River Talk I
13th May 2027
Margarida Mendes is a research-based artist, curator, and educator, exploring the overlap between critical ecology, experimental film, sound practices, and ecopedagogy. She creates transdisciplinary forums, exhibitions, discursive events, and experiential works where alternative modes of education and sensing practices may catalyse political imagination and restorative action. Margarida Mendes was part of the curatorial team of the 11th Gwangju Biennale; 4th Istanbul Design Biennial; 11th Liverpool Biennale; and 3rd Porto Design Biennale, and has founded and co-directed several educational platforms, such as escuelita at CA2M-Madrid; Matter in Flux ecological study group; and The Barber Shop project space dedicated to transdisciplinary research in Lisbon. She was a founding member of Laboratório da Torre, an independent film lab dedicated to analogue cinema made by artists in Porto; and took part in various artistic collectives, such as the online channel for exploratory video and documentary reporting Inhabitants-tv.org; and Natural Contract Lab, a collective working on restorative justice and river rights across Europe. Margarida Mendes holds a PhD by the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths, University of London, and is a tutor at the GEO-Design Masters at Design Academy Eindhoven and an affiliated researcher at ICNOVA, University of Lisbon.
Riverwalking - Pedagogies of the Outdoors
In this presentation at River Talk I, Margarida Mendes will address her longstanding work with riverine ecologies and outdoor pedagogies, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula and Tunisia. Expanding on her “water walks” in the Tejo estuary, and multiyear-long research with the collective ‘Natural Contract Lab’ in Tunis’ Sejoumi Lake, and Northern Tejo region, Mendes will open up an ecocritical reflection about the sonic dimension of aquatic ecosystems, their logistical developments and toxic ecologies, the state of transboundary wetland politics, and restorative practices today.
If you missed River Talk I and would like to receive a recording, please sign up here
River Talks are curated by Noor Ahmed, Martina Huber, and Anushka Rajendran for River Landscapes in collaboration with Karachi Biennale 2027, We Are AIA|Awareness in Art, and Prameya Art Foundation