Abstract

Practice-led design researchers are increasingly connecting to diverse and community economies theory. In fact, many questions asked over the last two decades by the Community Economies Collective resonate strongly with an emerging cohort of eco-social designers across Europe: How might academic [design] practices contribute to the exciting proliferation of economic experiments and commons? How can our work open up possibilities? What kind of world do we want to participate in building? What might be the effect of theorizing [practicing] things this way rather than that?

Through short inputs four feminist design researchers and practitioners will share how they mobilize community economies concepts in their practices and project work. All of them are part of CERN and have been grappling with the question above both in practice and theory over the last ten years. This session is a moment of taking stock and reconnecting.

Presenters

1. Katharina Moebus (Berlin, DE), PhD student, Sheffield University and co-founder of Agents of Alternatives

2. Gaja Meznaric-Osole (Ljublijana, SLO), co-founder of the design practice Trajna and co-leader of the project space Krater

3. Flora Mammana (Rovereto, IT), co-founder of the collective Zukunfsarchive (Future Archive) and co-leader of Forno Vagabondo (Roaming Breadoven)

4. Dr Bianca Elzenbaumer, (Rovereto, IT) co-founder of the design practice Brave New Alps and leader of the Alpine Community Economies Laboratory

If you would like to contribute to this session contact the Convenor by September 30.