Assembly: Extractable Matters is a two-day gathering at the University of Westminster that brings together artists, academics, activists and human rights experts to collectively explore the politics of extraction across the globe and the role that its operations play on environmental, ecopolitical and societal levels.

How can we understand the infrastructure of mining beyond its materiality and geography? What are the new frontiers of mining and what neocolonial patterns do they reveal?

Together, we will collectively explore the molecular effects of mining and extractive practices on a planetary scale. We will try to disentangle these complex interdependencies – for instance, between the demand for forms of renewable energy that require the extraction of scarce resources and the disruption of ecosystems and communities – and reflect on how we might build alliances and solidarity between artists, activists, and those affected by mining industries.

Through talks, workshops and roundtable discussions, over two days we will delve into multiple case studies that expose the entanglements between extractive violence, financial networks and poisonous infrastructures. Together we will explore different forms of resistance, particularly those that seek to carve out spaces of autonomy and solidarity where the structural violence enacted through the exploitation of natural resources – of minerals, labour and cultures – can be countered.

Confirmed participants include Lise Autogena, Bobby Banerjee, Suzanne Dahliwal, FRAUD (Audrey Sampson and Francisco Gallardo), Gaia Foundation, Que Kenny, London Mining Network, Margarida Mendes, Anihoa Montoya, Pluriversal Radio, Rachel O’Reilly, Louise Purbrick, Xavier Ribas, Elena Solis (Ecologistas en Acción), Neal White, Sim Chi Yin.

Assembly: Extractable Matters is organised by Arts Catalyst in partnership with CREAM, University of Westminster. It is part of Resistance Labs, a series of discursive events, workshops and broadcasts that bring to the fore existing forms of solidarity between various anti-mining movements in the context of Ignacio Acosta’s exhibition Tales from the Crust at Arts Catalyst.

SCHEDULE

Saturday:

10 – 11.30am banking tour led by London Mining Network (TBC)

12 – 6pm

Speakers: Lise Autogena, Bobby Banerjee, Suzanne Dahliwal, Gaia Foundation, Que Kenny, London Mining Network, Margarida Mendes, Anihoa Montoya, Rachel O’Reilly, Pluriversal Radio, Louise Purbrick, Xavier Ribas, Elena Solis (Ecologistas en Acción)

Lunch will be provided.