SAVA RW: Eco-Socialist Alliances Introducing the speakers: Fahim Amir Prof. Fahim Amir is professor of philosophy at the University of the Arts Bremen, living in Vienna and Bremen. Amir’s research focuses on nature, culture and colonial historicity, art, utopia, and cohabitation.

SAVA RW: Eco-Socialist Alliances Introducing the speakers: Terike Haapoja Terike Haapoja is an interdisciplinary visual artist. Her large scale installations and writings explore the possibility of nonviolent coexistence across differences, with a specific focus on multispecies politics.

SAVA Research Week VI: Eco-Socialist Alliances 10 - 11 December 2025, Sainsbury Centre UEA The 6th edition of SAVA RW explores Beyond-Human and Species under Socialism and examines Ecologies of African Socialisms and their global implications. Link in bio to access full programme!

We are excited to announce the first solo exhibition in a UK institution by artist & filmmaker Saodat Ismailova, who was SAVA Creative Fellow 2024-5. The exhibition at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art presents the world premiere of Swan Lake (2025), alongside works from her two decade-long career.

SAVA Begins a New Phase at UEA We are thrilled to announce that the URKI/ERC supported project on the Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts together with SAVA research team will now be based at the School of History and Art History in the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia!

We are happy to announce Sammy Baloji as the new SAVA Creative Fellow! Sammy Baloji is a photographer, visual artist and filmmaker exploring the colonial history of the Democratic Republic of Congo under Belgian rule, and its lasting ecological impact and entanglements into the present.

The final piece from the online special issue of ARTMargins presents SAVA roundtable, led by Maja Fowkes, bringing together Aïda Adilbek, Aziza Kadyri, Aigerim Kapar, Anel Rakhimzhanova and Saodat Ismailova, in discussion on the environmental transformation of Central Asia during the Soviet period.

The complete online edition of the special issue of ARTMargins on The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts, edited by Maja and Reuben Fowkes, is now available on artmargins.com!

Dilda Ramazan: Decolonial and Anthropocene Discourses in Contemporary Art of Former Socialist Contexts    Introducing the contributions of artists and scholars to the special print issue of ARTMargins: The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts, edited by Maja and Reuben Fowkes.  Link in bio!

Mia Yu: Sublimating Socialist Construction Through Ink: Introduction to ‘When Thoughts Change, Brush and Ink Cannot Remain Unchanged’ Introducing the contributions of scholars to the special issue of ARTMargins: The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts, edited by Maja & Reuben Fowkes.

IAS Book Launch: Special Issue of ARTMargins on the Socialist Anthropocene   Join Maja and Reuben Fowkes for the launch of the ARTMargins special issue. The evening will feature responses from Josephine Berry, Dimitra Gkitsa, Pushpa Arabindoo and Albert Brenchat Aguilar.   Tickets via link in bio!

Book Launch: ARTMargins on the Socialist Anthropocene 30 Sept 6–7:30pm Investigating transformation of nature in socialist art history, by discussing artworks that disclose environmental impacts of the system’s extractivist & terraforming interventions in natural world. www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

Dimitra Gkitsa: Chimneys and Electric Wires Conquering the Sky: The Great Transformation of Nature in Socialist Albania Introducing the contributions of artists and scholars to the special print issue of ARTMargins: The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts, edited by Maja and Reuben Fowkes.

Jakub Gawkowski: The Avant-Garde of Socialism in the Prehistoric Jungle: The Temporalities of Coal Mining in 1950s Upper Silesia    Introducing the contributions of artists and scholars to the special issue of ARTMargins: The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts, edited by Maja & Reuben Fowkes.

Anel Rakhimzhanova: 'Turksib Was Not Just a Railroad for Me': Visualizing the Anthropocene as a Transit     Introducing the contributions of artists and scholars to the special print issue of ARTMargins: The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts, edited by Maja and Reuben Fowkes.     Link in bio

Maja & Reuben Fowkes: Mega-Dams in the Hydrologics of the Socialist Anthropocene Introducing the contributions of artists and scholars to the special print issue of ARTMargins: The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts, edited by Maja and Reuben Fowkes. Explore their article via link in bio!

Anca Benera & Arnold Estefán: The Missing Mountain    Introducing the contributions of artists and scholars to the special issue of ARTMargins: The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts, edited by Maja and Reuben Fowkes.   Explore Anca Benera & Arnold Estefán's artist project via link in bio!

The special issue of ARTMargins, featuring contributions by Anca Benera & Arnold Estefán, Jakub Gawkowski, Dimitra Gkitsa, Anel Rakhimzhanova, Dilda Ramazan, Mia Yu, and edited by Maja and Reuben Fowkes is out now! More info via link in bio.

The third SAVA Research Trip, this time to Kosovo and Albania, took place in June 2025. Our programme was full of guided visits to local museums, galleries, and sites of Socialist Anthropocene! Check out the new post on the SAVA website to learn more about our journey - link in bio!

Our SAVA Research Fellow, Jan Burek, will speak this Friday, 27 June 2025, at 11.15 am at the Polish Cultural History Conference at the University of Wrocław, Poland. He will introduce his research on chemicalization in 1960s Poland as seen through the theoretical lens of the Socialist Anthropocene.

Maja and Reuben Fowkes’s lecture on Beyond-Human Agents in the Eco-Critical Art Practice of the #Socialist Anthropocene at TU Dresden last week - fantastic as always. Also, I love Edi Hila’s works 🖤 @savaproject.bsky.social

We're excited to announce SAVA Panel Discussion: Hope against Hope in the Socialist Anthropocene in Pristina! Join us at the National Gallery of Kosovo on Mon 9 June, 6 pm for a panel exploring dreams and prospects for renewal in Kosovo, with Rozafa Berisha, Erzë Dinarama, and Maja & Reuben Fowkes.

We're thrilled to share the upcoming SAVA Panel Discussion: Landscapes of the Socialist Anthropocene! The panel will feature an introduction to SAVA by Maja and Reuben Fowkes, along with talks by Raino Isto and Jonida Gashi. Join us on Fri 13 June, 6 pm at Zeta Contemporary Art Centre, Tirana.

We're happy to share Maja and Reuben Fowkes will deliver a keynote lecture titled 'Green Border Crossings: Beyond-Human Agents in the Eco-Critical Art Practice of the Socialist Anthropocene' at Technische Universität Dresden on Wednesday, 4 June 2025, at 6.30 pm. Details available via link in bio.

New podcast episode with Ângela Ferreira Continuing our exploration of global perspectives on the Socialist Anthropocene, in this Left to Be Desired episode, Maja and Reuben Fowkes talk to artist Ângela Ferreira about her work on revolutionary Mozambique. Tune in via link in bio.

Maja and Reuben Fowkes on the History Workshop Podcast! Listen to learn all about SAVA - how it came into being, what issues drive it, the complex histories it seeks to unpack, and why engaging with those histories matters today. Listen via link in bio!

Sneak peek into our SAVA Research Fellows' work! SAVA Research Fellow Makar Tereshin investigates how nuclear energy, water management, and botanical experiments converged in the desert city Aqtau, Kazakhstan. He's looking at archival photos related to the city’s development & greening campaigns.

New podcast episode with Reinaldo Funes Monzote on the environmental history of Cuba and its place in the Socialist Anthropocene. Maja and Reuben Fowkes, joined by Sorcha Thomson, discuss Reinaldo's work on the different eras of Cuban environmental transformation. Listen via link in bio!

Sneak peek into our SAVA Research Fellows' work! SAVA Research Fellow Dr. Jan Burek researches the environmental history of state socialist Poland. Currently, he's studying the construction of the Mazovian Refinery and Petrochemical Works in Płock for his research on chemicalization in 70s Poland.

Lisa Blackmore on Troubled Waters In this new Left to Be Desired podcast episode Lisa Blackmore shares insights into the hydroforming of the rivers of Sao Paulo, and the consequences of channelizing the flow of its liquid arteries through frequent flash floods. Tune in via the link in bio.

Mario Bianchini: Utopia, Entropy, and the GDR’s Socialist Anthropocene Recorded in the heart of the former East German capital of Berlin, episode 9 of Left to Be Desired is a conversation between SAVA Research Fellow Alexander Petrusek and Mario Bianchini, ZZF Potsdam. Tune in via the link in bio.

Maja and Reuben Fowkes recently interviewed SAVA Creative Fellow Saodat Ismailova @saodatismailova for Think Pieces, the UCL IAS review. Their conversation delves into the spiritual, ecological, and cultural threads that run through Saodat’s creative practice. Read the full article via link in bio.

The new April issue of Art Monthly includes a feature by Maja and Reuben Fowkes, 'Afterburn: The Politics of Trees', in which they reflect on the political lessons we can learn from trees and on the role of artists as emissaries of arboreal ministry.

Sneak peek into our SAVA Research Fellows' work! SAVA Research Fellow Dr. Alexander Petrusek researches East Germany, the environment, and international socialist ideals in a Cold War context. He is currently working on an article that examines how DDR's ecosocialists used the ideas of zero-growth.

Some moments from Research Week V, held on 19-20th March 2025, at the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and a special appreciation to our speakers for their insightful presentations and engaging workshops!

We’re happy to share that Maja and Reuben Fowkes will give a presentation 'Cosmic Rivers in the Socialist Anthropocene' as part of 'Interweaving Climate, Water(s), and Communities' at Exposed Arts Projects in London on Saturday, 22 March 2025, 1 pm. Link for more info in the bio.

Some moments from the second day of SAVA Research Week V!

A couple of pictures from the first day of Research Week V!

SAVA Research Week V - Geotransformación: Southerning the Socialist Anthropocene 19 - 20 March 2025, UCL Institute of Advanced Studies Explore the public events below and book your spot via link in bio!

SAVA RW5 Geotransformación: Southerning the Socialist Anthropocene Introducing the speakers! Massinissa Selmani is a French-Algerian artist whose practice centres around drawing filled with humour and absurdity. In 2015, he received a special mention at the 56th Venice Biennale.

SAVA RW5 Geotransformación: Southerning the Socialist Anthropocene Introducing the speakers! Oto Hudec is a Slovak visual artist addressing issues such as the climate crisis, immigration, and globalisation's environmental impacts. In 2024, he represented Slovakia at the 60th Venice Biennale.

SAVA RW5 Geotransformación: Southerning the Socialist Anthropocene Introducing the speakers! Ângela Ferreira is an artist and researcher teaching Fine Art at the University of Lisbon in Portugal and in Mozambique. Her multi-disciplinary practice focuses on the effects of (post)colonialism.

SAVA RW5 Geotransformación: Southerning Socialist Anthropocene Introducing the speakers! Reinaldo Funes Monzote is a Professor of History at the University of Havana and Coordinator of the Geo-Historical Research Program at the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation in Cuba.

SAVA RW5 Geotransformación: Southerning the Socialist Anthropocene Introducing the speakers! Lucie Česálková is a Czech film historian based at the Department of Film Studies at Charles University Prague and the editor-in-chief of Iluminace, a journal of the Czech National Film Archive.

Join us for Maja and Reuben Fowkes’ keynote lecture 'More-than-Human Revolutionaries: The Politics of Trees in Socialist Art' on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of SHERA. You can join the lecture online tomorrow at 5.00 pm GMT. Book your spot via link in bio.

Tomorrow! Friends in Prague do not miss Maja and Reuben Fowkes lecture on Oil Rocks at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague!

Sneak peek into our SAVA Research Fellows' work! SAVA Research Fellow Dr. Sorcha Thomson researches the global and environmental history of agrarian reform during the Cuban Revolution. Have you wondered what sources she might be studying? Image credit: Cover of Year I, No. 2, February 1960.

We are excited to share that Maja and Reuben Fowkes will give a lecture 'Oil Rocks: A Utopia on Stilts in the Caspian Sea' at The Academic Research Centre of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague on 18 February 2025, 6 pm. All those in Prague save the date! We'll be happy to see you there!

Call for papers for the Socialist Eco-Aesthetics workshop (Dresden, June 4–6, 2025), organized by Marie Meyerding. Click below for more information and to apply. Maja and Reuben Fowkes have also been invited to give a keynote lecture there!

First SAVA meeting with our new contingent of Research Fellows. The next SAVA Research Week at UCL is in the making, 19-20 March 2025 - save the date! We're excited to announce more info soon!