Framing artistic practices through new materialism to ensure multispecies futuring in the built environment

Abstract

This paper investigates the potential of applying new materialism as a frame for artistic practices to ensure multispecies perspectives in futuring initiatives. We present a case study examining artistic practices that unfolded adjacent to a construction site of an urban transformation project in Greater Copenhagen, where new residential homes are being built. As a counter-reaction to the continuous construction of new buildings without paying attention to the plurality inherent in places, our case explores how participatory, artistic, experiential, and creative formats can challenge our collective imaginations of the present and future. A growing number of researchers advocate for challenging the human-centered approaches employed in futuring and extending participation towards multispecies agency. New materialism is a theoretical and philosophical direction that foregrounds the need to consider the materiality of our world and how we, as humans, might account for our relations with nonhuman entities. By applying new materialism to artistic practices, we investigate if such practices can support multispecies futuring in the built environment. We conclude that artistic practices can 1) activate and direct attention towards the unusual in the built environment and 2) offer techniques for immersion and for shifting perspectives through anthropomorphism.