Remediation Room
Remediation is often understood as the action of remedying something, in particular of reversing or stopping environmental damage. A counterpoint to the Energy War Room, Remediation Room supported the research and work of artists investigating concepts of remediation in nuanced, thoughtful, and critical ways. Remediation Room aims to foster strategies for collective community building, knowledge sharing, and connections between artists and the public.
The Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), aka “Energy War Room”, a $30 million 2019 initiative of the Alberta United Conservative government located in Mohkinstsis/Otôskwanihk (Calgary) to combat “lies and myths told about Alberta’s energy industry” (United Conservative Party 19). The CEC is part of a Government of Alberta multi-prong strategy that also includes a public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns.
What does remediation look like in the face of mounting liabilities from fossil fuel industries or when sites of extraction have been “remediated” but continue to pollute, contaminate and destroy? How can perspectives shift around remediation from something that occurs after the damage is done to one that prevents harm in the first place? In the work of remediation, how is the labour of maintenance, care, and repair valued and enacted?
Curated by Alana Bartol, Remediation Room worked with Christina Battle, Tamara Lee-Anne Cardinal, Rita McKeough, Nurgül Rodriguez, and Mia Rushton + Eric Moschopedis. Photos: Alana Bartol, Bryce Krynski, Nurgül Rodriguez and Carmen Belanger. Learn more on the project website: remediationroom.ca.
