Biological Wisdom and Social Transformation meets Ferment Lab

Biological Wisdom and Social Transformation meets Ferment Lab is an event joining two initiatives from Berlin and Helsinki dealing with various forms of plant and bacterial growth and their interconnection with societal change. 

Biological Wisdom and Social Transformation is a series of actions started in Berlin that explores to what extent can we invent new social and art forms when turning to the deep wisdom and intelligence that lies in biological systems. Simultaneous events on the themes of soil, social fermentation and fungi have taken place since January of this year and during the first event groups in seven countries took part. The collective aim is to connect activist and artist groups working on related topics and to create a trans-local exchange of experience, techniques and knowledge based on the idea of sharing “seeds” generated from within the groups.

Ferment Lab is Pixelache initiative exploring intertwines of winter urban farming and food fermentation as a means for activating local neighborhoods. Currently its team works on a prototype of a greenhouse module, a low cost, mobile planting bed placed inside a wood box with light fixtures and digital components such as microprocessors, transformers and a web camera. Growing plants receive as much light as members of the community (who decide to take part in Ferment Lab experiment) want to donate from their household savings (in comparison to their previous annual consumption). The processes of energy use and plant growth are planned to be monitored by a project specific online portal and app representing data gathered from the module apparatus.

Biological Wisdom and Social Transformation meets Ferment Lab will begin with a screening assembled by Luisa Greenfield. The video consists of a sampling of short clips from the first three events of Biological Wisdom and Social Transformation, primarily about the political act of fermentation, interspersed with artworks and interviews with artists who use fermentation as material and metaphor in their creative practice. On behalf of Ferment Lab, Samir Bhowmik and Mikko Lajola will introduce the green house module under construction and may even ceremonially plant the first seeds. Both presentations will become a starting point for joint discussion.

During Biological Wisdom and Social Transformation meets Ferment Lab, fermented snacks will be served that were prepared during the Ferment Lab workshops on 22 and 23 September and matured during the festival days.