APPROACH

AN ECOFEMINIST APPROACH FOR ARTISTIC PRACTICES

IN PUBLIC SPACES AND MUSEUMS

Rooted in artistic practices in public spaces and museums, our ecofeminist methodological approach understands knowledge as embodied, situated, relational and emotional. It weaves together critical perspectives on gender, “nature”* and power in the context of public spaces and museums, drawing from both ecofeminist and decolonial theory. These spaces are not merely physical locations; they are symbolically and politically charged terrains where patriarchal, imperialist and colonial imaginaries of bodies, “nature” and knowledge continue to operate. This ecofeminist approach seeks to make these entanglements visible. 

The following points outline the core components of our ecofeminist approach within the contexts of public spaces and museums:

Art-Work: ​​We believe art is an active agent for social change. Art holds the power to generate transversal knowledge through creative processes, opening space for reflection, expression and transformation. In our approach, we use diverse forms of artistic and creative expression to explore the themes we address. We incorporate ephemeral interventions, embodied practices and deep listening* experiences to invite participants into new and transformative ways of engaging with public spaces and museums. These practices open space for thought, imagination, shared creation, knowledge and healing. In this way, art is understood not merely as a form of aesthetic expression but as a methodological approach that enables critical engagement, playful exploration and collective transformation. We understand art as a language that transcends academic discourse and offers access to forms of knowing that are sensorial, embodied and emotional. This allows participants to engage with complex topics intuitively and affectively, fostering connection, reflection and empowerment. Our work also engages directly with artworks in public spaces and museums. Public sculptures and museum classical collections are not neutral: they are embedded in hegemonic narratives of patriarchy, imperialism, colonialism and cultural hierarchy. We approach artworks as carriers of dominant stories: narratives that must be questioned, deconstructed, revisited and reimagined through critical and collective practices. This is our Art-Work: working with art as a method, and with artworks as spaces of critical and transformative engagement.

Intersectionality: Our approach is deeply rooted in intersectionality, acknowledging that different forms of oppression are interconnected within the same domination system. These power dynamics are also visible and present in public spaces and museums. We bring an intersectional perspective to these spaces, recognizing that patriarchal and colonial histories shape how hegemonic narratives in public statues and museum collections are told. We aim to create transversal and intersectional connections to read and interpret these artworks. What does the battle between the Amazon queen Hippolyta and the Greek male hero Hercules have to do with colonization? We explore such questions through multiple lenses and in shared dialogue.

Power of the Ephemeral: We believe in the power of the ephemeral. We don’t need to build new monuments to rewrite history. We can work with what exists and deconstruct it through care, imagination and temporary gestures. We engage with public statues and museum artworks through ephemeral actions, aimed at opening new meanings, challenging dominant narratives and making space for alternative forms of knowledge. In contrast to the patriarchal logic of monument-building—which seeks permanence, dominance and singular truth—we embrace the ephemeral as an ecofeminist gesture: one that values process over permanence, multiplicity over authority and care over control.

Reclaiming the Narrative: Our goal is to transform urban narratives to include a diversity of experiences and perspectives, embracing FLINTA*, migrants and other marginalized communities. We challenge the hegemonic narratives that dominate public spaces and museums, exploring their history and context to create room for new interpretations. This is not merely about reclaiming these places as sites of symbolic confrontation, but also as spaces of care and healing. We imagine a museum where objects, stories, emotions, lived experience and reciprocal knowledge are deeply entangled, woven together in new, unexpected ways. We seek to reclaim the power of storytelling, imagination and embodied knowledge. We engage with archetypes in artworks as living and evolving myths, rather than as distant, fixed symbols. We propose fictional and poetic re-readings, opening space for alternative, powerful interpretations, especially those that challenge gender stereotypes and the representation of “nature”. We value the personal stories of our participants and recognize them as meaningful forms of knowledge that can offer new perspectives and challenge the hegemonic narratives. We also propose the creation of collective mythologies, to reveal the invisible threads that connect us and to affirm the strength of the collective.

Reclaiming the Space: Public spaces and museums are not neutral. Their architecture, layout and design already communicate the types of hierarchies you are entering, how you are expected to behave, and which bodies are welcomed and which are not. Statues, monuments, gardens, fences, and even pathways are not just functional; they are symbols of power, discipline and control.  Museums, in particular, communicate expectations of control and rigidity. They teach you to passively learn what you see, with a controlled and disciplined body. They teach you that what matters is in the mind reinforcing a patriarchal logic that privileges intellect over embodiment, reason over emotion. We want to challenge these norms by offering exercises that invite the body to relax, move freely and reclaim its agency within the space, turning passive observation into active presence. We also understand walking not merely as a physical act of moving through space, but as a mode of knowing and reclaiming. As we walk, we invite a shift in perception: away from habitual routes and toward a more attentive, embodied engagement with the space, its architecture and its artworks. Walking becomes a political and poetic gesture, capable of interrupting dominant narratives and opening space for new questions, stories and relationships to emerge. By twisting and deconstructing the traditional guided city and museum tour, we use walking as a tool to reorient our relationship with space and to activate new ways of seeing, being, sensing and feeling.

KNOWLEDGE PRACTICES

Embodied Knowledge: Patriarchal systems have historically disciplined and repressed the body, particularly the bodies of women and gender-nonconforming people. Public spaces and museums continue this dynamic by prioritizing rationalism and the mind, often ignoring or devaluing the body altogether. We aim to restore value to the body, its presence, its knowledge, its movement. We propose embodied and somatic practices to reclaim public spaces and museums as spaces where bodies are not only allowed but deeply valued. We also aim to support a sense of psychosomatic balance, integrating body and mind in equal measure. We incorporate somatic exercises such as body scans, breathing and slow movement to activate body awareness. This grounds participants in the present moment, re-centering the body as a source of knowledge. Somatic work is especially important in ecofeminist practice, as it challenges the historical separation between mind and body, culture and “nature”, reason and emotion: binaries that have long shaped patriarchal and colonial thought.

Emotional Knowledge: Emotions are always present, shaping how we experience an artwork, a sculpture or a space. Our approach acknowledges this and seeks to reclaim public spaces and museums as places of feeling, where emotions are invited and celebrated. We care for these emotions and recognize their importance in personal and collective learning processes. Through somatic, sensorial or creative exercises, we open spaces that encourage connection with these feelings. This approach challenges patriarchal systems that have historically devalued emotions, casting them as obstacles or opposites to reason. We reclaim them as sources of knowledge.

Multisensory Knowledge: We propose learning processes that center the body and the senses. We believe in the importance of activating different modes of perception and offer participants ways to engage with public spaces and museums through movement, breath, sound, listening and feeling. An example of this approach is the inclusion of deep listening as a method for knowledge production. Sound becomes a tool for creating affective atmospheres and opening sensory and embodied ways of relating to space, memory and history. Equally significant is the invitation to touch, particularly in relation to sculptures in the public space. In most museum contexts, touch is forbidden, constrained by institutional imperatives to preserve and control. By encouraging participants to physically engage with the statues, we reclaim tactile experience as a valid and meaningful form of encounter and reflection.

Relational Knowledge: We create participatory practices that foster horizontal knowledge-making through shared dialogue and mutual experience. Moments of collective exchange and sharing are valued as spaces of listening, resonance and relational learning. We believe that knowledge flows in many directions, not only from the top down. We value the importance of lived experience, of emotions and bodily presence over expertise or institutional authority. We recognize personal stories as powerful forms of knowledge and encourage participants to share their own. Far from being marginal, these stories open space for reimagining dominant narratives. As facilitators, we also bring our own experiences into the space, fostering a dynamic of mutual contribution and trust. We also understand creativity as a collective process and a way of producing knowledge. We include collective moments where artistic, embodied and practical skills are invited, not only intellectual or theoretical ones. These collective practices allow for shared expression, imagination and healing. Through these processes, co-creation becomes a poetic and political gesture that weaves connections between our bodies, our stories and the spaces they inhabit.

Playful Knowledge: We include playful exercises in our artistic formats to remind ourselves and participants of the importance of playfulness as a powerful tool for building knowledge. Through playful journeys and spontaneous interactions with the artworks, we challenge dominant narratives while making space for new interpretations. This playful approach transforms public spaces and museums into canvases for storytelling, reflection and resistance. We do not simply occupy the space: we reimagine it, inviting participants in the collective creation of new narratives that challenge patriarchal, colonial and anthropocentric perspectives. In this way, playfulness becomes a method for rewriting mythologies and reconfiguring power.

Access: We aim to involve plural publics, especially through collaborations with FLINTA* associations and other community organization networks. Although public spaces and museums are generally considered to be open to everyone, they are often shaped by invisible barriers such as racism, classism, sexism, ableism and more. Our approach actively seeks to invite those who have historically been excluded or marginalized. We use simple and accessible language in our artistic formats. We try to avoid academic terminology in order to create conditions for equitable dialogue, where participants can engage, question and contribute regardless of their prior knowledge, educational background, language fluency or familiarity with theoretical frameworks. We believe that critical thought doesn’t need complicated words to be powerful. Who is knowledge for? Who gets to speak it, shape it and be heard?

FOOTNOTES:

*The term “nature” is enclosed in quotation marks to highlight its problematic use within Western cultural, colonial, patriarchal and capitalist frameworks. This usage reflects an ecofeminist and decolonial critique that challenges the conceptual separation between humans and the so-called natural world, recognizing that such binaries have historically served to justify the exploitation of marginalized bodies, more-than-human beings, and territories.
*The concept of deep listening is inspired by the practice developed by Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016), whose work explored listening as an embodied and political act.