Workshop: Non-human guidance in life, art and gardening

This workshop is part of and .

The artwork Otterdam was inspired by the return of the otter to Amsterdam after 50 years of absence. These iconic wetland beings returned to the capital during a period of unprecedented drought in the Netherlands and Europe, like an omen at a time when it is becoming clear that we need to radically reimagine our relationship to the water.

For the vast mayority of human existence non-humans were highly valued guides. As John Berger put it: "the domestication of cattle did not begin as a prospect of milk and meat. Cattle had magical functions, sometimes oracular, sometimes sacrificial, living by voices we may never hear." With the otter as a guide, Otterdam is as much a practice as it is a structure. It’s an embodied exploration of wetland gardening, ecology and the joys of 'ottering'.

What we'll do:
In this workshop we explore non-human guidance in life, art and gardening. We’ll do a few experiments and discuss non-human guidance, human-animal cooperation.

Writer Paul Kingsnorth described the need for 'humans to rejoin the Great Conversation among Life on Earth’. This workshop explores living within a much broader horizon, and as the Elders say, being part of a community starts with tuning in.

Other-than-human lifeforms are very welcome.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Amstelpark, 1 Arent Janszoon Ernststraat, Amsterdam, Netherlands