{"id":5344,"date":"2024-11-18T09:13:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T08:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/ecology-vs-digital-technology-finding-balance-amid-paradoxical-demands\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T13:21:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T12:21:19","slug":"ecology-vs-digital-technology-finding-balance-amid-paradoxical-demands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/ecology-vs-digital-technology-finding-balance-amid-paradoxical-demands\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecology vs. Digital Technology: Finding Balance Amid Paradoxical Demands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From 1 to 4 November, IMPACT <\/a><\/strong>in Li\u00e8ge brought together nearly 250 international professionals for the Impact Forum<\/a>. Four days punctuated by pitches, performances and panel discussions. One of them \u2013 titled \u201cEcology and digital technology, lost in transition?\u201d and organised by the French Embassy in Belgium<\/a>* \u2013 brought together four European and Asian performing arts professionals to discuss the ecological and digital transitions in the cultural field. Often converging, the perspectives of the speakers highlighted how crucial it is that the debate around \u201ctransitions\u201d be carried collectively.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

<\/strong>The imperative of digital transition\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

\u201cThe latest data from the French Ministry of Culture shows that 15% of the French population engage exclusively in digital cultural practices<\/em> (editor\u2019s note: Cultural Practices Survey, DEPS, 2018<\/a>),\u201d begins Anne Le Gall, Executive Director of TMNlab <\/a>\/ Th\u00e9\u00e2tres & M\u00e9diations Num\u00e9riques Lab. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about consuming online content, but also creative practices and online gaming. This means that when a cultural project claims a mission to diversify its audiences, it has to face a central question: how do we connect with these audiences, who will still be numerous in the years to come?<\/em>\u201dA reminder that helps avoid any hasty condemnation of technology. Today, the discoverability of cultural content is shaped by algorithmic mechanisms and filter bubbles; professionals must therefore understand the stakes of digital technology and the real impact of tools in order to make the most informed choices possible. \u201cWe need to focus on actual uses\u2014those of artists and those of audiences\u2014so we can appreciate the diversity of practices, creativity and digital cultures”<\/em> adds Anne Le Gall.This point is echoed by Kyu Choi, Artistic Director of the Seoul Performing Arts Festival <\/a>(SPAF): \u201cThe pandemic marked a major turning point in how technologies are used and transformed them in depth. The digital transition has reshaped our daily lives, to such an extent that contemporary audiences and artists simply could not resist it<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\u2026and the imperative of ecological transition <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

That said, Sasapin Siriwanij, Artistic Director of the Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting<\/a> (BIPAM), firmly rejects any form of fanaticism. \u201cThe first question we must ask is about context and the usefulness of digital technology. Does a creation necessarily need digital technologies? If digital technology brings no specific insight, then it becomes accessory.\u201d <\/em>Accessory is an understatement in a world that counts, for example, around 3.5 billion smartphones, 1.1 billion DSL or fibre boxes, and 10 million 2G\u20135G relay antennas (source: GreenIt<\/a>). Worse still, around 3.8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (source: GreenIT, 2019) are attributable to digital technology, while projections for 2040 put that figure at around 10%. In reality, this percentage is impossible to gauge precisely, as digital technology\u2014led by generative AI\u2014is growing at an exponential rate. For cultural actors, navigating ecological transition becomes even more complex when the analysis goes beyond GHG indicators alone. \u201cWe talk a lot about GHGs, but there are other impacts to assess. For instance, water and electricity consumption\u2014both for manufacturing and for supporting use\u2014the extraction of rare earths, impacts on biodiversity\u2026 And then there\u2019s the social foundation: the impact on labour, from the <\/em>GIG economy<\/em><\/a> to <\/em>clic workers<\/em><\/a> and digital divides” <\/em>adds Anne Le Gall. Her remarks resonate directly with the framework of the nine planetary boundaries<\/a>, which definitively broaden the debate. J\u00e9r\u00f4me Villeneuve, Director of Th\u00e9\u00e2tre Hexagone Sc\u00e8ne Nationale de Meylan<\/a>, sums up the dilemma faced by cultural organisations and artists: \u201cWhether we\u2019re talking about GHGs and trajectories set by the Paris Agreements or the depletion of abiotic resources, the scenarios are simply not sustainable. For us, as cultural actors, there are no obvious solutions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
SPAF NM Lab – Opera for Death – Monica Lim<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Experimenting, sharing and shifting perspectives <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

None of this has stopped festivals from experimenting with new practices. At BIPAM, \u201cwe have set up a project called the Climate Dramaturgy Lab<\/a>. It\u2019s a pioneering initiative aimed at exchanging eco-responsible practices within the Thai and British theatre communities,\u201d explains Sasapin Siriwanij.In concrete terms, over five days, the workshop gathers a group of theatre professionals\u2014playwrights, costume designers, performers, directors, producers, university lecturers and other theatre enthusiasts\u2014around environmental themes. A first example of why ecological and digital transitions need to be addressed at sector level and at every stage of a creation. At SPAF, the team is working on the Next Mobility project<\/a>, a programme focused on travel, which is often one of the biggest contributors to a work\u2019s carbon footprint (cf. CEPIR<\/a>). \u201cNext Mobility explores what exchanges and mobility in the performing arts might look like in the pandemic\/post-pandemic era. It examines certain trends\u2014such as digitisation, hybrid exchanges and green mobility\u2014that have influenced the creation and distribution of performances,\u201d explains Kyu Choi, who then asks: \u201cWhat do we want to say to people through international mobility? What really needs mobility, and why?\u201d <\/p>\n\n

This is far from a purely rhetorical question, since travel responds to very different goals and contexts. \u201cEurope and Asia operate in different contexts. For example, in Asia, train transport options are almost non-existent, and travel is sometimes one of the only levers to keep culture alive. Travel serves objectives of openness and even democracy for actors who are isolated on a national or international stage,\u201d notes Sasapin Siriwanij. Here again, cross-border cooperation and an international roadmap emerge as priorities. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
BIPAM<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Shaping new imaginaries<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

This necessity is all the more evident given that ecological and digital transitions do not rest solely on renewed professional practices, but also on the perspectives artists offer on our societies and the sensory experiences we, as citizens, have through their works. \u201cMany digital artists are critical of how digital tools are used. We are far from the dominant ideologies of mainstream platforms\u2026 Artists address questions of ecological impact, inclusion, rights, sovereignty and identity. Digital technology often appears as tool, object and subject at the same time. These reflections are essential if we\u2019re to imagine other futures,\u201d comments Anne Le Gall.Artists\u2019 work also invites us to question the Anthropocene and our relationship with living beings. The notion of ecosophy\u2014a theoretical framework in which humans are not placed at the top of a hierarchy of living beings\u2014is explored in depth through many artistic creations. <\/p>\n\n

For J\u00e9r\u00f4me Villeneuve, the diagnosis comes with a nuance: \u201cEven if culture has a transformative power, it cannot exempt itself from a profound ecological transition. And in this perspective, digital technology is not the only vehicle for imagining the world to come. That sounds obvious, but it is too often forgotten.\u201d At Hexagone, culture thus encounters various scientific fields\u2014from environmental science to sociology\u2014precisely to step aside from an overly dominant digital narrative. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
\u00a9 Alexandre Fytrakis – Studio Rosa<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Structuring an eco-responsible digital ecosystem<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

So what room for manoeuvre is left to cultural professionals struggling to find a balance between ecological and digital transitions? First, defining one\u2019s stance at an individual level: \u201cWe each have to find our own alignment, make our trade-offs\u2014individually and within our working collectives,\u201d sums up Anne Le Gall.Then, to avoid being paralysed by these paradoxical demands, collective action at the level of entire sectors appears to be a suitable approach. Here, there are many levers: first, maintaining spaces for exchange and interaction between networks and professionals, in line with the mission of the Impact Forum. Next, making voices heard by policymakers to reassess existing frameworks. This applies both to eco-conditionality and to indicators of impacts that are intrinsic to culture.\u201cThe benchmarks used in artistic projects, the specifications, are grounded in logics of profitability, increase and growth. These references must be reassessed. At sector level, we could also raise the question of a change of regime,\u201d analyses J\u00e9r\u00f4me Villeneuve. <\/p>\n\n

Structuring the supply chains of digital equipment is also a key area: in other words, extending the lifespan of products, encouraging reuse\u2014particularly through shared equipment\u2014and organising recycling channels (a \u2018reduce \/ reuse \/ recycle\u2019 approach already present in the social and solidarity economy). Finally, training is obviously a major collective issue. TMNlab has just published, in consortium with HACNUM <\/a>(National Network for Hybrid Arts and Digital Cultures), a diagnostic <\/a>study on this topic. \u201cThe \u2018Skills and Jobs of the Future\u2019 diagnostic helps us understand digital transformations in the cultural sector. It allows us to identify how jobs are evolving. The goal is to define training priorities and identify transformative practices that can support artistic creation in the digital age, in a time of transitions, notably through learning communities<\/em>,\u201d explains Anne Le Gall.Of course, taken together, these actions will not solve the environmental crisis. But they will at least help shed some light in a landscape where many professionals are still \u201clost in transition.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

* On the occasion of IMPACT, the French Embassy in Belgium organised the trip of a delegation of around twenty performing arts professionals from French networks (TRAS<\/a>, HACNUM<\/a>, TMNlab<\/a>) and hosted this roundtable.<\/p>\n\n

Adrien Cornelissen<\/a><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From 1 to 4 November, IMPACT in Li\u00e8ge brought together nearly 250 international professionals for the Impact Forum. Four days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[41],"class_list":["post-5344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feedback","tag-ecology","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5345,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5344\/revisions\/5345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}