Sustain Lab Panel: Sustainability in Critical Times

In a global crisis with no precedents, how can sustainability embrace innovation in order to solve problems?

Sustain Lab Society from the Royal College of Art will host a digital Panel Discussion on the 7 May 2020 from 18.00–19.00 with invited experts from the Artistic and Scientific world to debate about how sustainability can bring solutions to face the world’s challenges. 

Did you ever think you were going to live through a quarantine? Or even survive a global pandemic? As human beings we tend to dissociate ourselves from nature. We sometimes understand nature as an independent tool that we can control to satisfy our necessities… But what happens when we realise that nature is stronger than us? When we acknowledge our fragile existence. We start understanding that resources are not infinite. Because we are probably facing the greatest climate emergency since the first Homo Sapiens stepped into this planet. With rising sea levels and the international community trying to control global warming under 1.5ºC, but no politician having the real strength to taking real actions. We are living in a world of political uncertainties, where systems credibility seems falling apart. In top of that, we have to add the worst economic recession of the last century. 

As a student and creative practitioner, you might feel overwhelmed. Problems seem too big and ungraspable. You’re passionate and believe in what you do. You would like to make a change? But how can you really make a difference? Sustain Lab has invited three panellists: a scientific, a curator and an activist, to debate around sustainability. They will tell us more about their trajectory and inspire you to make a change. 

PANELLISTS:

Adrian Griffiths is the Founder and CEO of Recycling Technologies https://recyclingtechnologies.co.uk/. A company that promotes circular economy through recycling plastic. They have engineered a machine to chemically convert plastic waste, which currently cannot be recycled, into a valuable hydrocarbon product. Adrian also co-founded two successful UK businesses: OEE Consulting & Vendigital. He is an alumnus from Imperial College.

Lina Lapelytė  is an artist, musician and performer. By unlearning her classical formation, and internalising the resonating dynamics between visual and sound art, Lapelytė unsettles the passive/active foundation of listening. In a collaboration with Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė and Vaiva Grainytė they. presented opera performance ‘Sun & Sea (Marina)’ in Venice Art Biennale 2019, receiving the Golden Lion Award. ‘An unforgettable performance whose even temper cloaked an ecological sucker punch’- New York Times She trained as a classical violinist, graduated from Sound Arts BA in London College of Communication and afterwards received her Master’s degree in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art where she is currently a visiting lecturer.

Gonzalo Herrero Delicado is an Architect and Curator of the Architecture Department at the Royal Academy of Arts in London where he co-curated the exhibition Eco-Visionaries and edited the accompanying book ‘Conversations on a Planet in a State of Emergency’. Previously, he held different curatorial positions at The Architecture Foundation and the Design Museum. He is a regular speaker on the topics of contemporary architecture and design and their intersection with climate change and digital technologies.

The panel will be mediated by Parizad Nobakht, Senior presenter at BBC Persian TV and UCL Alumna, Parizad is an Iranian artist, journalist and broadcaster, with a passion for printmaking and expressive arts. Instagram: @pariz.art