Field lab, sculptural beaver lodge, discourse

An old bus will be transformed into a mobile, hybrid beaver lodge from 21 August at STWST Danube shore:.

Between field laboratory and sculptural beaver lodge, the interaction of nature and culture will be thematised - using our treatment of wild animals and the example of beavers, which were wiped out in the 19th century and are now returning: While beavers have shaped our landscapes and ecosystems for 15 million years, we humans have lacked any connection to these amazing animals for generations now. Myths and misinformation dominate current debates.

As a field laboratory and artistic setting in the middle of the city centre, an urban, utopian niche specified for beavers will then be offered to a broad audience for a multifaceted exchange about nature, culture and art between 1 and 10 September:

In addition to scientific or historical facts, special reference will be made to the life of the resident, inner-city beaver family. The role of animals in art will be highlighted. Utopias of coexistence to conviviality with regard to climate crisis and species extinction will be elaborated. In addition to the discussion about animals and their abilities, the predominance of humans as artists and designers will also be questioned. Beavers are thematised in their role as collaborative artists. Aren't the imposing structures of beavers to be considered as building art as well? Are some of their complex song-like vocalisations not music? To what extent are artistic collaborations with animals possible?

During STWST48x9, STWST's annual showcase extravaganza parallel to Ars Electronica, the following question will also be addressed from 8-10 Sept:

The human hubris has led the planet to the climatic abyss, with arrogance and capitalism. Questions of supremacy are also highly topical, because humans seem to be relinquishing their primacy as creators to so-called artificial intelligence. New questions arise: What data are these artificial intelligences fed with? What data from nature and animal populations? Can, for example, research on beavers provide data that can be fed into an artificial intelligence as animal expertise?

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In total, the public can expect:
1 to 10 September - daily from 16:00 to 20:00 at the STWST Danube banks (48.309436, 14.284738)
Human and non-human actors, a publicly accessible installation setting, discussions with experts, keynotes, beaver walks or screenings.

Fri, 1. Sept, 16-20
Beaver Lab – Public field laboratory on the banks of the Danube at STWST in Linz

Sat, 2. Sept, 16-20
Beaver Lab – Public field laboratory on the banks of the Danube at STWST in Linz

Sun. 3. Sept
16-18: Beaver Lab – Public field laboratory on the banks of the Danube at STWST in Linz
18-20.30: Listening to beavers - walk with Abby Lee Tee, meeting point at the Beaver Lab on the banks of the Danube at STWST

Fri. 4. Sept, 16-20
Beaver Lab – Public field laboratory on the banks of the Danube at STWST in Linz

Sat, 5. Sept, 16-20
Beaver Lab – Public field laboratory on the banks of the Danube at STWST in Linz

Sun, 6. Sept
16-18: Beaver Lab – Public field laboratory on the banks of the Danube at STWST in Linz
18-20.30: Listening to beavers - walk with Abby Lee Tee, meeting point at the Beaver Lab on the banks of the Danube at STWST

Sat. 7. Sept, 16-20
Beaver Lab – Public field laboratory on the banks of the Danube at STWST in Linz

Fri. 8. Sept, 16:00 bis 17:30
“On the Consequence of Understanding” - Artificial Intelligence and Animal Communication
Round table with experts: with Patrick Derieg, Renate Holzinger, Kurt Kotrschal

Sat. 9. Sept, 16:00 bis 17:30
“Disruption and Control - On the Coexistence of Humans and Animals”.
Round table discussion with experts: Gudrun Fuss, Gundi Habenicht, Leopold Kanzler, Christoph Wiesmayr

Sun. 10. Sept, ab 14:00
“Beaver Nerd Talk” with coffee and cake
with Leopold Kanzler, Johanna Kuffner, Beaver Lab Team

The last 3 dates are also part of the annual showcase extravaganza STWST48, which runs from 8-10 Sept in co-op with Ars Electronica.

As Part of STWST48x9 COLD HEAVEN –> Beaver Lab


More information can also be found at: Beaver Lab –> https://beaverlab.at/

Doku-gallery copyrights: Beaverlab

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Fabian Holzinger and Franziska Thurner are collaborating with STWST and others in complementary expertises.

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Abby Lee Tee alias Fabian Holzinger (*1987 Linz) is a musician and sound designer. In addition to band projects, he has released numerous albums on labels such as Shash, Dinzu Artefacts, Czaszka and Accidental since 2009. His preference for field recording & the exploration of the border areas between music & noise as well as culture & nature shows itself in the form of installations, soundwalks or theatre projects. Since 2020, he has dedicated himself to researching beavers & their sounds - the recordings from inside a beaver's lodge were awarded the “Sound Of The Year” award (BBC Radiophonic Workshop) as well as the “Boughton Fieldcraft” award of the “Wildlife Sound Recording Society”. https://abbyleetee.com

Franziska Thurner (*1984 Harrachstal) is a media artist and university lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the University of Art Linz. In the course of her 10-year teaching career, she has devoted herself to researching and testing emerging technologies with a focus on art, school and mediation work as well as questions of digital ethics and digital justice. Under the name System Jaquelinde (with Hanna Priemetzhofer), she has been creating interdisciplinary and collaborative works with digital and analogue media since 2005. Furthermore, Franziska Thurner explores the error-proneness of algorithms in her digital photo series. https://franziskathurner.com


Stadtwerkstatt - artists' collective. STWST is art, club culture and autonomous structure since 1979. In its more than 40 years of existence, Stadtwerkstatt has realised many groundbreaking media and art projects and has also been an instigating initiative for numerous artists inside and outside the city. Stadtwerkstatt is art, theory and practice, a social free space, a place of self-empowerment and political discourse. Stadtwerkstatt is currently active in the field of New Art Contexts, where it has been operating expanded urban zones between planning and wild growth for more than 10 years, including the DeckDock on Donaulände. STWST has also had a special focus on art, technology, theory and nature for several years, and was invited to the Taipei Biennale with such a project (2018). In recent years in particular, STWST has also implemented streaming projects such as GrundlTV, operates media channels such as the newspaper Versorgerin, an event business, the club and Cafe Strom. https://stwst.at, https://archiv.stwst.at