Welcome to the first of two sessions on The art of dreaming as part of the Art at the End of the World club!

When: February 2 and 16 at 11.30-13.30 CET

Where: CEMUS Library, Geocentrum, Villavägen 16, see map here https://link.mazemap.com/gVZ978v2

No registration needed

Hosted and organized by Sara Lopez Barreiro and Eva Gielen, Course Coordinators at CEMUS and the course Perspectives on Climate Change – Ecopsychology, Art and Narratives, 7.5 credits.

In times of the climate crisis, it can keep us awake at night, hindering our ability to dream. What about the dreams we experience? And how do they look? Can they be expressed through art? During the next two sessions, we will delve into our dreams and what they mean to us. We will ask ourselves how we can relate to dreams during environmental challenges.

Where do we go when we fall asleep? Where does our journey take us? There are different types of dreams, including daydreams, lucid dreams, healing dreams, vivid dreams, nightmares, and more! Many artists have touched upon this theme throughout history: writers such as Antonio Machado and Allan Poe, painters like Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dalí, along with the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, among other artists, expressed that dreams hold the same importance as real life.

Inspirational materials:

• Dreams by Edgar Allan Poe – Poems | Academy of American Poets. Available at: https://poets.org/poem/dreams-0
• Fiore, J. (2019). Art History’s Iconic Depictions of Dreams, from the Renaissance to Surrealism. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-art-historys-iconic-depictions-dreams-renaissance-surrealism
• Last Night As I Was Sleeping by Antonio Machado. Available at: https://allpoetry.com/Last-Night-As-I-Was-Sleeping
• ‘Proverbs and Songs’ by Antonio Machado. Words for the Year. Available at: https://wordsfortheyear.com/2020/06/17/proverbs-and-songs-by-antonio-machado/
• Social Dreaming Climate Change (2018) Cape Farewell. Available at: https://www.capefarewell.com/social-dreaming-climate-change/
• Stalpaert, C. (2023) Performing Arts Activating Climate Change Awareness: Hyphenated Thinking in Common Dreams — Flotation School. Link to the article at uppsala university library.
• The Climate Dreams Project. (2023). The Climate Dreams Project. Available at: https://climatedreams.com/

Art at the End of the World club is a fortnightly, interdisciplinary gathering for anyone who wants to creatively explore humans-with-nature in our changing (ending?) world. Each month has an ecological theme to guide the two sessions. During sessions we create art inspired by materials on the subject, then we share and respond to each other’s work. Any art medium (visual, poetry, film, music etc) and any level of experience is welcome. You are also free to attend any session, even if you have not come previously.

During these sessions we are keen to create a safe space for exploring what can be difficult subjects. Creating with and around nature can be a joyful and comforting experience, yet we must be mindful of the times we live in. Therefore, we aim to cultivate a supportive and emotionally open space where it is possible for people to express eco-grief and anxiety through creativity, while leaving room for hope. Your work does not have to be about the end of the world!