Project manager, artist and initiator Dana Finch invited five artists to reimagine the extraction of raw materials through the lens of artistic practice resulting in engaging discussions, imaginaries and exchange between the participants. The finissage Of Earth – From Earth proved the need for interdisciplinary interaction and dialogue in the context of geoscience, metallurgy and natural resources. Following McKinsey Quarterly’s call for a “new leadership imperative,” which is based on transparency, empathy and meaning, I revealed a new understanding of the arts in areas of extractivism and its essential integration into the mine design from the early stages Mining With examples from Japan and Brazil, I focused on the arts-led Cabra Institute in Casa Branca, Brumadinho in Minas Gerais that serves as a compelling example for community empowerment, trauma healing and societal transformation through artistic intervention. The arts encourage us to listen, to indulge in experience, to leave secure realms of specialization and to comprehend and to adventure the connection and interconnection between people, nature and the environment. Contrary to closed off, isolated corporate spaces in the mining as well as the art sector, I argued for tapping the arts’ potential in creating dialogue, interaction and change. Within this framework, it was a great pleasure to introduce artEC/Oindustry‘s reconceptualization of the role of the arts in areas of extractivism.
The Arts – Embodying Dialogue for Socio-Ecological Transformation in Extractivism The EU small scale mining project held its last conference and workshop at Heartlands in Cornwall from March 9-12, 2020 with the finissage Of Earth – From Earth by five selected artists.