Meandering: Art, Ecology, and Metaphysics

Join us on Saturday, October 12 for the presentation of Meandering: Art, Ecology, and Metaphysics (Sternberg Press, 2024), a richly illustrated book that traces the TBA21–Academy fellowship program of the same name, curated by Sofia Lemos between 2021–23.

Inspired by how rivers bend and curve connecting entire ecosystems, Meandering unfolded the cultural, historical, spiritual, and ecological trajectories of waterways from source to sea. Between 2021–23, artists, scientists, and writers were invited to untangle the histories of the Guadalquivir Valley — from Andalusia to the Americas and the undersurface of the Mediterranean — and engage with it as a site of social and environmental transformation. Building on the region’s ecomythologies, global in their scope, the publication delves into the artistic imaginaries present in the fellows' commissions and community-oriented practices. It makes a compelling case for the role of artistic research and public programs in navigating the interconnectedness of ecosystems.

Accompanied by Isabel Lewis’ performance Time Smugglers (2024), created with the Klasse für Performative Künste and Friends, this launch event also extends her previous commission, Sediments, Sympathy, and Spiral Flow (2022–23), which was inspired by the sonic and movement trajectories of the Guadalquivir River—from the spiraling devotional forms of sama to the rhythms of Flamenco.

Sofia Lemos is a curator and writer whose practice explores the intersections of art, performance, and discourse. From 2021 to 2024, she was Curator at TBA21–Academy, where she developed a new program for artists working with ecological and community-based practices, which included fellowships, commissions, and convenings. Prior to this, from 2018 to 2021, she was Curator of Public Programs and Research at Nottingham Contemporary, where she launched the multi-year research project Sonic Continuum in collaboration with artists, organizations, and academic partners. Curatorial projects such as exhibitions, discursive, and performance programmes include collaborations with artists and thinkers Alexandra Bachzetsis, Edgar Calel, Emanuele Coccia, Jack Halberstam, Trajal Harrell, Lafawndah, Isabel Lewis, Ligia Lewis, Eduardo Navarro, Paul Preciado, Emilija Škarnulytė, Himali Sing Soin, and Sung Tieu, among others. She edited Meandering: Art, Ecology, and Metaphysics (Sternberg Press, 2024), Sonic Continuum: On the Sound and Poetics of Time (Nottingham Contemporary, 2021), and co-edited Metabolic Rifts (Anagram, 2019). Lemos contributes regularly to publications and exhibition catalogues.