For Lost Species Day 2020 ONCA held a weekender of online events to accompany the online exhibition Beyond Ruin.

The weekend was themed around this question: How can remembrance practices for extinct species address systemic injustice? The intention of the gathering was for participants to spend time learning together, to build connections and move forward in clear and energised ways that embed anti-racism in all Lost Species Day activities thereon.

On Friday night, climate justice creative educator Suzanne Dhaliwal chaired a highly thought provoking conversation between academics Sadiah Qureshi and Audra Mitchell, both of whom work on challenging and shifting the dominant language, rhetoric and narratives around extinction.

On Sunday, contemporary performance artists and ritualists discussed their practice in relation to loss, ecological cycles, deep listening and embodiment of the more than human, before co-hosting a ritual online for Lost Species Day. The talks were recorded but the ritual was not. The practitioners were celebrant Monica Douglas, deep listening practitioner Beckie Leach, showwoman Marisa Carnesky, contemporary artist Marcus Coates and multidisciplinary psychic worker Bea Xu, and the conversation was hosted by dramatherapist Rachel Porter.

Here you can watch recordings of the events. To turn on subtitles click the CC button on the YouTube menu bar at the bottom of the video.

An Evening with Sadiah Qureshi, Audra Mitchell & Suzanne Dhaliwal

Rituals for the Anthropocene? Artist Talks

Image credit: Denilson Baniwa, People Who Become Animals Series