On the issue

All my Relations: Eco-Pedagogy, Self-Cultivation and Transformative Performance Practices was a workshop event organised jointly by the Malmö Theatre Academy and Lund University’s Agenda 2030 cross disciplinary Graduate School on 2nd–4th September 2022. The event addressed researchers, artists and artist-researchers interested in how humans can change their mindset and behaviour to a more sustainable lifestyle through art and performance.

The event took place at Gylleboverket, a transdisciplinary centre for contemporary art, culture, and permaculture, located in Eastern Scania (Skåne). It was planned and facilitated by Prof. Esa Kirkkopelto, PhD candidate Steinunn Knúts Önnudóttir, who is a member of the Agenda 2030 graduate School, as well as Etta Säfve and Jona Elfdahl, the artistic leaders at Gylleboverket. Prof. Saul García-López from the Norwegian Theatre Academy participated as an expert-guest.

The event gathered almost 30 international participants with various professional and cultural backgrounds, based in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. Their areas of expertise varied widely and comprised e.g., contemporary performance, dance and music, artistic research, art education, higher education in the arts, urban design, costume design, community work, gardening, and ecological activism. At Gylleboverket the participants accommodated themselves in tents or various indoor venues provided by the farm.

The event started with an opening lecture and ritual by Saul, after which the members gathered into three working groups, facilitated by either Esa, Steinunn or Etta and Jona that would work together for 48 hours dealing with questions on pedagogy, self care, and the transformative potential of performance.