SVALBARD COMMUNITY SATELLITE
This proposed community satellite project in Longyearbyen, Svalbard confronts the presence of the controversial Svalbard Satellite Station (SvalSat), one of Europe’s largest information gathering and transmission stations.
Conceptualised as an experiment in ‘counter-listening’ the project explores some of the submerged histories and contemporary urgencies that connect the local politics of Svalbard to issues in the Arctic region more broadly. Discussions will range from the denial of Sámi presence in the Archipelago and the sovereignty implications that challenge Norwegian and Russian territorial claims; the environmental legacies of coal mining practices; the enduring Western Polar imaginary that drives its tourist economy; and, the rise of biodiversity banking epitomised by Svalbard’s global Seed Vault.
This proposed community satellite project in Longyearbyen, Svalbard confronts the presence of the controversial Svalbard Satellite Station (SvalSat), one of Europe’s largest information gathering and transmission stations.
Conceptualised as an experiment in ‘counter-listening’ the project explores some of the submerged histories and contemporary urgencies that connect the local politics of Svalbard to issues in the Arctic region more broadly. Discussions will range from the denial of Sámi presence in the Archipelago and the sovereignty implications that challenge Norwegian and Russian territorial claims; the environmental legacies of coal mining practices; the enduring Western Polar imaginary that drives its tourist economy; and, the rise of biodiversity banking epitomised by Svalbard’s global Seed Vault.
SVALSAT GROUND STATION European Space Agency
A series of live audio transmissions that form part of the Toronto Biennale of Art 2022’s public programming and emerge out an artist-research residency in Svalbard that was postponed due to Covid-19
Supported by Artica Svalbard and the Office for Contemporary Art Norway
RESOURCES
︎︎︎ Artica Svalbard
︎︎︎ Office for Contemporary Art Norway
︎︎︎ Svalsat Ground Station
︎︎︎ Svalbard Global Seed Vault
︎︎︎ Putting Sapmi on the Map