Thinking Soil and Water

Cooperating countries: South Africa and Austria

Coordinating institution: University of Applied Arts Vienna, Basak Senova basak.senova@uni-ak.ac.at 

Partner institutions: University of Pretoria

Project duration: 

Budget: EUR 34.960

Abstract: 

Thinking Soil & Water (TSW) is a transdisciplinary research and exchange initiative linking the University of Pretoria and the University of Applied Arts Vienna. The Soil & Water project (2024–2026), taking place at NIROX Sculpture Park in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, will serve as the archive for this Africa UniNet project.

TSW analyses, interprets, and communicates the accumulated knowledge embedded in the Soil & Water project, exploring how it informs ecological understanding, cultural practices, and transdisciplinary approaches to interdependent matter. Soil & Water consists of interconnected, modular components: a community-based arts initiative, a public dialogues programme involving scientists, artists, curators, scholars, grassroots groups and community representatives, and a long-term modular art exhibition. Developed by Prof. Johan Thom (University of Pretoria) and Assoc. Prof. Dr Basak Senova (University of Applied Arts Vienna) in collaboration with the NIROX Foundation, Soil & Water brings together more than 50 international artists whose practices address the fragile relationship between soil and water. More information: https://www.soilandwater.net/.

This proposal introduces a new scientific–artistic research framework as part of the Soil & Water project, rigorously examining soil and water as intertwined ecological, cultural, and material archives. TSW unfolds through a short fieldwork trip to South Africa by three Viennabased researchers, an extended assembly in Vienna with researchers from Pretoria, and a comprehensive publication.

By integrating science-informed environmental knowledge with socio-historical inquiry and material-based artistic research, TSW creates an open-ended platform for rethinking the cultural and ecological narratives embedded in Soil & Water. The Vienna Assembly activates ecological knowledge in dialogue with artistic translations of environmental intelligence, generating a hybrid transdisciplinary research architecture.

The project supports emerging scholars, particularly women, through mentorship, workshops, and active involvement in the Assembly, culminating in a public event, dissemination of results, and a peer-reviewed publication.