HOMO SARGASSUM Symposium

& Live Programmation

HOMO SARGASSUM

Based on an idea seeded by Louisa Marajo, this multidimensional and multi-year project co-written and co-conceived with Vanessa Selk, has been inviting over 30 Caribbean artists, scientists, scholars and bio-tech experts to reflect on the ecological, cultural and anthropological implications of the proliferation of the Sargassum seaweed on Caribbean coasts and populations in colonial/post-colonial contexts. 

Learn about the HOMO SARGASSUM journey

International Opening Symposium

September 26-27th, 2024

To mark the opening of the HOMO SARGASSUM Exhibition at FSU’s Museum of Fine Arts, and in collaboration with the Winthrop-King Institute For Contemporary French & Francophone Studies, this international symposium brings together Artists, Art Professionals, Scientists, and Humanities Scholars to explore the phenomenon of sargassum in the Circum-Caribbean and the ways in which a broad range of artists have engaged with it in their work.

Join us for a captivating display of their artistic creations & enjoy this opportunity to immerse yourself in an atmosphere
of creative talents. Let's build lasting bridges between Art & Science!

SPEAKERS, ARTISTS & PERFORMERS INCLUDE

Mora J. Beauchamp-Byrd

Michael Carrasco

Chris Cyrille

Nicolas Derné

Morel Doucet

Tatiana Flores

Marina Reyes Franco

Billy Gerard Frank

Libby Fowler Beagle

Sarra Gaspard

Nyasha Laing

Louisa Marajo

Moses Alexander März

Florence Ménez

Medhi Michalon

Martin Munro

Vanessa Selk

Understanding the HOMO SARGASSUM - Program

Thursday, September 26, 2024,

3:00pm: Welcome words 

Location: Room 249, Fine Arts Building, Adjacent to MoFA

• Martin Munro, Director of WKI, FSU
• Vanessa Selk, TMAF Executive & Artistic Director
• Louisa Marajo, Artist, HS Initiator & Lead Artist

Keynote speaker:

• Tatiana Flores, TMAF Board President

3:30-5.00pm: Panel 1: What is Sargassum? A French Antillean perspective on an invading oceanic creature.

Location: Room 249, Fine Arts Building, Adjacent to MoFA

Moderated by Dr. Martin Munro, Director of the Winthrop-King-Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies
With:

• Scientist: Dr. Sarra Gaspard, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Université des Antilles 
• Researcher: Dr. Florence Menez, Anthropologist, Department of Human Science, Université des Antilles
• Artists: Louisa Marajo, Multimedia Artist, Homo Sargassum Initiator, and Nicolas Derné, Video Artist and Photographer

Description: From a natural habitat for marine life to a toxic threat and an artistic muse, the Sargassum seaweed is a multifaceted experience, depending on each living community. The ecological, social and political impacts of the proliferation of the Sargassum seaweed since 2011 had particular repercussions in the French Antilles, where reactions were voiced from multiple fields, echoing the rhizomatic connection between all worlds, as following Edouard Glissant’s methodology of thought. This panel will study the cases related to Guadeloupe and Martinique to understand the very nature of the Sargassum seaweed (Dr. Sarra Gaspard), its public health, sociological and anthropological implications (Dr. Florence Menez) as well as its artistic interpretation and potential philosophical meaning (Louisa Marajo and Nicolas Derné).

5-5:30pm: break/ refreshments

Location: Fine Arts Building Lobby and Courtyards

5:30-6:15pm: HOMO SARGASSUM Short Film Screening

• Short Film 8’, 2020
• followed by 15min Q&A with Vanessa Selk & Louisa Marajo, moderated by Nyasha Laing, writer and film critic 
• 15min questions with public

6.30-8pm: Opening reception with Medhi Michalon, sensory artist and mixologist, offering a Sargassum-based non-alcoholic cocktail.

Location: Refreshments in FAB lobby, MoFA galleries open

Friday, September 27, 2024

9.30-11am: Panel 2: The Transatlantic journey of the Sargassum: echoing Caribbean History and Migrations

Location: William Johnston Building, Room G40 

Moderated by Dr. Mora J. Beauchamp-Byrd, Associate Professor of Art History and Director of Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies at Florida State University

With:

• Scientist: Dr. Nicolas Wienders, Researcher, Center for Oceanic and Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University
• Artist: Billy Gerard Frank, Multimedia Artist
• Curator: Marina Reyes Franco, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico 

Description: Present in the Sargasso Sea as well as in the territorial waters of West Africa, the Sargassum started migrating in masses towards the Americas, carried by transatlantic currents. The traceable oceanic movements of the Sargassum do not only revive the memories of the Middle Passage and of a cultural homeland of the Caribbean, but also echo the more contemporary migrations from and within the Caribbean. Starting with a scientific analysis of the transatlantic journey of the sargassum through a dedicated tool called “Drifters” (Nicolas Wienders), this discussion will further share a historic perspective on the arrival of the Sargassum in the Americas and its creative interpretation from an immigrant artist’s point of view (Billy Gerard Frank), and examine the cultural heritage of the African diaspora in contemporary artistic practices in Puerto Rico, notably (Marina Reyes Franco).

11.30am-1:00pm: Exhibition tour with curators Vanessa Selk & Michael Carrasco

Location: MoFA Galleries

1:00pm-2:30pm: Lunch break and free time to further visit the exhibition.

Location: Fine Arts Building Lobby and Courtyards 

3:00-4:15pm: Panel 3: The Ecocide of the Sargassum algae: who is killing who?

Location: Room 249, Fine Arts Building, Adjacent to MoFA

Moderated by PhD candidate: Libby Fowler Beagle,  Florida State University 

With:

• Researcher: Dr. Moses Maerz, writer, editor and researcher on, art, literature and philosophy 
• Art critic: Chris Cyrille, writer and exhibition storyteller
• Artist: Morel Doucet, Artist and Ceramists 

Description: The Sargassum quickly gained its reputation from asphyxiating marine life and releasing toxic gasses impacting humans. However, the proliferation of the Sargassum is a direct consequence of human pollution and neo-colonial agricultural practices impacting notably Caribbean communities and African diaspora. Through a lens of ecocriticism, this panel will analyze the ideas of colonial and decolonial ecology by Malcolm Ferdinand through conceptual and methodic maps (Moses Maerz), before examining the political and poetical representations of a colonized nature and landscape through the work of three Caribbean artists (Chris Cyrille), and addressing the impacts of Black communities and bodies by anti-environmental practices (Morel Doucet).

4:30-5:00pm: Poetic Performance by Louisa Marajo, read in English by Carine Schermann.

Museum Gallery 


5:00-7:00pm: Closing reception

Location: Refreshments in FAB lobby, MoFA galleries open

Closing remarks by Martin Munro, Director of WKI, FSU

HOMO SARGASSUM partners & sponsors