The CES Ecology and Society lab brings to the North-South Library three art installations and an activist documentary that seek to launch a reflection on: How can art be a central element of ecosocial transformation? How can art and research in the Social Sciences and Humanities, and particularly the area of political ecology, be coupled, and what can emerge from this relationship? How can artistic activism contribute to art no longer being just a representation but an integral part of the struggle for life?

Fruta sana, Cuerpos quemados - Soledad Castillero Quesada (CES-UC Postdoctoral Researcher)

Bio note | Soledad Castillero Quesada: PhD in Social Anthropology and Master’s in Development Cooperation from the University of Granada. She has just joined the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra as a post-doctoral researcher. Her research lines revolve around the analysis of intensive agri-food production and its impact on the socio-labour rights of people and territories. She worked on the red fruit sector in the province of Huelva through fieldwork, which resulted in the doctoral thesis “Impacts and agencies of food globalisation: an ethnography of red fruit in the province of Huelva” and the book, winner of the Blas Infante Research Prize, “Las sin Tierra. Breaking the myth of the Andalusian muse”.

Zona a Sacrificar - So Dias (artist)

Bio note | So Dias: For as long as she can remember, So has been writing with her feet and painting with her hands. Between the world of graphic design and artistic experimentation, the alter ego bloody underwear was born as part of a person who does not like writing biographies and tends to draw thoughts. Currently a member of the Linha de fuga cultural association team, she has been closely involved in associative projects throughout her career. Currently moving closer to artistic experimentation, her latest works have revolved around themes such as identity, hyperreality, extractivism, and the urgency of creating images of other possible futures through a play between abstraction and attention, form and word.

Pathways for research engaged in ecological struggles in Portugal - Teresa Meira (CES/ECOSOC Collaborating Researcher)
Bio note | Teresa Meira: Researcher who was born in Rio de Janeiro, grew up in Lisbon, and has an interdisciplinary academic background that includes ecological economics, environmental engineering, and theatre. She takes part in organising meetings between researchers, artists, and activists to build spaces of political resistance for environmental justice.
 

Fragmentos Baldios - Fernando Amaral (visual anthropologist engaged in video activism for eco-social causes)

Bio note | Fernando Amaral Antunes: Born in 1975, he grew up immersed in the dynamic atmosphere of eco-social activism, influenced by his anthropologist and journalist parents. From an early age, he absorbed the art of photography, honing his skills in various studios, including Apordoc and Ar.Co. In the late 1990s, he immersed himself in the cinematographic and television arts at Universidade Aberta, later contributing his talent to RTP. In 2015, he focused on the study of anthropology, culminating in a Master’s degree in Visual Anthropology in 2023. After losing his home in the devastating forest fires of 2017, Antunes redirected his energy towards video activism, committing himself to investigating environmental and social issues with video. Since 2018, his passion for visual storytelling has been a powerful vehicle for promoting change, raising awareness and thus giving visibility to ecological and social causes and their actors.
 

Partnership between the North/South Library and the ECOSOC Working Group - Ecology and Society Lab