgak’yau Food and Storytelling
Restaurant, level 2
Prepare and eat a meal together with Siwakorn Odochao of the Ban Nong Tao community in Northern Thailand. You will make a meal together and hear about the seven stages of Pgak’yau rotational farming practices. Swae will explain how each ingredient is grown and harvested and share the traditional story behind each element. One of the ingredients is chicken, which will be prepared during the workshop. After a break from 13.30 to 15.30 (while the food cooks), you will return to eat the food together. Not suitable for vegetarians.

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  • Discussion
Communities, Mental Health & Wellbeing
The Studio
Hear from lawyer and psychologist Arjun Kapoor in dialogue with you, the audience, about his use of reflexive practices. Arjun takes learning from real-life experiences as part of efforts to transform mental health. India has communities that are socio-economically, culturally and linguistically diverse. Arjun works in the context of these communities, which are also defined by structural relations of power, privilege and marginality. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions.

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  • Screening
Short films from Bannerghatta, India
Information Point
Watch short films by Bharat Mirle and Quicksand Studios. In India, the LBE team is working in the eco-sensitive zone of the Bannerghatta National Park, just south of Bangalore. These short films showcase stories of people, ecologies and practices of communities from the region.

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  • Installation
Microtonal
Crypt Gallery
Witness the sight and sound of 200 borindos, small clay wind instruments made by master potter Allah Jurio from the earth of the Sindh region of Pakistan. The borindos in the installation respond live to the sounds of the gallery space, field recordings from Sindh, and the music of Faqir Zulfiqar playing the instrument. ‘Microtonal’ is a collaboration between Faqir Zulfiqar, Allah Jurio and Invisible Flock, and was originally commissioned by Karachi Biennale with support from the British Council Pakistan. The Crypt Gallery is located in St Pancras New Church, Duke’s Road, Off Euston Road WC1H 9AD. The Gallery is reached by going down steps with a handrail; there is no ramp or lift, and the floor in the Crypt is uneven.

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  • Installation
Stories of Entanglement
The Forum
Visit the Land Body Ecologies’ ‘Stories of Entanglement’ installation to experience objects, photographic books, immersive sound and video installations, and live Ogiek hive-building. The installation will embody real stories and lived experiences of land-dependent, marginalised communities across India, Kenya, Uganda and the Arctic.

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  • Installation
Asking the Salmon to Return
Ground floor Atrium
Watch Jenni Laiti’s performance for video, which asks the salmon to return to the river. Atlantic salmon are an ecologically and culturally key species in Sápmi, the traditional indigenous territory of the Sámi people in Northern Europe. Over recent years, the changing climate across the Arctic has led to the decline of salmon populations. The word ‘bivdit’ in Sámi language means to catch something, but also to ask for something from someone. The video is 6:01 mins and will be playing on a loop.

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  • Installation
Virran Mukana
Staircases and landings
Experience a sound installation by Chris Watson, featuring recordings from the Arctic sea ice to a freshwater lake and the dawn chorus at the midnight sun beyond, with the hydrodam power station blocking the Kemijoki river in between. On each of the six floors you can explore different parts of the journey.

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  • Installation
Ovdavázzit – Forewalkers
Ground floor Atrium
‘Ovdavázzit – Forewalkers’ is an installation of 37 freestanding Sámi walking sticks forming a path, created by Sámi artists Outi Pieski and Jenni Laiti. The constellations of the sticks bring together indigenous knowledge, ancestral technology, traditional crafts and sovereignty. This will be the UK premiere of this installation.

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  • Chill out
Chill-Out Room
Viewing RoomStudio Breakout Room
Any time during the festival that you want to find a space away from the programme of activities, you can come to the Chill-Out Room to lie down or relax. There will be low lighting, comfortable seating, cushions and mats throughout the room. Make use of ear defenders, earplugs, board games and materials with different textures.

Need to know

Location

This is a large-scale event with several different activities. Check specific sub-events for their locations.

For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call

Our event terms and conditions

About your hosts

Land Body Ecologies

Land Body Ecologies project is a global transdisciplinary research network and the first international residents of The Wellcome Hub. The collaborators and members of the Land Body Ecologies project participating in the festival are Invisible Flock, Quicksand, Minority Rights Group International, Kaisa Keratar, Dr Outi Autti, Action for Batwa Empowerment Group, Sylvia Kokunda, Emmanuel Barugahare, Turyomurugyendo Elivera, Eliphazi Kapere, Dr Ayesha Ahmad, Sheila Ghelani, Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program, Daniel Kobei, Lilian Maina, Samson Luari, Ms Emily Katais, Mr John Sironga, Bharat Mirle, Chris Watson, Professor Ilan Kelman, Jennifer Katanyoutanant, Jenni Laiti, Dr Nicole Redvers, Nishant Srinivasaiah, Outi Pieski, Siwakorn Odochao, Vishalakshi Padmanabhan, Faqir Zulfiqar, Carl-Johan Utsi, Arjun Kapoor.

The Hub

The Hub is Wellcome’s dedicated space for transdisciplinary research, situated on the fifth floor of Wellcome Collection. The Hub Award is a funded two-year residency, granted to a collaborative research group that brings together people from different backgrounds such as academia, advocacy and the arts to explore specific questions of human health. Land Body Ecologies holds the current Hub Award. The next grant call will be announced in 2024.