An art and research project on digital sustainability
Annual 2024 programme for Prater Digital
Every day, we spend hours on the internet via our computers or smartphones: emails, streaming services, online banking, social media, messenger services, and AI assistants are all part and parcel of our daily lives. Documents, photos and screenshots are saved on hard drives and in clouds. Everything works so seamlessly that the digital world appears to be invisible, boundless and immaterial. But a physical infrastructure is concealed behind every click, using energy and producing emissions. It is a truly global structure with myriad branches: satellites, underwater cables, routers, data centres, platforms and providers enable us to use our many devices, apps, software and on-demand services. And it takes a real effort of brain power even to visualise these interconnected networks. Things get even more complicated when trying to understand the sustainability aspects of the network.
In the project Copy Paste Waste, we look at the multi-layered connections between digitalisation and sustainability. We go on a quest for possible courses of action but without any finger-wagging. We use our best resources – curiosity, aesthetic and speculative methods, and an openness for learning – to tackle the issue. Nevertheless, digital sustainability goes way beyond individual action; it is a political and systemic problem. What can we, as private users and cultural institutions, actually do?
Do you want to know more about the effects of digital infrastructure on humans and the climate? Are you ready to switch up your routines and working methods in terms of digital sustainability? We will be coming up with more information in various formats throughout 2024. Take a look at our project website to find out what you can expect.
