Challenge: Curating and events programming without long-distance flights

Some of us in the SALT. CLAY. ROCK. collective saw the idea of not inviting artists and speakers who would need to fly as a culturally transformative decision. There has been a debate for some time within the art and politics world about this topic. The argument against flying people across the water to attend a conference or exhibition is that a livable planet is more important than the desire to invite cultural celebrities to contribute to an event. The counterproposal—to develop regional voices to fill higher-profile slots—is transformative, because it suggests that not all well-funded events need to be programmed around the most famous names. Cultural gatherings can foster dialogue with people who may be less well-known, but whose regional connections and approaches have much to offer.

Our show did not have a strict “no-fly” rule; we simply found that there was enough local and regional knowledge and creative talent that we didn’t need to book any flights. Practically speaking, for our 2023 research assembly, we did have one contribution—a lecture by UK academic Eglė Rindzevičiūtė—delivered via Zoom. Besides her, there was no one we even considered flying in. In general, we agreed that we didn’t want our research assembly dominated by online talks; we all valued in-person presentations for their intangible qualities and for the opportunity they offered for less formal conversations after the talks.