Dunjiva Kollektiv, founded in 2023, is an artist collective with a special focus on community-building formats addressing human relationships with nature that bring out and evoke a sense of deep interconnectedness with specific places. These include performative walks, workshops, readings, exhibitions and happenings that address the (bio)diversity of different (cultural) landscapes, all the while aiming to nurture an increased awareness of the importance of nature through artistic approaches. The collective was founded by artists Dunja Krcek and Ivana Miloš, who are currently responsible for tending to its tendrils.
Launching our pursuits in 2024, The Turn of the Season is a series of workshops created by Dunjiva Kollektiv, carried out in collaboration with SOHO STUDIOS. The series is aimed at building a practice of attention, especially in relation to plants and other living beings. Meetings will take place once every season: we will go for a walk and devote our time to cultural practices with plants. These include dyeing with plants, foraging, acquiring knowledge on medicinal herbs, working with plant fibers (nettle flax, etc.), eco printing (hapazome), and fermentation. Plants will also act as companions/mentors. We will be focusing on topics aligned with the seasons and interweaving them with literary contributions.
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.” (Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek)
| “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, |
| the world offers itself to your imagination, |
| calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting – |
| over and over announcing your place |
| in the family of things.” (Mary Oliver, Wild Geese) |
Each of our first seasonal meetings will start with a walk in the surroundings of SOHO in Ottakring, where we will focus on being in our environment and being-among. These walks will serve as a medium for getting to know both nature and plants: Where does a plant live, and why? What does it look like, what characterizes it? What can we see and feel when we dare encounter plants outside the established models? We will also consider foraging as a practice – what does it mean to be in nature, to intervene, to take something with us, and how can we go about it respectfully?
The remainder of the day will take place in the space of SOHO STUDIOS: we will dedicate our time and attention to what we encountered and work with it as material, both physical and intangible. Drawing, writing, dyeing, and much more are all welcome activities. The material created by the participants will be collected and gathered in a “map” of the area, which will grow through every following season.
The remainder of the day will take place in the space of SOHO STUDIOS: we will dedicate our time and attention to what we encountered and work with it as material, both physical and intangible. Drawing, writing, dyeing, and much more are all welcome activities. The material created by the participants will be collected and gathered in a “map” of the area, which will grow through every following season.
By continuing with the practices we began the week before, be it herbalism, botanical printing, drawing or something completely different, we will continue to grow together with plants and encourage each other in pursuing a natural rhythm, more akin to that of plants, when it comes to our own lives.
Dunjiva Kollektiv
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Dunja and Ivana
Impressum