Summer Camp 2024

A Collective Narrative Bricolage

The second edition of the Posthuman Summer Camp, held from August 9 to 13, 2024, was a convergence of body-minds across the globe. Researchers, artists, philosophers, students, and scholars gathered at Naturama to co-create a unique space of shared thought, collaboration, and existence. This event not only favoured the exploration of diverse themes within posthumanism, but also provided a platform for alternative experiential practices—embodied and embedded—where theory and practice seamlessly merged into a journey of "co-living" for the 21st century.


More than just a meeting, the Summer Camp became a transformative experience, fostering new trajectories for participants to carry forward in their lives. To preserve the essence of this remarkable event, we have compiled impressions, memories, and reflections from some of the Camp participants. The collective bricolage delights in the transversal alliance, expressions of zoe, nonhuman and human, the geo/bio/techno. We hope that these snapshots of energy and emotion will inspire visitors to this page, whether they are future participants curious about joining the next edition or past attendees looking to rekindle the spirit of this unique experience.


As we look toward the 2025 camp, we hope these shared moments resonate with you, inviting you to feel the vitality, depth, and interconnectedness that defined the Posthuman Summer Camp.



Joanna Pascoe and Stefano Rozzoni

"ConPresences" Claudia Candido (Participant)

"Towards Applied Philosophy/Performative Art/Applied Art/Performative Philosophy" by Orsola Rignani (Organizer)

The more-than-human (pluriverse), i.e., a hyper-complex, inter/intra-relational, inter/co-implicated world with which the human is entwined in a fluctuating tangle of forces, overlaps, slippages, actions, and feedback, in its manifestation, points to the obsolescence of binarism, dichotomies, (anthropo)centrism and hierarchies and thus contextually to a more-than-human human. But how is/does the human become a more-than-human human? Is there such a thing as a catalyst for this process? Perhaps the anthropo-poiesis of the more-than-human human happens through art.

The sculpture workshop used the interstitials and interstitial spaces as red threads, to understand connections with otherness. Indeed, sculpture opens cracks that allow light to pass through, breaks compactness, deactivates, suspends, encourages, opens to coexistences; it is a metamorphic zone of interception of agencies, it unravels monism and binarism, (re)opens to the multiple and to variety, and restores the porosity of matter, its spongy texture, and its fluidity; in other words it catalyzes the in-betweenness of the human in a more-than-human pluriverse. If, as we have experimented, art reveals itself, so to speak, as the (rediscovery of the) creative relational force that emerges from the dissolution of human anthropocentric subjectivity, in an anti-anthropocentric and anti-dualist more-than-human perspective, it is not surprising, then, to find under its umbrella suggestions such as that of the abiotic living being aesthetically/artistically implicated (stone as artist, stone art, mineral art, spontaneous and primordial beauty of stones, etc.), that of a universal aesthetic, that of the indistinguishability between natural and human works of art, that of art as a figure of chance, of assemblages (stories with open potentials), of latencies (beginnings in waiting), catalyzed precisely by the artistic process. A process that, with its relational agency, makes a valid contribution to reinforcing the sense of the inter/intra implication of the human with the more-than-human, in the perspective of a more-than-human ‘us’.

Katarzyna Ferworn-Horawa (Kasia) (Participant)

During one of the sessions I doodled in my notebook. Francesca was with us on-line then, as if connecting from a profound state of her body/mind, as if from one to another, ir/reality. A drawing which felt safe to, descended from the heaven of our entangled sensitivities. Enjoy!

B. (Participant)

we are all singular, yet without singularity

forward we go, measuring and extracting

limiting being with name tags

leaping from trauma to trauma with 

no                                               memory 

money sacks overflowing with bones

the trajectory of                           Big Bang

continues outwards, and time as linear mistaken

there are no rest stops in the colonialist cog running 

on a Tesla-made battery approved by the Anthropocene

when the material leaves behind the spiritual and 

techno-transhumanism races ahead—

              animal, tree, ocean, and plant

all products globalised as neo-dogma


look closely under the microscope

the molecular universal that traces all


staring at an ant, we see an ant

crawling slowly around a flower 

and grassy patches of dirt

from the ground we observe the landscape

and all the plants and trees bordering the horizon

beholding the horizon our eyes are filled with blue,

                                woolly clouds, and warming rays of sunlight

returning to the ant, we no longer see the ant

but the entire world, once more, made whole 

"Mug-puddling" by Nina Maria Szukała (Participant)

"La dent-de-lion" by Joanna Pascoe (Participant)

Consider the creativity in a dandelion gone to seed, 

leaping out of the frame, 

an affirmative line of flight, 

a labyrinthine geometry of potentia, 

each dot a possibility 

each seed on fairy wings, desiring conatus, 

a landing 

the hope of a home for a soon-to-sprout body, 

roots heading down, 

a bright spring green and 

wondrous yellow flower head 

opening up to the sky, 

a small solar explosion of joy as the sun’s rays beam down on terra-firma 

our beautiful Earth.

"A Visual Diary" by Stefano Rozzoni (Organizer)

Posthuman Summer Camp - 2nd Edition
(10-13 agosto 2024)!

"Posthuman(ist) Co-existence"
CALL FOR AUDITORS

We are pleased to announce that You can now submit Your application to participate as an "Auditor" at the upcoming Posthuman Summer Camp. The camp will be held from August 10th to 13th, 2024, in Galliera, Italy.

Who are auditors?

By "auditors," we refer to people who participate in the proposed workshop activities during one or more days of the Summer Camp; they will also will join communal lunches and dinners. Auditors will not be responsible for proposing or leading activities. The Posthuman Summer Camp is fully run by volunteers and is a non-profit event. Auditors are required to contribute a daily fee (85€ per day) per person to cover expenses. 

CLICK ON THE BUTTON BELOW TO SEND YOUR APPLICATION (by July 15th)

(PROVISIONAL) PROGRAM

CREDITS*

"Posthuman(ist) Co-existence"

1. The Posthuman Summer Camp - 2nd edition
Based on the engaging experience of the first edition of the Posthuman Summer Camp (Italy, August 2023), the Italian Posthuman Network and the Centro Studi di Filosofia Postumanista are excited to announce the second edition of the Posthuman Summer Camp. This event is scheduled for 3 full days (August 10-11-12 2024); we will inaugurate on August 9 (at 7pm: Welcoming event ) and depart on August 13th (morning, after breakfast). The event will take place in Galliera, Italy, at Naturama, the zooanthropological hub of SIUA (Scuola di Interazione Uomo-Animale) - Full address: Via Cà Bianca 7A, Galliera (BO), Italy. 

2. What is it?
The Posthuman(ist) Summer Camp is an in-person, collaborative, and creative gathering of people researching posthumanism in different ways (academic and independent scholars, artists, scientists, performers, activists, seekers etc.) aimed at translating post-dualistic and post-anthropocentric theories into praxes, in experimental ways. We aim to collectively imagine and co-create broader trajectories for posthumanist education. This event is not conceived of as a traditional academic summer school. Rather than focusing on frontal activities, we aim to maximize interactive, practical, and outdoor workshops, exploring innovative forms of learning, knowledge production, and sharing. Co-living experiences (such as eating and cleaning together) will be part of the posthumanist exploration of our camp. 

3. This year’s theme
Further developing last year investigation of the topic ‘Posthuman Praxes’, we aim to continue the inquiry of practices of community building and education through the theme ‘Posthuman(ist) Co-existence’, here intended in a broad sense, including the ever-evolving challenges in human-human, as well as human-nonhuman and nonhuman-nonhuman relationships across different scales, evident in various global contexts and experiences. 

4. Participants
This call primarily targets people engaged in posthuman studies in its diverse forms (academic, independent, artistic) seeking a space to delve deeper into themes and strengthen connections in alternative ways, envisioning the construction of larger collaborative projects together.

Requirements:
Participants are required to have a satisfactory level of knowledge and understanding of the field of Posthumanism, in its variants. This Camp is conceived of as a space of generative experimentation of the theory in practice, based on a praxes of dignity and respect of all entities involved. 

Notes:
Children are allowed at the summer camp. Those coming with children are responsible for organizing specific activities (in accordance with the organizing team) and for supervising them.

Nonhuman Animals are also allowed at Naturama. Those bringing animals are required to ensure their animal's well-being (especially considering the summer heat), and to supervise them. 


5. Costs
Please, note that the Posthuman Summer Camp is based on volunteer work only; no revenue is made; costs simply cover the local price of living. Thanks.

Food, venues and other materials
To cover expenses related to venues (for the full stay), food (vegan breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and coffee breaks) and materials, there is a fee of 250€, inclusive of the opening event on August 9th evening) until the closing event on August 13th in the morning. 

Accommodation and transportation
The costs of transportation and accommodation in local facilities are NOT included. The participants must independently arrange accommodations in Galliera or in the immediate vicinity (in the form, we have included a list of possible facilities). Naturama offers the possibility to stay in tents or campers with a small additional fee (10€ daily); there are 4 restrooms and 2 showers available, accommodating a maximum of 25 people. For those choosing to stay at Naturama, please note that you must provide your own mattress / tent / camper and any other items needed for your stay.

6. Deadlines
We have a limited capacity of up to 50 participants for this edition. If interested, please fill in the Application Form (see below) by 29 February 2024.



7. Application Form

Click HERE to apply for participation in the Posthuman Summer Camp 2024

OR click on the following link (Google Form): https://forms.gle/8VzampZBLE3ETkzDA


8. Organizers

In alphabetic  order: Francesca Ferrando, Manuela Macelloni, Roberto Marchesini, Orsola Rignani, Stefano Rozzoni.

9. Info

For further info on Naturama, visit: www.siua.it/sede-nazionale

To discover more, please visit: www.retepostumana.org

For further question, please contact  rete.postumana@gmail.com

For info on last year edition, please read: Vision Quest in Posthumanist Education: Focuses, Praxes and Experiences (HERE is a self-archived version)

In the context of Posthuman Studies, attention towards education is gaining increasing significance to address the anthropocentric axioms embedded in contemporary worldviews. What is posthumanist education? This paper addresses this question affirming the importance of embodying posthumanist theory in practice. Attention will be dedicated to three original keywords: selves-care; flex(st)ability; commUnity. They will be investigated as possible posthumanist focuses to respond to current educational needs. This paper is not purely theoretical; it is anchored in material experiences that are being explored by posthuman communities worldwide. We will reflect, more specifically, on the Posthuman Summer Camp, a collaborative event organized by the Italian Posthuman Network (Italy, August 10–13 2023). In this essay, the realities and possibilities that emerged during the first edition of the Camp are embraced as embodied and embedded, experiential and experimental – clearly, existential – praxes, enlightening our vision quest on posthumanist education.

For further info, click HERE

Sullo sfondo, il quadro Metamorfismi di Orsola Rignani

CREDITS*

Labyrinth at Okains Bay | Kāwatea, Banks Peninsula | Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū, New Zealand | Aotearoa. Photograph taken by Joanna Pascoe, 25 May 2024. Labyrinth designed by Stefano Rozzoni and Joanna Pascoe, drawn up by Anthony Pascoe, built by Grant Wylie, Helen Brown, Elizabeth Sugrue and Joanna Pascoe.