Ecovisionaries: The Royal Academy - Nov 23 - Feb 23 2020

Late autumn I received news of an exhibition that sounded right-up my street - down in London.

Eco-Visionaries at The Royal Academy.

Without wishing to sound grandiose, I see myself as an 'eco-visionary' in several respects:

• yes, as a white, middle-class male and would-be environmental do-gooder;
• yes, as this is the perspective that Hodges' model fosters;
• yes, because now we all need to be eco-visionaries.

As this post's title shows, the exhibition had a short run. Probably a norm in London, but from the NW of England not straightforward but then there was great news and a golden opportunity.

The RA was organising a symposium:

Confronting a Planet in a State of Emergency: Eco-Visionaries Symposium

Sat 22 Feb, 10am-6pm

From futuristic visualisations of a world without humans, to innovative ways of measuring toxicity in cities, creative research into the climate crisis is proving essential for imagining solutions. Join us for a full day of presentations and discussions looking at how we can protect and understand our environment now and in the future. 

And! There was a call for abstracts. Just the thought of a symposium makes me go wobbly, so could I imagine this: actually being an eco-visionary and presenting at the RA! Goodness me.


On twitter I read of many people's efforts to present and publish. I've tried for the Planetary Health event and been unsuccessful but will try again. To those people who try, I say: If you've a message, a resource - keep trying.

Previously on W2tQ [ Waste not, want not ... ], I recycled an 'Item for discussion' that was not accepted last year for RCN Congress, so once again:

Abstract:

In healthcare we are and must be in permanent readiness for emergency situations. Education, continuing professional development, theory and practice are all predicated on lifelong learning and safety. Triage is applied in a practised, reflex manner. This paper will explain how we can better critique the climate emergency and debate solutions using a resource created in healthcare. Healthcare must not only respond to extreme levels of demand, but it is itself demanding. Practitioners and learners must provide safe, high quality care; which must be holistic to achieve a person-centred focus, a positive lived-experienced and integrated outcome. Health is a dedicated Social Development Goal (3), this paper reveals a map of all seventeen.

Despite the proclamations of technophiles, technology alone cannot deliver solutions, a socio-technical perspective is essential. Health and health care systems achieve this by being situated. The climate change emergency highlights not just the interdependency of people to the-ir environment, but the biosphere as a whole. We take health for granted until something goes 'wrong' and now the weather is 'wrong'. This paper addresses: “Creative approaches to conveying information on climate change, air pollution or other environmental issues” but can potentially represent all the symposium's themes. Does this matter? It does in terms of finding not only solutions, but reconciling socio-economic, political groups, global dependencies, issues and vested interests.

The environment needs nursing now.

Health professions will not take kindly to the 'system' placing the climate crisis at their feet and proclaiming “triage this!” Ironically, (bar mass-extinction events) since life emerged the 'system' that really matters is self-regulating. The first example of self-care is vested in Gaia. Eco-vision calls for vision of scale. This paper will share a care architecture worthy of eco-vision and the visionaries we must all aspire to be ...

Title:

A Unique Space: a Care Architecture for Person, Population and a Planet

I'm sure the above can be re-purposed, since alas, it was also unsuccessful. I knew the chances were slim. Hearing the speakers and panel discussions, this is clearly their forte and all very well qualified as Eco-Visionaries. The organisers were very gracious and encouraging, which helped to temper the disappointment. I was offered a complimentary place at the symposium and and was informed there would be Q&A, so I would have chance to highlight the model behind the abstract.

I arrived in London on the Thursday before and visited the exhibition Friday 21st - the last day. It was stimulating, challenging, thought-provoking and upsetting - a video of a giraffe being shot. If shock was the intention: it worked.

With a white rhino in the exhibition and an elephant in the lecture theatre called 'COVID' the symposium appeared full the day after.

I will defer to The Guardian's Oliver Wainwright's review of the exhibition:

Eco-Visionaries review – the salt flats will die and the jellyfish shall rise

I asked several questions / raised points at the symposium, but I suspect for many of us the weeks and months of disruption since disrupted the positive momentum that I at least left with - which is a pity.

I hope the RA Architecture team re-visit this theme. Not so much that I can try to submit again, but more to perfect the technique of framing Hodges' model within a question.

The exhibition and symposium were very good for learning and I really appreciate the opportunity to attend.