Call for Research-Art Collaboration - GLOBAL IN/JUSTICE

TOPIC

The first edition of the residency program deals with the topic of GLOBAL IN/JUSTICE. Our world is chronically suffering from a deficit of justice: uneven distribution of wealth, unequal freedom of movement, power disparities and the uncontrollable power of big data – these are just some of the examples of geographies of uneven development resulting from our global realities. These forms of economic, political, environmental, health and mobility injustices, however, are increasingly at the center of political, and social movements revendicating justice on all scales ranging from the local to the global for different
marginalized communities.

What types of injustices are at the forefront in current debates in academia, media and arts? How is justice understood and discussed in these different fields? What does justice mean for whom and to what ends? How is injustice instrumentalized in order to achieve certain interests? Which concrete local phenomena exist that are inseparably linked to global injustice or norms of justice? To what extent do certain discourses on justice exclude each other? Climate policy versus economic justice? How can the concept of justice be further developed through concrete empirical cases or new conceptual approaches? How can collective and participative work procedures lead to empowered discourses about justice?

Which visualizations can document different forms of global injustices, contribute to a more just world and/or point to unresolvable contradictions around struggles towards justice? What are unconventional ways to produce knowledge about global in/justices and to disseminate this knowledge to diverse audiences and publics? Which narratives, personalities, and objects are exemplary in this thematic field? Which musical, poetic, radical, transversal, personal and performative possibilities of examining questions of global in/justices exist?

ELIGIBILITY:

Reflecting its inter- and transdisciplinary character, the mLAB welcomes applications from a wide spectrum of disciplines (social science, humanities, natural science, interdisciplinary fields), research interests and questions.

Eligible for proposals are teams of which at least one team member (No1) must be employed by the University of Bern and hold a position related to research ranging from the level of Ph.D. students to the level of professorship. Other team members can be artists and researchers from all disciplines, inside or outside the university, from Bern or another part of the world, students, academic personnel, pedagogues, activists, journalists, cultural workers, architects, writers or designers. Everyone should be willing to engage in collaborative practice. There are no restrictions regarding age or origin. We cannot provide a guarantee for entry and visa but will do our best to support you in case of any problems. The group size should be between 2 and 10 participants.

I am a scientist or artist who would like to collaborate, but I don‘t know of anyone suitable!
In this case, we ask you to send us an e-mail (mlab@giub.unibe.ch) with a short text in which you describe your research background or your artistic background and your contact details. We will create a database of interested individuals in order to connect them via a digital platform and organize an optional speed dating event in Bern in December, where potential applicants can get to know each other to develop a collaborative project.(Your data will be handled with absolute confidentiality and will not be passed on to anyone without your consent.)

BUDGET AND FACILITIES:

A working team has CHF 3,000-10,000 at its disposal, which can be spent on the basis of a pre-agreed budget plan. This budget is used to cover materials, books, travel, and honorariums for guests, but also to pay for travel and accommodation in Bern, should individual participants not be local. The mLAB does not own any guest apartments. An honorarium can also be paid to team members at their own discretion. However, doctoral students, postdocs, and faculty from the University of Bern or other universities holding a position are not entitled to pay themselves salaries or honorariums.

The mLAB provides a pool of equipment to realize film and audio projects and is equipped with several workstations with common video, sound editing and DTP software which can be used 24/7, with consideration of other activities taking place there. Furthermore, the Institute of Geography offers additional infrastructures such as a library, labs, etc., which can be used on request.