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ART, SCIENCE AND PEOPLE FOR DIVERSITY
A Koen Vanmechelen Foundation
About
MOUTH stands for Museum of Understanding, Trust and Humanity. It is a not-for-profit organization that brings together art, science and people for the realisation of a new, more constructive social and ecological balance.
The work of Belgium artist Koen Vanmechelen is the transformational motor in what we do. His work with science and communities expands the concept of art far outside the galleries and museums.
Our ideas are rooted in the value of biocultural diversity, resilience and circular development. Our projects connect people worldwide to realise its practical applications.
More about the artist.
Human Rights Pavilion
The Human Rights Pavilion is an evolving artwork by renowned Belgium artist Koen Vanmechelen, initiated in the context of the 58th Biennial of Venice, May you live in Interesting Times, in collaboration with Global Campus of Human Rights, Fondazione Berengo and the MOUTH Foundation.
With the Human Rights Pavilion, Vanmechelen explores the complexities of human nature, the possibility of a universal concept of human rights and the role of art in its development. He presents nature as a human right and contemplates its safeguarding in the Anthropocene, the era in which the human impact on the Earth’s geology and ecosystems reaches critical proportions.
More about the Human Rights Pavilion
Cosmocafes
The Human Rights Pavilion comes together through a growing network of Cosmocafes, organized at different locations around the world.
For each Cosmocafe, we seek out different international partners that believe in the interplay of arts and human rights. More specifically, we organize Cosmocafes linked to exhibitions and lectures of Koen Vanmechelen, cafes coinciding with the presentation of the UN Global report on children deprived of liberty and at important art locations and events around the world. Local partners help include a rich and diverse spectrum of people and disciplines and bring visibility and traction to its realization.
More about the Cosmocafes
MOUTH in the world
MOUTH operates globally with Global Open Farms in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Belgium and the US. Our local partners are critical in the implementation and development of what we do.
MOUTH is based out of LABIOMISTA in Genk, Belgium. Our meeting places are unconventional, global, open, inspirational, universal and unique.
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LaMouseion
The Unthinkable Experiment
Born out of a worldwide pandemic, LaMouseion offers a new locus of experiment where young people can search for new insights, test new ideas and gain new knowledge about current and future societies. It is motivated by the belief in art as a catalyst for mutual understanding and as a guiding light in our search for answers to the significant great challenges of the 21st century – particularly the relationship between nature and culture and sustainable community development. Artist Koen Vanmechelen, the conceiver of the project, translates what he learns from nature into iconic artworks and calls upon different disciplines of science to investigate these ‘transformations’. Artistic creation and scientific research join with a similar goal: to discover how to keep the world a habitable place for all species that make the web of life.
Embedded in LABIOMISTA, a 24ha artwork, LaMouseion is a contemporary re-creation of the Mouseion, the legendary center for arts and science. As in ancient Greece, it brings together free spirits from different disciplines in their tireless quest for answers, knowledge, and wisdom. Developed as an antidote to an overly focused monocultural curriculum, its modus operandi is 'crossing', ‘cross-breeding’ or ‘fusing’ (nature x culture, local x global, art x science x community, past x present x future).
LaMouseion's first project, The Unthinkable Experiment (TUE), demolishes the boundaries between university, art, and community. The project is developed in partnership with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Université Libre de Bruxelles, The Mouth Foundation, city of Genk, and a wide range of local community partners.
Since the summer of 2021, The Unthinkable Experiment invites young people (18 to 28) from all walks of life to LABIOMISTA to work on various chapters for a library of the future. Organized in different Chapters and following Vanmechelen's adage: “Breaking the boundaries of clarity to step into a new reality," they take on the challenge to imagine the future. In their quest, they are supplemented and challenged by a transdisciplinary team of scientists, entrepreneurs, community representatives, and artists. The project inverts traditional knowledge roles and hierarchies. It takes 1 month and consists of 4 interrelated steps: (1) ideation in the freedom of the art, (2) discovery and feedback from transdisciplinary team, (3) co-creation of new knowledge and (4) presentation of results. Ultimately, the pen is in the hands of the new generations. Instead of a thesis, they create premises. An attempt to redefine the guidelines and rules for a better society.
More about the Unthinkable Experiment
This is not about chickens, this is about humanity
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