Introduction to Plants & Minerals
Everyone will be assigned a story, poem, or song that speaks to one of these plants or minerals: Sugar, Banana, Timber, Clay. Participants will be expected to bring and present some related research.
Material Cultures
Island Futures
The arrival of Columbus in the Caribbean opened up an era of ecological as well as human catastrophe. By clearing ancient productive forests to install the logic of the sugarcane plantation, colonial expansion laid the foundations of an extractive relationship with the earth. The UK was one of the chief architects of this transformation: Britain’s picturesque landscapes and the fractured ecosystems of the Caribbean are mirror images of the same imperial dynamic.
‣ Materials‣ Plants‣ Histories‣ Vernacular
Dates & Times
August 4: 11AM-1PM EST
August 11: 11AM-1PM EST
August 18: 11AM-1PM EST
August 25: 11AM-1PM EST
September 1: 11AM-1PM EST
September 8: 11AM-1PM EST
LocationOnline
Cost$0
Age18+
LanguageEnglish
MaterialsLaptop with Wi-Fi
Accessibility SupportsClosed Captioning
Max Students15
Course Description
Island Futures is an interrogation of the colonial material webs that still surround us today. Across six weekly online sessions, we will trace the origins of four key minerals and plants, tracking their journeys from the disrupted ecologies of the Caribbean and into the belly of empire. Through somatic practice, mapping, writing, and crafting, we will unearth suppressed ways of knowing, confronting the violence of our built environment to reimagine its future. Participants will develop practical skills using local materials. Together, we will document our journey through a series of objects and audiovisual records.
Week 1
Week 2
Violent Histories
Map the violent histories of these plants/minerals. Participants will pick a material made of the plant or mineral and trace the industrialisation of this material, looking at land management and labour practices.
Week 3
Materials & Form
We will learn about the underpinning principles, properties, and experimental use of clay in making buildings. This session will include a theoretical introduction, as well as a practical workshop.
Week 4
Vernacular Histories
We will define a bioregion through hard, soft, and human lines, and pick a building that is made from the plants or minerals assigned. How does the building speak to its bioregion?
Week 5
Materials & Craft
We will explore both the theory and hands-on practice of plant-based weaving, working with different fibres and exploring their uses and aesthetic properties.
Week 6
Materials & Stories
Participants are encouraged to produce a short-form video that weaves together a story of the plant, mineral, or material that they are most interested in.
Teacher(s)
Material Cultures
Material Cultures is a not-for-profit design and research organisation working at the intersection of natural materials, construction and technology. Our mission is to work towards a circular and bioregional construction which is integrated into regenerative and socially just systems.