Paper short abstract:

NAHR: An ECO-Laboratory of Multidisciplinary Practice presents multidisciplinary research methods, non-formal learning fieldwork, the value of the setting of a non-institutional think-tank; its intellectual positioning as a globally-focused entity within a local, historically rich rural community.

Paper long abstract:

Nature, Art & Habitat Residency (NAHR) located in rural Taleggio Valley, Northern Italy, is a summer multidisciplinary eco-laboratory that cultivates a deep mindfulness about our environment, emphasizing nature's insights as a source of inspiration. The goal is to reveal intimate links between all living organisms and to support resilient development in which humans and nature can successfully coexist.

Each year NAHR focuses on an element of nature: water, woods, rocks, grasses. In 2020 "Animals: Interdependence Between Species" is exploring where and how species intersect in this post-human, post-anthropocentric era. Residents investigate the place of animals in contemporary ecological thinking, addressing questions such as how the human relationship to animals can help arrest the climate crisis, or how humans think of themselves as animals.

The Valley is the context for this non-institutional think-tank focusing on globalized thinking. The location offers a vast eco-canvas for bio-inspired design, art, architecture, theory, and creative writing, developed in alignment with the existing Ecomuseum. NAHR brings to this scarcely populated valley scholars and professionals from all over the world where they spend a month conducting fieldwork, analyzing, studying, and observing its ecosystem. Significant to the residency are daily exchanges with local community, exploring local culture and its rich heritage, particularly its traditions of animal husbandry, cheese production, and other land-based economies.

The presentation will illustrate the value of multidisciplinary research methods, non-formal learning fieldwork, the value of the setting of this think-tank; its intellectual positioning as a globally-focused entity within a local, historically rich rural community.

E-paper: this Paper will not be presented, but read in advance and discussed