Starting autumn 2022, the Centre de la photographie Genève (CPG) proposes a new art education service for school audiences aged 8 and over. After Lisa Barnard’s exhibition, on the omnipresence of gold in contemporary society, the CPG is again offering visits conceived by a facilitator specialising in photography for the exhibition Behold The Ocean, dedicated to climate research, from 23 November 2022 to 29 January 2023. This offer is free of charge for school classes.
Between 2020 and 2022, amid the global pandemic, the artist Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah accompanied a small Chilean team studying shifts in the marine ecosystem triggered by climate change on two maritime expeditions in Patagonia. There she discovered the raw beauty and fragility of this environment, in a region particularly exposed to the effects of climate change. This experience triggered reflections on the centralisation and institutionalisation of scientific research and some of the resulting issues: limitations to access to the data gathered by international teams which are often not made public for several years, stark inequalities in the conditions of local and international researchers, or limited attention to the needs of local communities, among many others. The artist documented central elements of the team’s research such as ocean acidification (as glaciers melt and add fresh water to the sea), which in turn induces red tides of several species of harmful algae. Another focus was the study of kelp, a brown alga that could help stabilise these ecosystems in the future. The second trip was marked by the difficulties faced by many small independent teams: dangerous weather, fragile equipment, limited finances and resources, conflicting priorities or interpersonal tensions. Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah documented this intense collective experience, alternating between the brutality of daily life on board, the complexity of climate research and the magnificence of the ecosystem, both threatening and vulnerable.
Questions addressed during the visit include, depending on the age of the pupils:
- Scientific research: where does our knowledge about our environment come from? What is scientific research? How is it useful to us?
- Oceanographic research: how do we learn about the oceans? Why is it important to do research in Patagonia, near Antarctica, in a very dangerous part of the ocean?
- Scientific expeditions: how is an oceanographic expedition conducted? Who takes part? What equipment do the scientists use? What are the dangers, and what are the happy moments?
- Climate change: what climate changes are taking place in this region? What are the impacts on the animals and plants in the ocean? What does it mean for the rest of the planet? What are the sources of hope for the environment?
- Art and science: how can art contribute to scientific research? How can photographs and videos help us understand the realities of scientific research?
Depending on the age of the students, the disciplines addressed during the visit include:
- Ecology, environment, pollution, climate change
- Biology, oceanography, scientific research
- Geography
- Photography, art
Venue: Centre de la photographie Genève, 28 rue des Bains, 1205 Geneva
Dates: 23 November 2022 to 29 January 2023
Hours: Visits with the facilitator by reservation only from Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 18:00 (school groups can be welcomed outside the museum’s opening hours). Tours without a facilitator are also possible. Reservations are necessary outside the museum’s public opening hours (Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 -18:00).
Age: all school degrees from 8 years old
Duration of the visit: 45 to 60 minutes
Languages: French or English
Price: free for classes
Reservation: via the online form: https://forms.gle/oakyEQKMDad5VMG9A
Further information: by email at cpg@centrephotogeneve.ch or by phone at 022 329 28 35
Preparatory visit: Admission is free for teachers wishing to prepare a visit with their class. The preparatory visit is possible during the public opening hours of the museum, from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00