History: Svenja Keune, NGM Interview

Svenja Keune, NGM interview
Interview host: Shih Wei Chieh
2022.12.22
Vævestuens væveskole, Denmark, online

W: Can you tell us more about the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summercamp?

S: Sure! The summercamp emerged from me wanting to organise a summercamp in Hvalsø, at my landlord place, but I didn't want to do it alone, so then I got to know Asya Ilgun who wanted to do a summercamp together with Dilan Özkan and Laurin Kilbert at the HBBE at Newcastle University in the UK. Since both topics complement one another and both camps were timewise exactly matching up, we decided to join both summercamps into the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summercamp. So that's like how these two programs merged into one.

Part 1 was specifically about making a facade twin for the OME, an experimental building that belongs to the HBBE at Newcastle University. And we wanted to include 3D printing with clay and experimenting with mycelium and textiles to make an installation that would somehow interact with the local insects. So for that - ten days of workshops, we had an open call for applications and then selected nine participants. And we created a rough program for the ten days that we would have. We selected the participants according to the expertise we needed for the work, so some of them had experience with mycelium, clay 3D printing, monitoring, or parametric design. It was really intense because we had so much to develop. We had to design the installation and then we had to 3D print, fire and inoculate the pieces, pre-grow them in the bio lab and then install them outside and set up the sensor system. We learned how to work with one another and also tried to figure out how to actually design for other organisms like insects and arthropods. So it was quite intense and we discovered many questions.

For the second workshop, which was more about how to be with, how to connect with other living organisms, we traveled to Denmark and spent a week at a scout camp and my landlord's farm in Hvalsø. Before going, we actually had quite an intense preparation. Instead of preparing a program and organizing everything, we based this part of the summer camp on co-creation. We had an open call for registration, so everyone who wanted to join us could register and then join our Discord channel and the regular zoom meetings. Everyone could work and collaborate in ways that would suit them best. Many students and young practitioners showed interest and the capacity to invest time in the preparation of the camp and they played a fundamental role and took responsibility for the leading of the focus groups that we created to distribute tasks.

Part 1 was more like a usual workshop and took place within the University environments. Part 2 was different. Many co-creators pointed out that they have never witnessed or never participated in an academic workshop like this.

It was really about creating a community in which we could enjoy meaningful discussions around multispecies design, exploring ways of being with the living world by meditating, guided walks, and active imagination through costume making and embodiment.

Whereas we received funding for both parts to cover materials, we invested months before and after the summer camp for the preparation and dissemination, plus the 3 week intense time at the camp using our own funds. In hindsight, this is not sustainable and led to structural conflicts in the core team. So in the future we will be more careful about our conditions and boundaries, so that we are able to circle our energy in the ways we need it.

W: Are you planning to or do you ever consider to keep more openness in your camp to other communities besides academic network? Is there any form of collaboration between camp context and other industries?

S: As we are now starting to plan the next summer camp we are also asking ourselves these questions.
For Part 1 we carefully chose the participants, and that was actually very important for what we wanted to do. We couldn't have accomplished our goal for the workshop with kind of random people, so they really had to bring the knowledge in. And for Part 2, there was no selection whatsoever, and also the price for the camp was really low so that in theory everyone who wanted could have participated, because we didn't sort anyone out. People could just register and pay and they were in. We did our best to invite different people who share the interest, using our networks and different platforms but of course it could be more. I think the openness here relates to who actually gets to know about this camp and then decides to come. And then also who can afford to travel, who gets the visa in time, and who can afford spending the time. Time was an issue, but people could decide to come just for a day, or two, instead of joining the entire week. So it was really very open. I think it was a very good approach and yet I think it's also important to make sure that the depth of the discussions and what we are doing is actually secured and also increases. In the future I think it would be good to make sure that most people joining have participated in the last summer camp while also allowing new people to come in. So you could say that the access is decreasing instead of increasing. However, since we have an open discord channel, all people who are interested in our community and able to use discord can join us.

What I really like now with the I.N.S.E.C.T. community is that we already know each other and have experience in how to do things and how to work with one another. Since we already have this knowledge, there is more trust and familiarity within the community and we can go deeper into co-creation and critical discourse. This is what I would like to work with. Of course, there will always be people coming in and going out. But I think it's important that there's a core group which shares the vision or the purpose and holds it together.

We spent a lot of time and effort getting to know one another, so invested in human connections, and I think that the multispecies connections were sometimes a little in the background because we had to learn how to live with one another just as human animals. I really hope that in the next summer camp we can bring more emphasis into the multi-species cohabitation and not only human cohabitation, but it's of course also a part of it.

W: Will the next Summer Camp be held at the same spot?

S: I think so. In the beginning I thought it could also be another place. I think it would be really interesting to also do it in another place. But actually there is quite a high value in doing it in Hvalsø again, because we know what to expect, we know the place and we can build on the knowledge that we gained. So everything that we can do to jump a little bit ahead of time in getting to know the environment, getting to know the people, getting to know how to be with one another. If we can jump these steps a little faster to then go, ‘okay, how do we relate to our environment like all the other living beings? Who else is living here? How can we connect to them? What do we want to learn about them?’
Additionally, it was really difficult to find entomologists, ecologists, biologists who would join us for the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summercamp. Now that we have a video that illustrates the camp's atmosphere and context, we hope to be more successful next time so that we can learn from and inspire one another.

W: Have you considered combining the I.N.S.E.C.T context with farming or to grow land together so you always go back to the same land?

S: That’s a beautiful idea! And yes, maybe I should be more clear about the range of fields and beings we relate to. The I.N.S.E.C.T. Summer Camp is not only about insects, but we just chose the title because it has a special interest in insects, but it's not exclusive only to insects. In that sense, maybe the title is a bit misleading. Our camp is in general about exploring connections with the living world and especially living beings that are more difficult to connect with, due to our differences in size, morphology, typology, perception, language, way of life.

However, it would be fantastic to have more research projects and exchanges in and around my Tiny House ´Petersilie´. I am dreaming of hosting other people's works and also Kirsten and Torben Oppfeldt are very open to exciting projects that they and their land could be involved in.

It would also be nice to combine Part 1 and Part 2 more, but so far I cannot fully see how this could be possible since it is so easy to get stuck in computation and designing in conventional ways and thus losing the wonder, the slowness, and the openness to perceive the living organisms that tent to go unnoticed. I'm not sure if it is actually possible to combine both parts or if they should be somehow separate. So this is something we need to figure out. Furthermore, logistics play quite an important role. It would make much more sense to first explore ways of being, followed by ways of designing. This just wasn’t possible for the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summer Camp 2022 and will be again a challenge for 2023.
I'm wondering how the next summer camp should be because it was also really intense. I think one learning that we had is that we are not able to have a three-week intensive with two completely different programs with the same organizers because it was a bit too demanding, too stressful for the core team.

S: Do you have a suggestion or vision, or how do you envision the second iteration of the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summer Camp next year? What would you do differently?

W: I think I.N.S.E.C.T. is really interesting, but maybe it's a bit too specific. For example, if you're talking about insects, you are also talking about nature as well. So everything about nature can be discussed. For example, farming too. And I think maybe next time you can include the farming people too. I know a project called Romi. They are from the Green Fabulous in Barcelona. They do a lot of these robots and the founder is really interesting. He's a super nice guy and he has many good ideas for the fabrication tools for farming. So, I'm more interested in that but I'm also very interested in insects, but I don't want to work with only insects since it is not my territory. But with farming, or plants, I would love to spend more energy for that. And then these two fields connect totally, maybe to provide more routes for participants.You have so much to do with that, because you are basically dealing with multi spaces living environment and living architecture. I think it's a super big topic.

W: Can you talk about how your Summer Camp started, and especially how you connect to these people, how you form this community?

S: So the intention for the overall summer camp is to learn more and also to create a community around multispecies design, because most of us feel like aliens in our own environments. Most people who work with multispecies design don't have colleagues or Professors with whom one can really in-depth discuss about how to design for other living organisms or topics around ethics, aesthetics and design methodologies. This however is changing fast. Part of our intention was to form a community where more in-depth discussion can take place and to establish a community to work with, because at least I think it's much more fun to work together with others instead of being alone and doing my own thing. Especially after the pandemic.

W: Can you share a little bit about the story with the landlord and how you started working on his land?

S: 2,5 years ago when I started my project “Designing and Living with Organisms” I was looking for a new home for me and my Tiny House on Wheels named ‘Petersilie’, that plays an important role for my research. Kirsten and Torben Oppfeldt contacted me with an incredible offer. They are always very curious to exchange knowledge, skills, world-views, approaches to designing and living. They have a sawmill, a weaving school and lots of community projects like a garden, and some pigs in the forest. Torben is a farmer who is very passionate about sheep and how to provide enough food for all the world's population. One can have intense discussions with him about farming, sustainability, and life itself.

He's not really into permaculture. What he's always talking about is, like, quality and quantity and that of course, quality is important, but since we are like 8 billion people on this planet already, it's also very important that we have the quantity. And then he's really curious about how to actually provide the quantity, and he doubts that this quantity can be provided by ecological and non petrochemical farming. Since I don't have a background, I really want to believe that it's possible that we don't have to use chemicals and pesticides and so on.
Kirsten was a teacher and founded the weaving school, which now transforms into a weaving community. She travelled a lot and is a passionate expert on textiles, especially weaving.