Virtual Verbier Art Summit
February 11–12, 2022
The aim of the non-profit Verbier Art Summit is to empower the art ecosystem to be a positive social change facilitator. On February 11 and 12, art and ecology lovers from around the world are invited to join the 2022 Verbier Art Summit online to debate the urgent ecological theme Resource Hungry. The Summit’s virtual programme will feature talks, debates and live Q&As between thought leaders and key figures in the art world. Speakers of the 2022 Summit are jointly invited by the previous Summit museum directors—Beatrix Ruf, Daniel Birnbaum, Jochen Volz and Jessica Morgan.
Free registration for the 2022 virtual Summit is now open, please click here.
Three new debates will present ideas for ecological transformation in the arts, our cultural institutions, and society at large. The interdisciplinary programme will bring to a close the wide-ranging debate around the Resource Hungry theme that began in 2020 with Jessica Morgan, and will look back on previous Summit themes from an ecological perspective. The international 2022 Summit speakers offer examples of actions that encourage a mutually responsible sensitivity towards the environment, providing A New Way Forward out of our Resource Hungry Era.
The 2022 Summit debate series will start by reassessing a theme chosen by our Strategic Director Beatrix Ruf in 2017: (De)Growth in Times of Climate Crisis. The debate features the artist Torkwase Dyson, who explores the continuity between ecology, infrastructure and architecture, and Professor Louise O. Fresco, an expert in the field of sustainable agriculture.
The Sustainability in the Digital Age debate by 2018 partner Daniel Birnbaum will look at innovative possibilities for art, technology and sustainability. Daniel invited the artist Simon Denny, who aims to unpack the social and political implications of the technology industry, and Tobias Rees, who focuses his work on the philosophy, poetry, and politics of the contemporary.
The Summit’s 2019 partner, Jochen Volz, will introduce the alternative ways to imagine the world and humanity’s relationship with nature. In the debate Multiple Ecological Truths, Jochen presents the Indigenous filmmaker, journalist and activist Olinda Tupinambá and writer, researcher, environmentalist and Indigenous leader Ailton Krenak.
Highlights of the programme (Live at CET times, followed by Q&A)
Friday, February 11, 2022
4:00pm: “(De)Growth in Times of Climate Crisis,” with Beatrix Ruf, Torkwase Dyson and Louise O. Fresco
4:45pm: “Sustainability in the Digital Age,” with Daniel Birnbaum, Simon Denny and Tobias Rees
Saturday, February 12, 2022
4:00pm: “Multiple Ecological Truths,” with Jochen Volz, Olinda Tupinambá and Ailton Krenak
4:45pm: “A New Way Forward out of our Resource Hungry Era,” with Jessica Morgan and Anneliek Sijbrandij
About the Verbier Art Summit
The Verbier Art Summit is an international platform for discourse in a non-transactional context. The non-profit Summit connects thought leaders to key figures in the art world to generate innovative ideas and drive social change. The annual in-person event in Verbier, Switzerland, will not be held in January 2022 due to current health regulations. All 2022 Summit content is shared on the virtual platform, bridging artistic and social distances globally. Please visit verbierartsummit.org for the full 2022 Summit programme and free registration.
If you are interested in learning more, the accompanying publication Resource Hungry: Our Cultured Landscape and its Ecological Impact edited by Jessica Morgan and Dorothea von Hantelmann, designed by Irma Boom and distributed by Koenig Books London, is available to purchase in specialty art book stores, museum shops and online.
For press enquiries, accreditation or any further questions, please contact:
Rhiannon Pickles at Pickles PR, rhiannon [at] picklespr.com / T + 31 61 582 12 02
Enrichetta Ciccotti at Pickles PR, enrichetta [at] picklespr.com / T + 34 65 695 66 72
Sara Alessandrini, sara [at] verbierartsummit.org / T +31 68 224 63 23
