Researching the potential for arts and science collaborations to lead us to futures beyond capitalism.

The JRC SciArt project is excited to introduce our Visiting Scientist, Dr. Sofia Greaves, who is is currently working on how the combination of art and science for policy will be essential for any transition past capitalism to ‘postgrowth’.

The objective of economic growth generates a series of environmental and social problems, such as biodiversity loss, contamination and ocean acidification, and research shows that these cannot be fixed by technological innovation alone. Indeed technological innovation often exacerbates such problems because the types of innovation we develop and adopt are themselves determined by the objective of maintaining growth, and are driven by narrow definitions of progress and development. It is worrying that these technologies also shut down possibilities, and prevent change on a deeper societal level.

In her talk Sofia will explain some of the critiques of growth and the mainstream narrative of innovation, technology, development and progress. She will outline their project and the questions it is asking, before presenting her thoughts on how we can answer these important questions:

What would Science, Technology and Innovation look like in a world not driven by the endless pursuit of economic growth?

What exciting futures would begin to take shape if we harnessed technological and scientific advances for something other than growth alone?

What new worlds might we be able to conceive if human wellbeing and the natural environment were the primary focus of innovation? 
   

Sofia is conducting fieldwork at the JRC with a view to answering the above questions. She would like to explore the potential for arts and sciences collaborations to generate new narratives for innovation which go beyond capitalist values and the the logics of economic growth. For this reason she is seeking to interview researchers at the JRC, the participants of NaturArchy - and as many people as possible! - to hear about their experiences. Please get in touch with Sofia or the SciArt Team if you feel happy to do this!

Biography

Dr. Sofia Greaves is a postdoctoral researcher working for the Postgrowth Innovation Lab. She has published academic articles on utopia, public health and modernist urban planning. In popular magazines, she has published on sustainability and technology. Sofia holds a Phd from the University of Cambridge which explored the culture of science, technology and art in the nineteenth to twentieth centuries, focusing on how the nascent disciplines of modernist urban planning, restoration and archaeological practice influenced and required one another in ways which have drastically altered our image of the past and the fabric of European cities. She holds a masters in art history and business from Sotheby’s Institute. Sofia’s research is also deeply influenced by her practice as artist and musician, some of which is shown online.

Links & Resources:

• Website: www.sofiagreaves.online  
• Email: Sofia.greaves@yahoo.co.uk 
• Postgrowth Lab: https://postgrowth-lab.webs.uvigo.es/