Ecopolis, fair(er) futures festival
We are turning climate concerns into commitments, with Rebecca Solnit’s words in mind: “It’s not too late!” Just now is the time to listen to diverse voices, to formulate fair solutions, to make radical choices, to create a better future. In short, to act now because hope needs action.
Ecopolis is a place for dialogue between authors, scientists, doers, activists and artists about responsibility and commitment, across generations, cultures and national borders.
That cross-border dialogue is being initiated through various projects. Wytske Versteeg and Sarah Vanhee ask who is still listening. Amir Bachrouri and Sander Heijne make their voices heard. Third-grade youth join Sanne Huysmans, Tine Van Aerschot and the Climate Poets in writing the climate agenda. Journalist and travelling writer Chris Keulemans shares his views. Artist, philosopher and arborist Peter Aers shares his findings from a two-year research project on (night) dreams during Social Dreaming. And the Peaceful Solutions action counterbalances polarisation and seeks ways to reconnect people.
We will announce the full programme soon. We are already giving you a sneak preview with the performance by Jana De Kockere and Ferre Vuye.
The Cosmic Meaning Illusion
Jana De Kockere & Ferre Vuye
SUN 29.09
17:00-18:00 | Budascoop, room 1
Tickets via Schouwburg Kortrijk
In the 17th century, Europe experienced floods, cold winters and crop failures, leading to questions about man’s sin. Four hundred years later, nature is sick to death again and we must start asking questions again. Not about climate change, but about the threat of an end.
Theatre-maker and philosophy of science Jana De Kockere delved into the history of science and got confused. In 1616, people in Western Europe saw that nature was decaying, sickened by man’s sins. Floods, cold winters, crop failures: nature was about to die. We are 406 years later and nature seems to be dying again. What does this recurrence mean? What does it mean that we once again believe in the end of the world?
However, this show is not about climate change, because what is at stake is not the truth of the ecological crisis. What is at stake is the meaning of an end. The meaning of believing in an end and the fact that this belief has a history.
De Kockere ended up with a fictional character in the present: an incarnation of an existential crisis, played by Ferre Vuye. Searching for meaning in this crisis leads to madness, but denying it just as much.
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