Cosmophilosophy For The Arts: Rethinking Production

We invite artists, researchers, cultural practitioners, activists, and curious thinkers to apply for Cosmophilosophy for the Arts: Rethinking production, a program directed by Giovanbattista Tusa.

We invite artists, researchers, cultural practitioners, activists, and curious thinkers to apply for Cosmophilosophy for the Arts: Rethinking production, a program directed by Giovanbattista Tusa, dedicated to examining how artistic processes are shaped by—and can intervene in—the political, material, and conceptual structures that organize contemporary life. The program approaches production not as a technical procedure or a linear path from idea to object, but as a complex field where relations of power, modes of perception, and cosmological assumptions converge. To rethink production is to render these forces visible and to ask how artistic practice might actively participate in their transformation. Over the course of the theoretical seminar “Theoria: A Very Practical Introduction to Contemplative Thinking” led by Giovanbattista Tusa, participants are invited into a shared framework for critically engaging with the conditions under which artistic and cultural production unfolds. These sessions encourage a shift in perspective: from creativity understood primarily as individual expression toward creativity understood as a situated activity, deeply entangled with social, ecological, and epistemic systems. Through collective reflection and discussion, participants will be invited to articulate how their practices both reproduce and resist the infrastructures that shape them. Three workshops, with artists Alexandre Estrela, CLAIRE FONTAINE and with philosopher Michael Marder extend these questions into the realm of method and material experimentation. Situated at the intersection of critical inquiry and artistic practice, these workshops offer practical and conceptual tools for rethinking how works come into being. Production is approached here as a process of negotiation involving not only intention and technique, but also material agencies, environmental conditions, and broader institutional and planetary contexts. The aim is not to reject production, but to reconsider its stakes, constraints, and transformative possibilities. The program concludes with a public day designed and activated by participants. This final event offers an opportunity to share the research that has emerged from the program and to articulate how artistic production can propose alternative relations, forms, and modes of engagement. We welcome applications from individuals who understand artistic practice as a site of inquiry—conceptual, material, and political—and who are prepared to engage deeply with the seminar’s collective, research-driven approach. The program is open to diverse backgrounds and practices, united by a shared commitment to critical reflection and experimental inquiry. Important note: The program offers a fee to support travel expenses, both for local participants and for those traveling from abroad. Applications submission and inquiries should be sent to: catia.ramos@air351.art

What to expect:
Multi-disciplinary, Mixed media