Planetary Consciousness. Ecosystems of Care”
November 4th – December 2nd 2025
Venue:
School of Digital Arts (SODA), Manchester Metropolitan University
Artists:
Ernest Borowski, Hubert Czerepok, Rafał Dominik, Eternal Engine, Justyna Górowska, INEXSISTENS, Andrei Isakov, Piotr Kopik, Agnieszka Polska, PXKRW, Szymon Rogiński, Sebulec, Anastasiia Vorobiova, Dominika Wolska
Curator Team:
Eliza Urwanowicz-Rojecka & Jakub Wróblewski
Collaboration:
Toby Heys & Adam Cooke, School of Digital Arts (SODA), Manchester Metropolitan University
Agnieszka Rudzińska, Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Visual ID:
Renata Motyka
„Planetary Consciousness. Ecosystems of Care” is another project designed to promote Polish contemporary digital art, co-delivered by the Arsenal Gallery in Białystok and the 3D and Virtual Occurrences II Studio, Faculty of Media Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.
Project has been inspired by the “planetary consciousness” category, in reference to a theory by sociologist and globalisation theorist Roland Robertson, author of the “global consciousness“ notion (Robertson 1992, 2014). Thus termed by Robertson, the shift towards the world-universe relationship already assumed that the global perspective would transcend into the planetary. This angle is described in greater detail by philosopher of technology Yuk Hui:
„(…) think planetarily doesn’t necessarily mean proclaiming or defining the sovereignty of outer space, or delving into terraforming and geoengineering, even though such topics might be anticipated in a book dedicated to planetary thinking. To think planetarily, first of all, means thinking beyond the configuration of modern nation-states, which have not been able to move away from vicious economic and military competition; second, it means formulating a language of coexistence that will allow diverse people and species to live on the same planet; and third, it means developing a new framework that will enable us to go beyond the question of territory, respond to the current ecological crisis, and reverse the accelerated entropic process of the Anthropocene.” (Hui, 2025)
That said, our understanding of the phrase “planetary consciousness” concerns around the Earth as a whole: exploited, misused, neglected, gradually brought to the brink of annihilation – and yet approached with ever-greater subjectivity, empathy and concern. Interconnections between contemporary ecological and technological transformations seem to be of key significance to all these categories.
Thus – as Yuk Hui has suggested – it is, perhaps, worth our while to explore the present of technological diversity, or technodiversity: a variety of ways of understanding and constructing technology (Hui, 2019, 2025). The philosopher believes that from the planetary perspective, the new approach to technology ought to be accompanied by diversity of thought (noodiversity) and biodiversity. We intend to recognise both by exploring the structure of the contemporary technosphere, and its connections to the field of art. Consciously employing new rendering techniques, all presented works embrace the planetary perspective, opting for the caring for the planet category as their point of departure. Authors hail from regions contemporarily referred to as Eastern Europe or Central and Eastern Europe. The cultural context of all artworks resonates with ways of using new imaging techniques, the aesthetic, and individual narrative facets. What vision of worlds, both real and imagined, are they creating?
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Culture.pl is the largest and most comprehensive source of knowledge about Polish culture, run by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM). We provide reliable information about the most important phenomena and trends in culture, as well as events organised in Poland and abroad. Here you will find profiles of artists, reviews, essays and expert analyses that portray the richness of Polish art. We publish in eight languages, bringing Poland’s contribution to global culture and humanistic heritage closer to an international audience.
Organisers:
Modal Gallery, SODA Manchester (School of Digital Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University)
Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Arsenal Gallery in Białystok
Partner:
3D and Virtual Occurrences II Studio, Faculty of Media Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
The event is part of the UK/Poland Season 2025 organized by the British Council, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Institute of Polish Culture in London, funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland
