ESOF2024 | 12–15 June 2024 | Katowice, Poland
Cultural Identity
and Societal Transformation
keywords: creativity, the arts, design, crisis, transformations, participation, changes, challenges to civilisation, stereotypes, region, heritage, well-being, social activism
Session themes
Social well-being
Crisis-proof society
Creative forms of social activism
Participation in the process of region’s transformation
Creativity against challenges to civilisation
Impact of science, the arts and design on changing stereotypes
Contemporary perception of a region’s heritage
Impact of creative activities on social well-being
The arts/design in the context of the quality of life
The nourishing potential of the arts
Creativity as a laboratory for alternative models
The arts as an experimental way of cognition and an intensive way of living
The arts as a knowledge tool, a tester of the changes and a method of emancipation
Creativity that guards us against hubris
Description
Identity shaping is a process based on the cultural resources and heritage of the region, which has a great impact on the quality of life, building relations and social development.
We want to find out whether artistic and scientific activities may trigger changes and have an influence on how one perceives and defines oneself. Do they indeed boost the creation of new ideas and images? We seek an answer to what inspires us—artists/designers/scientists—to take action in a place such strongly marked with a degradation of the environment, encumbered with ambiguity, and deformed by the changes in the social tissue.
We will try to observe how big of an influence creators/researchers have in transforming the prevailing stereotypes into true and genuine images and verify to what extent knowledge and creative activities contribute to reshaping how we perceive and value cultural heritage. Do they promote the discourse about who and where we are? How important of a tool is creativity; does it lead to a real change in the region’s image and societal transformation? Can imagination and knowledge lead us the way towards development and give us hope for a better future and entice us to ask ourselves crucial questions despite facing the challenges related to the ecological crisis, social and economic inequalities, migration and political conflicts?
We have a chance to study whether and to what extent science/the arts/design encourages sustainable and balanced living, promotes ecological behaviour, inspires us to change our attitudes, and encourages us to live responsible lives in a world in dire need of equilibrium, mindfulness, and tolerance. We offer a space for a polemic on creative and innovative activities impactful in terms of societal transformation, and building the well-being and pride of being ‘from here.’
