Symposium at Dartington Hall counters COP26 with focus on colonialism's environmental legacy
The 'Sensing the Planet' symposium, held at Dartington Hall in Totnes, Devon, England, was a three-day event organized by Serpentine and Dartington Trust as a response to COP26. Curator Amal Khalaf described it as an initiative to reinterpret imperial history through the lens of stately home occupations. In his opening speech, Paul Gilroy highlighted a sense of place that diverges from nationalism. Ashish Ghadiali critiqued governmental methods, calling for artists to engage in 'deep imagination.' Historian Matthew Smith examined James Hakewill's aquatints from 1825. The event featured The Otolith Group's film 'O Horizon' and works by Ingrid Pollard. Malcolm Richards from the Exeter Decolonising Network addressed migration's effects on land ties. Hans Ulrich Obrist referenced Édouard Glissant's concept of 'mondialité.' The estate has a history of over a thousand years, acquired by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst in 1925.
Key facts
- The 'Sensing the Planet' symposium was a three-day event at Dartington Hall in Totnes, Devon, England.
- It was organized by Serpentine and Dartington Trust as a counterpoint to COP26.
- Paul Gilroy gave the inaugural address, calling for a non-nationalist attachment to place and a revised sense of time regarding slavery and climate crisis.
- Ashish Ghadiali, involved with COP26's civil-society coalition, criticized intergovernmental inaction and emphasized artistic 'deep imagination.'
- Matthew Smith presented James Hakewill's 1825 aquatints of Jamaica, analyzing their imperial visual language.
- The Otolith Group's film 'O Horizon' (2018) was screened, exploring Tagore's ecosophy and soil depletion from colonialism.
- Ingrid Pollard's photographs, including 'Wordsworth Heritage' (1992), were exhibited, subverting English Romantic imagery.
- Groups like Exeter Decolonising Network and Racial Justice Network participated, with Malcolm Richards discussing migration and land connection.
Entities
Artists
- Amal Khalaf
- Ashish Ghadiali
- Paul Gilroy
- Matthew Smith
- James Hakewill
- Kodwo Eshun
- Anjalika Sagar
- Ingrid Pollard
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Édouard Glissant
- Steve McQueen
- Nick Hayes
- Guy Shrubsole
- Malcolm Richards
- Katie Hopkins
- Walter Raleigh
- Humphrey Gilbert
- Richard II
- Earl of Huntingdon
- Duke of Exeter
- Catherine Howard
- Catherine Parr
- Dorothy Elmhirst
- Leonard Elmhirst
- E.F. Schumacher
- William Wordsworth
- Beatrix Potter
- Karl Marx
Institutions
- Serpentine
- Dartington Trust
- COP26
- The Wretched of the Earth
- UCL Centre for the Legacies of Slavery
- The Otolith Group
- Visva-Bharati
- Exeter Decolonising Network
- Racial Justice Network
- University of Exeter
- Schumacher College
- Right to Roam
Locations
- Dartington Hall
- Totnes
- Devon
- England
- London
- River Exe
- Jurassic coast
- Teignmouth
- English Channel
- Celtic Sea
- Atlantic
- British archipelago
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- Ireland
- Guyana
- West Bengal
- Santiniketan
- Jamaica
- Bristol
- Exeter
- Hackney
- St Lucia
- Kings Cross
- Paddington
- Switzerland