“Radio Disaster: The Climate Change Series at Mudam Luxembourg”

Mudam Luxembourg announces a year-long series of keynote lectures and screenings by cultural producers, thinkers and scientists devoted to the subject of climate change. Entitled “Radio Disaster: The Climate Change Series,” the programme is an homage to philosopher Walter Benjamin’s (b.1892, Berlin; d.1940, Portbou) radio broadcast for children (1929–32), which was devoted to catastrophes around the world such as the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. The series is an attempt to develop a deeper discourse on climate change as a catastrophic and irreversible change for our planet. 

“Radio Disaster: The Climate Change Series” follows a progressive structure: from a macroscopic and sociological perspective to a technological and microscopic view. Starting with the theme of the Anthropocene, the opening lecture by Suzanne Dhaliwal will provide a global overview of our geopolitical condition. The programme then moves on to consider the vastness of oceans and the dramatic decline of marine ecosystems with a lecture by Chus Martínez.

A series of film screenings are included alongside the lectures, including a documentary about feminist scholar, Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival (2017) by Fabrizio Terranova, Alpi (2011) by artist Armin Linke, and Sea Lovers (2019) a film by artist Ingo Niermann.

“Radio Disaster: The Climate Change Series” seeks to suggest ways to engage with a common crisis, looking for alternative ways of living. 

Curator: Joel Valabrega

Lecture
Suzanne Dhaliwal, “Decolonising Climate Justice”: May 8
The climate crisis calls for unprecedented creativity to respond to the scale of the disaster. We must find ways to build interdisciplinary, intersectional, and international responses to the crises.

Lecture
Chus Martínez, “The Current”: June 9
Is the ocean an art space? With this question in mind, curator and researcher Chus Martínez has explored different concerns with the state of the ocean and the discourse around it.

Screening
Sea Lovers (2020) by Ingo Niermann: June 9
The video Sea Lovers portrays a group of people who aspire to a more intimate relation with the ocean.

Screening
Alpi (2011) by Armin Linke: July 18
Alpi is the result of seven years of research on contemporary perspectives of the landscape of the Alpine region, juxtaposing places and situations across all eight bordering nations where four different languages are spoken.

Screening
Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival by Fabrizio Terranova: October 23
This documentary features feminist scholar Donna Haraway (b. 1944, Denver) in a playful and engaging exploration of her life, influences and ideas.

Full programme will be announced soon: mudam.com

Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean opened in 2006 in a purpose-built building designed by the renowned Sino-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei and is located in the Park Draï Eechelen, overlooking the historic city of Luxembourg. Through its collection, exhibitions, artistic and educational programmes and partnerships, Mudam Luxembourg aims to advance its mission to present the most relevant contemporary art of our time to the largest possible public.