Leviathan Public Programme

Wednesday 2 October | 6.30 – 8pm | Tickets £5/3

Dr. Lars Schmeink (HafenCity University Hamburg), Nicole Prandi (PhD candidate at Manchester University) and Natasha Josette (environmental and political organiser) will explore how we might adapt to the future, discussing possible life-saving algae, inclusive activism, and changing notions about what it means to be human.

Methods for Surviving the Future

Dr. Lars Schmeink – Biopunk: Survival in the Anthropocene

Dr. Lars Schmeink is a cultural and media scholar working on science fiction and posthumanism in contemporary culture. He will discuss ‘Biopunk’, a form of science fiction writing exploring the societal effects of biotechnology and genetic engineering – a cultural expression increasingly relevant, given the radical changes transforming our world.

Dr. Lars Schmeink is the project lead for „Science Fiction“ in the „FutureWork“ initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. He is the author of Biopunk Dystopias: Genetic Engineering, Society and Science Fiction (2016, Liverpool UP) and the co-editor of Cyberpunk and Visual Culture (Routledge, 2018) and The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture (Routledge, 2020).

Nicole Prandi – Blue-green: life-saving algae on the Blue Planet

 For over 1 billion years cyanobacteria has helped shape the Earth’s atmosphere and life as we know them. Now the algae may be able to help us survive climate change. From carbon neutral biofuels to bioplastic and living buildings, Nicole Prandi will chart the unexpected applications of photosynthetic bacteria for surviving now and in the future on our Blue Planet.

Nicole Prandi is a PhD student in her last year at Manchester University. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the University of Cagliari (2013) and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Biotechnology (2015) from the University of Padua. She worked in Imperial College London (2016) on the genetic engineering of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Her work was focused on the sustainable production of biofuels from light and CO2 through photosynthesis. Her interests include sculpture, props making and performing arts.

Natasha Josette – Building an inclusive ecology

 Much of global climate campaigning is dominated by narratives that do not platform and build solidarity with radical political movements in the Global South led by black people, and more specifically, by black women who have for decades been at the front line of direct action. In this talk Natasha Josette discusses the need for re-addressing structural, economic and racial inequality while saving the planet to ensure that a greener future is also a more inclusive one.

Natasha Josette is an anti-racist organiser, environmental and political campaigner with a background in communication and media. She works to make political campaigns more inclusive by diversifying outreach through arts and music festivals.

Shezad Dawood – Leviathan Public Programme 

Leviathan is an artistic project by Shezad Dawood interrogating national borders, marine welfare and trauma, examining what is not only a humanitarian crisis but also an environmental crisis within our biosphere. To produce this highly ambitious body of work, the artist has worked with marine biologists, oceanographers, anthropologists, neurologists and other researchers to forecast possible futures that could follow on from our current crisis.

The talks will be recorded and archived on the dedicated Leviathan Vimeo channel.

Get more information and tickets at the Bluecoat website.