Organismo | Art in Applied Critical Ecologies
Organismo | Art in Applied Critical Ecologies is an experimental applied research program developed by TBA21–Academy and Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. It weaves together situated investigation, critical theory, and speculative practices through a series of applied case studies developed in alliance with cultural, academic, and civic entities. Organismo operates on the hypothesis that the work of artists reinvigorating interdisciplinary projects can operate as a form of infrastructural activism, going beyond critical reflection to activate tangible processes of ecological reparation.
To this end, Organismo proposes testing with methodologies and entanglements, collaborative practices and configuration of actors across governance frameworks, types of knowledges, and communities in order to generate prototypes that effectively intervene in reality and its material conditions.
Organismo 2026 is structured around five case studies and a transversal study module. For the development of the cases, five interdisciplinary working cells will be formed based on researchers selected through an international open call. Each case study will address specific contexts and themes and will be shaped by various institutions with the capacity to influence the issues at stake.
Over the course of six months, the selected researchers will engage in a hybrid program that combines weekly online sessions with three short on-site residencies. Throughout the process, the group of researchers will be joined by an expanded network of experts, local agents, civic organizations, and other affiliated entities who will contribute to shaping and guiding the initiative. The objective will be to activate situated research and collective creation processes in order to develop experimental prototypes that respond to the specific challenges posed by each case study. This collaborative endeavour is designed not only to imagine alternatives but also to enable future action and achieve effective impact. By working with entities rooted in the territories at stake, the program lays the groundwork for the potential implementation of the proposals beyond the duration of the program’s edition.
Organismo is rooted in the long-standing commitment of TBA21–Academy—the unorthodox research and advocacy arm of TBA21—to promote artistic experimentation and collective work as forces capable of catalyzing the systemic transformations needed to inhabit the planet otherwise. In partnership with Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Organismo assembles a transdisciplinary ecosystem of cultural agents, researchers, public bodies, and local communities to prototype infrastructural responses to the entangled urgencies of our time.
The case studies formulated for Organismo 2026 are:
- The End of the Real. Building Tools to Navigate Reality in the Absence of a Common Truth. Facilitated by Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza with Observatorio Complutense de la Desinformación and Retina; lead by Domestic Data Streamers.
- Planetary Theatre of Tourism. Beyond the Performative Regimes of Unproductivity. Facilitated by Casa Planas and La Casa de la Arquitectura with CRIGUST - Geografías Críticas de la Urbanización, Sostenibilidad y Turistificación, Universidad de las Islas Baleares; lead by Grandeza Studio.
- Last Resorts. How Climate Imaginaries Come to Matter. Facilitated by the BC3-Basque Centre for Climate Change with Spanish Office of Foresight and Strategy; lead by Gary Zhexi Zhang.
- Premium Stuff. How Climate Imaginaries Come to Matter Storage Ecologies and the Cronologistics of Conservation. Facilitated by TBA21 with Hangar, centre de producció i recerca artística; lead by Andrea Muniáin.
- Florestania. Communal Governance Systems for Territorial Reparation. Facilitated by Centro de Arte Fundación María José Jove with Fundación RIA and Fundación Montescola; lead by Paulo Tavares.
The entities facilitating the Organismo 2026 case studies are BC3 Basque Centre for Climate Change, Casa Planas, Centro de Arte Fundación María José Jove, and La Casa de la Arquitectura.
The collaborating entities in Organismo 2026 are CRIGUST - Geografías Críticas de la Urbanización, Sostenibilidad y Turistificación de la Universidad de las Islas Baleares, Cultura Inquieta, FECYT | Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, Fundación Montescola, Fundación RIA, Hangar, centre de producció i recerca artística, Observatorio Complutense de la Desinformación, RAICEX Network of Associations of Spanish Researchers and Scientists Abroad, and Retina. Associated media are Critical Playground and Cultura Inquieta.
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