EcoFutures: Planetary Thinking and Infrastructures – Arts & Research Symposium
The Planetary Thinking and Infrastructures arts and research symposium is a two-day public event, and part of the EcoFutures project co-convened by David Cross and Jessica Wan with the support of University of the Arts London (UAL) and the Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN).
It is led by questions such as:
– How can we rethink infrastructures to support care, resilience, and planetary wellbeing?
– In what ways do environmental, technological, and urban systems co-shape the worlds we inhabit?
– What does it mean to consider “home” as part of the wider environment we share with humans and nonhumans?
With curatorial participation from Videotage and funding from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), this edition of Ecofutures brings together artists, scholars, and practitioners working in Hong Kong, the UK and beyond. The symposium approaches ecology and planetary thinking as intersecting lenses: ecology invites us to consider relationships between living organisms and their environments, rethinking “home” beyond buildings to include our reciprocal ties with the world around us while planetary thinking situates these questions within a critical, interdisciplinary framework, attending to Earth as an interconnected system and highlighting the entanglements of local and transnational, past and present, human and nonhuman.
The programme–through a series of panel discussions, performance-lectures, and workshops–will explore how artistic research can reveal, intervene in, and reimagine an equitable planetary future.
event details /
Dates: Friday 27 – Saturday 28 February 2026
Location: Banqueting Hall, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London
Workshop Location: Red Room, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London
Admission: Free and Open for Public (Online reservation is needed)
Format: Hybrid
Reservation link (Symposium): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ecofutures-planetary-thinking-and-infrastructures-tickets-1982422687624
Reservation link (Workshops): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ecofutures-workshops-tickets-1982423493033
Programme
27 February 2026 (Friday), 13:00-17:15 (London Time)
13.00–13.15:
Arrival and Registration
13.15–13.30:
Welcome and Introduction by Jessica Wan and David Cross
13.30–14.30:
From Hacking the Past to Queering Futures: Self, Kinship, and Ecology with Yarli Allison and Whiskey Chow
Chair: Maggie Matić (Auto Italia)
This panel brings together queer artistic practices and ecological thinking through the work of two non-binary East Asian artists based in the UK—Whiskey Chow and Yarli Allison. Rather than treating ecology as a backdrop, it considers ecology as an active, entangled system shaped by and shaping queer lives and cultural production. Facilitated by Maggie Matić, the conversation draws on queer theories of fluidity and kinship as ecological frameworks. It asks what intersectional queerness might offer to imagining different ways of living with one another and with the world.
14.30–14.45:
Comfort Break
14.45–15.45:
Keynote Performance Lecture: Timeless (2013/2026) with David Cross
This work centres on a single take of video from a fixed camera looking East from the top of the Shard building in London. Interweaving natural history and social history, ‘Timeless’ framed an emerging ecological anxiety from an urban vantage point. Today it invites reflection on the relationship between continuity and change over the intervening years.
15.00–16.30:
Parallel Workshop – Engrafting Hope
Host: Kwan Q Li
This workshop explores essayistic filmmaking as a way of living with grief and sustaining hope when confronted with hopelessness. Through a performance lecture and guided reflection, participants encounter layers of uses of documentary, poetry, and artistic research as means of emotional storytelling and attentiveness.
15.45–16.00:
Comfort Break
16.00–17.10:
Reimagining Collective Infrastructures and Resource Justice through Artists’ Films with Lee Kai Chung, Isaac Chong Wai, and Adeena Mey (Afterall)
Chair: Jessica Wan
This panel discussion examines how contemporary artists rethink the collective infrastructures—physical, social, and environmental—that shape ecological realities. Through moving-image practices and site-specific research, speakers explore hidden dynamics of resource extraction, circulation, and inequity, and consider how artistic practices can foster new imaginaries of collective responsibility and resource justice.
17.10–17.15:
Closing Notes by Angel Leung
28 February 2026 (Saturday), 13:00-16:35 (London Time)
13.00–13.15:
Arrival and Registration
13.15–13.30:
Welcome and Introduction by Jessica Wan and Angel Leung
13.30–13.45:
What Could EcoFutures Be?
Residents’ Work Sharing with Lauren Goldie
PhD researcher and artist, Lauren Goldie, presents works developed during the EcoFutures residency, examining how speculative sculptural practice can interrupt extractive logics surrounding asteroid mining and reframe how we imagine relationships with extraterrestrial materials and environments.
13.45–15.00:
Worlding Ecologies in a Relational World with Chris Cheung (XCEPT), Kwan Q Li, and Anahita Razmi
Chair: Professor Paul Goodwin (TrAIN)
15.00–16.30:
Parallel Workshop – Everyday Archiving
Host: Jocelin Kee (Asia Art Archive)
This hands-on workshop introduces practical and speculative approaches to archiving as a sustainable, everyday practice. Participants will explore digital storytelling, community mapping, and collaborative documentation, considering how anyone can become an archivist of their environmental surroundings.
Participants are encouraged to bring physical or digital materials from a completed project, including but not limited to sketches, notes, references, material receipts, experimental works, and documentation.
15.00–15.20:
Comfort Break
15.20–16.30:
Time-based Media Archiving for Collective Memories with Phoebe Wong (Videotage), Charlotte Procter (LUX)and Anson Mak Hoi Shan (Pre-internet era Hong Kong LGBTQ Printed Material Digital Archive)
Chair: Angel Leung
This panel discussion considers how video and oral-history archives preserve and activate collective memory across communities and generations. Speakers address challenges of access, representation, and long-term preservation, examining archiving as both historical record and a living, community-building practice.
16.30–16.35:
Closing Notes by Jessica Wan
Credits and Acknowledgements
EcoFutures is an ecocritical art research project co-convened by David Cross and Jessica Wan with the support of University of the Arts London (UAL) and the Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN).
The Planetary Thinking and Infrastructures Symposium is co-curated by Angel Leung and Jessica Wan in collaboration with Videotage.
The symposium is a TrAIN associated event generously supported by Afterall and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
* Disclaimer: The Hong Kong Arts Development Council supports freedom of artistic expression. The views and opinions expressed in this project do not represent the stand of the Council.
Accessibility
EcoFutures is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all participants. The following access provisions will be in place:
– Step-free access to the Banqueting Hall and workshop spaces
– Accessible toilets available on-site
– Seating can be rearranged to accommodate wheelchair users and access needs
– Staff available on the day to assist with access requirements
If you have specific access needs or questions, or would like to discuss adjustments in advance, please contact Jessica Wan [[email protected]].
Privacy Notice
The panel discussions and keynote performance lecture will be video-recorded and broadcast live via Zoom concurrently with the in-person events.
UAL’s Virtual Event Privacy Notice sets out how your personal information will be collected and processed when you register and attend a UAL virtual event on Zoom: arts.ac.uk/privacy-information/ual-virtual-event-privacy-notice
Filming and Photography Notice
Please note that filming, photography, and audio recording will take place at this event. If you do not wish to be recorded, please notify event staff on arrival. Reasonable steps will be taken to respect your preference (for example, seating in a designated area). For questions about filming, photography, or the use of Recordings, please contact: [email protected]