An environmental festival is set to begin this weekend (August 19, 2011) in St. Petersburg titled the Art of Survival Festival. The goal of the festival is to showcase dire ecological problems through art. The location of the festival will be the new art space titled “Taiga” on Palace Square.
“I think such festivals play a significant role in raising environmental awareness,” mentioned Angelina Davydova, a representative of the Russian-German Ecological Information Bureau. “On the one hand, we are trying to draw people’s attention to environmental problems, showing their causes and consequences, and on the other hand we are discussing ways of solving them at different levels: From political measures to private initiatives. “Also, as the festival is taking place in several cities across the world, it gives us a new opportunity to share experiences, skills and technologies.”
The festival includes a variety of lectures, films, performances, and discussions with some serious and some for entertainment purposes. Participants will be from several emerging economies in such cities as New Delhi, Nairobi, Sao Paolo, and Berlin. Some of the topics for discussion include “Decoupling growth from resources consumption,” “The end of capitalism as we know it” and will involve experts in political and environmental science along with average citizens who want to be active about the environment.
There will also be a short film competition titled “Be Water, My Friend” about the role of water in our lives. The second film competition is titled “Plastic and Glass” highlighting the fact that both of these elements decompose over a very long period of time but that these elements are nevertheless very useful in our society.
On Sunday, August 21st the Iguan dance theatre will perform “Love in the Supermarket” which was created to show how contemporary capitalism in Russia influences romantic relationships. During the performance the dancers will use empty plastic bags and want to engage the viewer into questions about love, the soul, and relations between people.
Finally there will be a variety of eco-artworks, including paintings made of moss and grass. For more information please see www.ueber-lebenskunst.org.