On 26 March at 6.30 pm, LABoral Centro de Arte presents the lecture “Arts of Conviviality”, delivered by philosopher and researcher Alberto López Cuenca, in which he will reflect on the concept of “conviviality” and how it can be applied to contemporary artistic practices.
Conviviality was an idea introduced by the thinker Ivan Illich in the early 1970s, in which he proposed freer, more collaborative and sustainable ways of living and creating, in contrast to the industrial and technological systems that control much of our daily lives. Although Illich soon recognised the limitations of these convivial strategies in changing the post-industrial system, over time the term has been revived as a way of relating better to one another, caring for our environment and paying attention to other ways of life, rather than relying solely on technology or industrial progress.
This lecture invites us to reflect on conviviality as a way of thinking about new ways of living together and relating to one another in an increasingly technological world, whilst exploring how contemporary artistic practices can open up new spaces for collaboration, care and experimentation with other ways of life.
López Cuenca is presenting this talk as part of the exhibition Smells like kin, the result of an artistic investigation into the culture of fermentation both within and beyond Asturias. Developed by artists Lea Luka Sikau and Denisa Půbalová, in collaboration with scientist Felipe Lombó, the project approaches fermentation as a process of collaboration between species (microorganisms, humans and environments) in which different forms of life interact to produce material, cultural and symbolic transformations. Drawing on practices that combine traditional knowledge and scientific experimentation, the research explores how these processes of co-existence and mutual transformation enable us to rethink kinship, interdependence and relationships with the living beyond inherited models of belonging.
In this context, Alberto López Cuenca’s talk proposes to open up the following reflection: could the art of conviviality (conviviality as art) ferment in a world in disarray?
Free admission upon registration at info@laboralcentrodearte.org.
Alberto López Cuenca holds a PhD in Philosophy from the Autonomous University of Madrid. His research draws on contemporary cultural theory—particularly the philosophy of language and technology, and art history—to explore the forms taken by creative work, authorship and new technologies. His work has appeared in international journals such as Afterall, Third Text, Culture Machine, Critical Arts and Revista de Occidente, amongst others. He is co-editor of nine monographs, the most recent being Nociones en común. Hacia un glosario para liberar la cultura (Common Notions: Towards a Glossary to Liberate Culture), and author of Los comunes digitales. Nuevas ecologías del trabajo artístico (The Digital Commons: New Ecologies of Artistic Labour). He is currently a tenured professor and researcher at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico.
Presented by: Pablo M. Testa, PhD in History, Written Culture and Thought, and member of the Llaboratoriu de Práutiques Artístiques (LLUPA).
This event forms part of STUDIOTOPIA, a European research project (2024–2027) bringing together eleven cultural and scientific institutions to explore collaborations between art and science.
