How Low Can We Go
Festival on Climate Justice
The festival How Low Can We Go was curated by Laro Bogan, Lucien Lambertz, and Nadine Jessen, and funded by the Elbe Culture Fund of the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media. It included 5 artistic works and several discourse events.
Announcement text:
“What to do in the face of the climate crisis? How low can we go? And how do we go low? While the polar ice melts beneath our feet and we study guidebook after guidebook, we are certain of one thing: the sweeping reorientation we urgently need can only succeed collectively. With its focus on climate justice, HOW LOW CAN WE GO?, Kampnagel launches a series aimed at aesthetically amplifying the wake-up call — offering insight into overlooked aspects and sites of the climate crisis, generating social ‘climate glue,’ inspiring courage, and finally celebrating the farewell to the Western standard of living. Using hybrid, artistic-activist approaches, we address what is probably the most longterm mega-crisis of our time. In the wake of Western luxury psychosis, the HOW LOW CAN WE GO? series kicks off in late January aboard a cruise ship. The Viennese performance group God’s Entertainment, with barely a hand’s breadth of water under the keel, takes the audience out to sea. Theunert / Aloni engage with right-wing climate denial and the Atlantis myth. AMAZONIA 2040 by choreographer Martha Hincapié Charry reflects on humanity’s relationship to nature from an Indigenous perspective. In addition, debates emerge on the rights of nature as well as disputes over climate-activist strategies.”
Event Overview
God’s Entertainment – Cruise Tentare
Jan 25–27, 2024, multiple time slots starting at 6:00 PM, location p1
A walk-through installation in the form of a deconstructed cruise ship, complete with a swimming pool and a giant inflatable octopus. The Viennese collective playfully explores “tentacular thinking” and new forms of the performative.
Philippe Quesne / Vivarium Studio – The Garden of Delights
Jan 25–27, 2024, 8:00 PM each day, k6, approx. 105 minutes
A theatrical epic inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych of the same name, about a community in an abandoned place. It examines humanity’s fractured relationship to nature, somewhere between a medieval bestiary and science fiction.
Meera Theunert / Dor Aloni – Atlantis
Jan 25–27, 2024, alternating 7:00/8:30 PM, k4, approx. 75 minutes
The performance examines the Atlantis myth, which has also been co-opted for fascistoid world narratives.
Martha Hincapié Charry – Amazonia 2040
Jan 25, 7:00 PM; Jan 26, 8:30 PM; Jan 27, 7:00 PM, k1, 55 minutes each
The solo performance combines video projections, portraits of Indigenous residents, and personal stories into a meditation on home and species extinction.
Catching up: Strategies in Climate Discourse / Discourse Program
Jan 25–27, 2024
- Opening & Keynote – Jan 25, 7:45 PM (k2, 45 min.): British-Somali activist Zamzam Ibrahim opened the focus program with a talk on intersectional climate justice, sharing her perspectives on urgently needed global interventions.
- Otro Mundo Ya Existe – Jan 26, 6:30 PM (k2, 90 min.): International experts discuss the rights of nature from artistic, legal, and activist perspectives, moderated by Alex Viteri.
- Re:Rooted Workshop – Jan 27, 2:30 PM (k2, 3 hrs incl. breaks): A ritual workshop with Niya B on eco-somatics, eco-intimacy, and connection to plants and non-human beings.
- BIPoC Climate Reflection Space – Jan 27, 4:00 PM (90 min.): A safer space for people affected by racism to reflect on climate change and climate activism.
- Protest Talk: Climate in Motion – Jan 27, 6:30 PM (k2, 90 min.): Representatives of climate-activist groups discuss strategies for the climate movement, moderated by Sara Schurmann.
Controversy:
Before and during the festival, controversy arose around the keynote by British-Somali climate activist Zamzam Ibrahim, who had previously spoken critically about Israeli occupation policy and the Israeli genocide in Gaza. As a result, the keynote was held online. Parts of the discourse program were cancelled, as some panel guests were unwilling to participate under the heightened tensions, or did so as an expression of their criticism.