Voice of nature Kinstitute is an artistic platform for Environmental Justice, based on long-term investigations dedicated to environmental crimes, ecocide and the possibilities of proposing environmental justice through artistic, juridical, ritualistic and restorative justice practices to find a collective language between humans and other than humans, focused on inter-being, intersectionality and reciprocal care.
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Natural Contract LAB

Ongoing 2021- 2025

*How do we design a process of care based on reciprocity, accountability and interdependency with the river ? Do we need other ways of making justice and gesture of care for rivers?

Natural Contract Lab is a multidisciplinary artistic practice, an ecology of care that aims an active and sustained dialogue with bodies of water under deep ecological transformation. The artistic format is hybrid and unfolds in it self as a response to each river as an exchange and social encounter with a common concern: to make justice to the loss of water ecosystems. Inspired by restorative justice practices, we have designed a protocol of reciprocal care with the aim to weave together new forms of relationship with water, as river guardians. Together we develop a body of care, researching forms of water justice through practices of reciprocal care, such as walking-with, performing rituals, ecocide hearings, restorative justice and ecological grief circles, somatic and audio scores and other actions that move along with the riverine’s flow and its communities.

NCL was founded in 2021 by the artist Maria Lucia Cruz Correia in collaboration with a multidisciplinary group, including Marine Calmet (rights of nature), Brunilda Pali (restorative justice), Lode Vranken (design/philosophy), vinny jones (sensory scenography) Evanne Nowak (ecological grief). With the confluence of the Tejo River Margarida Mendes (research/sonic guidance) joined the collective in 2022.

STUDY CASES BETWEEN 2021-2024
2021-2023 Sijoumi Lake, Tunisia - with the support of Dream City festival L'art Rue and BE PART
2021-2023 Tejo river, Portugal - with the support of Alkantara Festival and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
2022-2024 Rhone River, Switzerland - produced by least [laboratory of ecology and art for a society in transition]
2023-2025 Zenne River, STILL HERE- Co-produced by VierNulVier, Workspacebrussels, Kanal Centre Pompidou, LUCA School of Arts Antwerpen, UGent / with the support of De Vlaamse Overheid /Production by HIROS

Activation moments
Our practice is a research that is a continuous relationship with rivers, yet we do have few moments where we share our practice

14.5.2023 Natural Contract Lab, NTGent, Belgium
12-12.11.2022 Intertidal Walk, Alkantara Festival, supported by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Portugal
1.10- 10. 10.2022 — L’école de Sejomi guardians, Dream City, L'artRue, Tunisia
13. 11- 21.11.2021 “Caudal restaurativo” Terra Batida, Alkantara Festival
8.10 - 24.10.2021- RE.NATURE - ( Amsterdam)
3.9.- 11.9 2021 Collective Exhibition curated by COAL Vivant 2021, at Congress mundial de la nature Marseille
3.05-22.05.2021 — Open atelier, Kunstencentrum Vooruit, Belgium

Supporting organisations:
Produced by wpZimmer (BE) // Co-produced by Kunstencentrum Vooruit (BE), NTGent (BE), Workspacebrussels (BE), LEAST (CH), Dream City (TN), C-takt (BE) // Supported by the Flemish Authorities, BePart, Creative Europe // Research supported by the Leuven Institute of Criminology (BE), Wild Legal (FR), Human Rights Consortium UGent (BE), European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ)