CO-HABITATIONS CLIMATE ACTION: THE CITY IN 100 YEARS

How do we want to live – now and in 100 years? This central question is the focus of the community-based public art project "CO-HABITATIONS" CLIMATE ACTION: THE CITY IN 100 YEARS, winner of the first prize in Art + Ecology from Clima Now and Arts for Future by Stadt Zurich Kultur. The year-long project will be focused on cohabitation with a visionary look toward the future. The diverse program highlights elements such as the coexistence of human and non-human actors, the revitalization of ecosystems, and the role of the financial system in climate change. All projects are participatory and interactive with artists, art educators, and experts applying a do-it-yourself approach to involve visitors and participants in all projects.

To achieve a broad impact and involve diverse actors, we are creating the CO-HABITATIONS PAVILION on Wilder Platz near Zurich's main train station. The pavilion, designed and constructed collectively, serves as a laboratory for new forms of urban coexistence and as a hub within the densely built area. Additionally, our exhibition space at Löwenbräukunst features a show curated by Helen Pritchard that explores novel possibilities for energy provision. Both spaces offer opportunities for critical encounters through art, and activities that investigate resilient modes of habitation and practices of sustainable consumption.

At the core of the project is TASKFORCE 2123, a youth group created by WE ARE AIA that anchors the project among various groups of young people and is named for the year to which our visions refer — 2123, 100 years in the future. Led by climate activist Marie Claire Graf, the task force includes youth ambassadors from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, teenagers from the Lilienberg MNA Center, and Lea and Raphael Sandoz-Mey from Inclusion 360. The purpose of TASKFORCE 2123 is to bring together young people of different life circumstances and perspectives to develop their own vision of how we will live together in the future. Members will bring their personal experiences to the table as they network with each other and learn and support one another. They will also realize an event, an outreach program, and a short film for the Co-Habitations project.