Perma~cultural Thinking in Multispecies Research

The four-day summer school Perma~cultural Thinking in Multispecies Research was held on 21-23 August in Budweis (CZ), as part of the Ars Biologica Independent Studies program, within the broader context of the Budweis – European Capital of Culture 2028 project.

As a group of 16 (other-than)humans from across art, design, science, and other creative areas of life, we came together to explore multispecies relations and tensions shaping the landscapes in and around us. Among our many points of departure were perma~cultural practices and principles (including their challenges and problems), which we approached as both a critical lens and a guiding metaphor for navigating our collective research process. 

Moving with the Kluk forest

Our collaboration on the first school day began with a mapping of diverse methodological approaches, tools, and ways of knowing that we have used or encountered in our variously situated multispecies inquiries. On day 2, we went out to explore what our approaches can do, when we apply them together, through an experimental fieldwork in the nearby Kluk forest.

Working both intuitively and analytically, sensorially and verbally, spontaneously and systematically, we engaged one another in small research experiments – from an audial ear cleaning to blindfold navigation through the forest terrain – and reflected on our diverse ways of knowing and engaging with the local multispecies landscape.

Multispecies Research Almanac

To capture our co-creative process (walking, crawling, lying down, sitting up, eating, listening, chatting, drifting, and more) we used our senses as well as various other media. The collected insights provided the initial material for the Multispecies Research Almanac – a collective zine publication that was unveiled at the Ars Biologica Pavilion and will soon appear in the Tangible Territory journal.

The Almanac will continue to grow in the coming years, alongside our ongoing investigation, which will culminate in the Ars Biologica festival 2028. If you would like to join us in making future Almanac editions, let us know at marketa.dolejsova@avu.cz.

The Almanac (version 1) was co-created by: Nikola Benčová, Anna Böhmová, Marie Čtveráčková, Markéta Dolejšová, Filip Holub, Kluk, Martin Lasinger, Vojtěch Liebl, Kristýna Lipovská,  Anna Poláková, Jan Pokorný, Catherine Radosa, Barbara Rakovská, Tamara Spalajković, Tereza Stehlíková, Polina Valerijivna Šyškina.

Summer School(s)

The Perma~cultural Thinking in Multispecies Research summer school track was organised along with three other tracks: PermaPrompting with Feral (AI)gents (held at AVU Prague in July 2025), Permacomputing and Digital Infrastructures, and Pomalé Obvody / Slow Circuits (held in Budweis in August). More info about the whole summer school program is available here.

🫶 A warm thanks to the Budweis project team for their support throughout the summer school, to Filip Holub for a kind guidance through the forest, and also to the main summer school partners: the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (AVU) and the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) 🫶