Thermalisme et Politique (XVIIe-XIXe siècle)
A seminar organised by Samuel Cuisinier-Delorme, Sophie Vasset and François Zanetti with presentations by Vermeir & Heiremans and Luke Mason i.a.
07/06/2021, 16h (Online)
Vermeir & Heiremans and legal philosopher Luke Mason will be presenting 7 Walks (a re-enactment in the city of Spa): the art of governing natural and cultural resources during the session Arts and politics in thermal cities
7 Walks is a cross-disciplinary project that addresses the question of ownership. It originated in Spa, a small Belgian city that became famous for its healing ferruginous water sources. Since the 16th century its water has exported throughout Europe and beyond. Spa became known as the ‘café de l’Europe’. It was a place where contrasting artistic, and political visions were informally debated by kings, tzars, artists, politicians and philosophers on the way to ‘take the waters’ at the sources.
The project develops public walks as a performative research method. Walking has an extensive philosophical, literary and artistic tradition. Vermeir & Heirmans and Mason explore whether a creative re-imagining of legal concepts can enable a more sustainable way to govern natural and artistic resources. How water is currently governed functions as case studies for the walks which can inspire us to consider art as an ‘ecology’, in which all stakeholders are interdependent.
Is access to art as essential as access to water? The current health crisis has given this question its sense of urgency. How can we creatively re-imagine a concept such as ‘ownership’ and thereby better distribute added value?
Salon d’Honneur of the City Hall of Vichy
If you want to receive a link to the online presentation, please send a mail to the organizers.