13th Annual Subtle Technologies Festival Explores Sustainability (June, 2010)

13th Annual Subtle Technologies Festival Explores Sustainability, June 3-6, 2010.
Deadline for submissions:  January 9, 2010
Festival Dates: University of Toronto June 3 – 6  2010

It will be nearly half a century since Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring”, just over five since Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth”, and less than three years since Anya Hindmarch’s “I’m not a plastic bag” eco-bag hit the shelves.  The grassroots have taken hold fostering mainstream fashion and a green life style.  This may be a victory of ideology, yet at the same time, has matured into a new social norm that suspiciously smells of capitalism.  The replacements are still a chain in consumption.  Ecological compact fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury, and biofuels have an impact beyond ethanol production.  If sustainability is narrowly defined as a closed system that produces what it consumes, by all means, the boundary conditions leave us hanging, looking for more.  What can this more, be?

For this years Subtle Technologies Festival we want to explore sustainability through a multidisciplinary lens.We want to investigate the role decentralization, diversity and societal power dynamics play in our attempts at maintaining a sustainable future. Where does the death of languages, cultures and peoples fit into the sustainability discussion? We look forward to critical discussions that explore the meaning of sustainability in this era of ecological and global health. We will be discussing the science and technology behind sustainable practises and design as well as the science behind some of the events and circumstances that have driven us to seek sustainable solutions.  What role does the artist play in bringing forth new layers of understandings in this discussion?

For our 13th annual Subtle Technologies Festival, we would like to invite works that address sustainability.  As in previous years, we invite submissions from various practises.  For 12 years Subtle Technologies has provided a forum where participants share their projects, theories and technologies around an annual theme.  Subtle Technologies is also a place where artists, scientists, and other innovators inspire, inform and generate new concepts and tools.  Specifically this year we are looking for presentations for our symposium, works for our exhibitions, video and film submissions for screenings, workshop suggestions and partners who are interested in collaborating with us. Some example areas of exploration include: sustainable design and architecture practises, global warming discussions, climate change refugees, sustainable agriculture, water and other resource management, cultural preservation and sustainability, politics of sustainability, material science for sustainable design, alternative energy systems, corporate responsibility, co-operatives and microfinance, biodiversity conservation, preservation of indigenous knowledge,  Please make a submission on our website at http://www.subtletechnologies.com by January 9 2010. We encourage applicants to look at our archives to gain an understanding of the types of programming we support.

Subtle Technologies is grateful for the continuing support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and Ontario Trillium Foundation.