PODCAST
Articles published on our platform are read out loud and turned into podcasts. We also record interviews with our collaborators and contributors. You can find all our audio content here.
AnthroArt
AnthroArt – Action for People and Planet is an initiative of three applied anthropology organisations – Antropedia, Namla and Ambigrama – that aims to create an international platform for connecting anthropology and art, with the purpose of deepening awareness about inequality and our relation with the environment and driving change across three geographies: Romania, The Netherlands and Portugal, as well as beyond.
AnthroArt – Action for People and Planet is a two-year project (2023-2024) co-funded by the European Commision, under the Creative Europe Programme (CREA).
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Zero Waste, the genealogy of a movement – Lívia Humaire Kampff
When looking for information on the famous 3 Rs of sustainability, I came across a video on YouTube by a French woman living in California called Bea Johnson, that proposed a waste hierarchy of 5 Rs (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot). The practices shared were not new to the environmental movement, nor to the lives of people who were born before the consumer society. But, for the first time, someone turned it into a set of practices applicable to everyday life, turning it into a global movement with all the characteristics of the social media era. In the format proposed, and subsequently by other prominent voices in the movement, I found a practical way of replicating what I was already doing in a diffuse way within other movements. This article will show that work and principles.
Article by Lívia Humaire Kampff, illustrated by Joana Cruz
https://theanthro.art/zero-waste-the-genealogy-of-a-movement/
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When looking for information on the famous 3 Rs of sustainability, I came across a video on YouTube by a French woman living in California called Bea Johnson, that proposed a waste hierarchy of 5 Rs (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot). The practices shared were not new to the environmental movement, nor to the lives of people who were born before the consumer society. But, for the first time, someone turned it into a set of practices applicable to everyday life, turning it into a global movement with all the characteristics of the social media era. In the format [...]
April 18, 2025
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Food systems can be a valuable tool to think about biodiversity as inherently interconnected with our human worlds, in practices that look towards the sustainability of ecosystems, rather than based in the logic of extracting resources without caring for the degradation of landscapes. Through an ethnographic looking glass, we can understand the ways in which certain food production systems can in fact help us think and act on the current socio- ecological crisis. This article draws from fieldwork among agro-pastoralists in the northeastern region of Portugal, done during September 2023, and January 2024. Based on a mix methods approach, the [...]
April 18, 2025
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The use of holographic technology in art and its relationship with social inclusion and the democratization of access to art have been increasingly prominent topics in the contemporary art scene. Through an innovative and accessible approach, holographic art has the potential to transform the way artworks are presented and appreciated by diverse audiences, including communities in remote areas. This article examines how holographic technology can address issues of art accessibility, promote social and cultural inclusion, and truly democratize the artistic experience, referencing sociological theory, such as that of Zygmunt Bauman. Article by Silvia Raposo, illustrated by Joana Cruz https://theanthro.art/holo-wow-how-holographic-art-is-shaping-the-future-of-inclusive-art/ [...]
April 18, 2025
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It is necessary to reflect on the role of the anthropologist in denouncing realities that are often subalternised, with the role of changing them through initiatives and solutions proposed by the anthropologist, allowing us to reflect on the porosity between the spheres of activism and anthropology. To realize the implications and interconnections between different contexts, it is necessary to take a multi-scalar and multi-sited approach. One of the fields most concerned with the interconnections between local, national, and international scales is environmental studies, and it is on this theme that the article focus, mobilising former research to reach this goal. [...]
April 18, 2025
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Funerary practices have been around since the dawn of humanity serving two main purposes: the need for body disposal and to help the grieving community process the loss. We will focus on mainland Portugal during the Medieval Period up to present day to provide a brief overview of how people have dealt with death, from evolving perceptions from the Past to Present, to the emergence of a “new type of dead” – human remains of archaeological provenance and the obstacles towards sustainability. Article by Ana Lema Seabra, illustrated by Juliana Penkova https://theanthro.art/life-after-death-the-role-of-human-remains-in-a-somewhat-sustainable-afterlife/ [...]
April 18, 2025
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This position paper claims that local governments, within a regional inter-related scope, should envision a new territorial social policy for the effectiveness of sustainability and wellbeing of communities. The proposal of this work stems from a long period of research on sustainability matter; the framing of ecumene studies; and from applied science as consultants with local governments. Our recommendation is that this territorial social policy should be presented as a Regional Conviviality Formula, which is the synergetic result of Compact Cities + Intermodal Cities + New Public Places. We highlight that this formula has potential to create a new socio-spatial [...]
April 18, 2025
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Inclusion is a topic that is increasingly being debated and transformed. Performing arts are not out of this equation and tend more and more to look at the issue and create new opportunities for those who are often left behind by physical, intellectual or social issues. In this article I propose a critical analysis of a programme of inclusion of people with disabilities in a professional contemporary circus production with the aim of understanding its impact on the participants and the surrounding community, as well as the difficulties in implementing it. Article by Rui Leitão, illustrated by Patrícia Palma https://theanthro.art/social-inclusion-of-people-with-disabilities-in-professional-circus-rui-leitao/ [...]
April 18, 2025
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Taking inspiration from the approach of heterosexuality as a political regime, as proposed by lesbian feminism and queer theories, this study starts from the premise that mononormativity (Porto, 2018) permeates the legal apparatus of the state and, simultaneously, transcends it, imbuing social relations and cultural practices in ways not always evident. Building on this intuition, I begin this reflection with an analysis of the gaps in the legal sphere of monogamy in Brazil. Next, I present an analysis of the interactions between the state and monogamy in the context of educational and public health policies. From this discussion, I address [...]
April 18, 2025
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Words, in addition to their declarative or descriptive formats, also have a performative character – they do not exclusively serve the purpose of reporting what is done, but also serve to do so. What is the importance of language in the daily life on the outskirts of Lisbon? I intended to understand how language, on the one hand, is articulated with the contexts of exclusion and inequality that structure the urban condition and, on the other, functions as a mechanism for the construction of a collective identity, social inclusion, and resistance. Using semi-structured interviews with young people from precarious and [...]
April 18, 2025
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This article aims to address the intimate relationship between bureaucratic violence in Portugal against irregular Brazilian immigrants and social inequality. The situation of irregularity limits immigrants’ access to the spheres that make up public life in society and simultaneously restricts their opportunities and working conditions in the host country. To carry out a solid ethnographic article, the life stories method was used in conjunction with formal and informal interviews. Thus, through interviews focused on the migrant experience of these women and theoretical analysis, it was possible to understand how the precarity of the irregular period constitutes a catalyst for social [...]
April 18, 2025
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Evidence gathered since the late 2000s has suggested that a part of the working class goes through episodes of poverty without becoming chronically poor. Drawing on a project conceived to capture successful movements that escape severe or extreme destitution and deprivation and based on an ethnography with 28 families in two public housing estates in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, this article will start by exposing how poverty emerged in their lives, under what conditions it was possible to overcome it, and how they identify the positions they have conquered within structures of inequalities and social hierarchies. Article by José [...]
April 18, 2025
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On Digital Clutter: Understanding Our Relationship with the New Cloud of Unknowing – Liana Gheorghiu
In today’s digital age, cloud storage has become increasingly prevalent, fundamentally altering how we manage and interact with data ownership. While corporate entities have traditionally relied on cloud storage for large-scale data management, personal data storage has recently migrated to the cloud, emerging as a primary means of storing various virtual assets. This shift towards personal cloud storage reflects a broader cultural trend towards digitalization and convenience. However, it also underscores the challenges of digital clutter and data accumulation on a personal level. Through interviews and observation, this research delves into the reasons behind our tendencies to continuously accumulate digital [...]
April 11, 2025
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There is almost a poetic appeal to crafts that render them timeless. Crafts such as textiles maintain continuity, in contrast to trends, like fashion. Textile practice provides thus established codes for interpreting local culture. In doing so, they inhabit their environment in a caring and conscious way. That’s why it should come as no surprise that craftspeople think differently about sustainability than designers or managers. Their practices are deeply embedded in the territory and strongly connected to aspects of place, materiality and social context. At the same time, a large part of this knowledge about sustainability is tacit – this [...]
April 11, 2025
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The role of water in rural Moldova transcends its physical properties as a vital substance to become a poignant reflection of the broader socio-economic, political, and environmental dynamics at play in post-Soviet rural life. Against a backdrop of historical disinvestment, both during the Soviet times and in their aftermath, the article explores the ways in which residents of a village in the north of Moldova navigate water insecurity. Through a delicate balance of waiting for official intervention from the local administration and resorting to self-reliant strategies, they meet their everyday water needs with resourcefulness and endurance. When the village hall [...]
April 11, 2025
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Land grabbing is a widely talked-about subject in political debates yet at the same time little understood in the context of Eastern Europe. Seeking to shed light on this complex issue, my research delved into the mechanisms of land grabbing while also uncovering forms of peasant resistance. During the summer of 2023, I did my fieldwork in the nearby villages of Huedin, Romania, where I engaged in participant observations at local peasant markets and I conducted interviews with a diverse array of people, including peasants, advocates for food sovereignty, and municipal authorities. At the heart of my investigation lies the [...]
April 11, 2025
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It is often remarked that the Danube Delta is so captivating that those who visit once are inevitably drawn to return (Fănuș Neagu – writer, 1963). If this holds true, a similar sentiment can be extended to the village of Sfiștofca. For me, the history of Sfiștofca serves as a compelling illustration of how sustainable traditional practices thrive solely within the natural environment that surrounds a community. Guided by profound practical knowledge and a distinct “territorial identity” (Mihăilescu, Nahorniac), Sfiștofca emerges as an exemplary socio-ecological relationship, wherein villagers possess the autonomy to steward their local natural resources. However, when changes [...]
April 11, 2025
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We are currently living in a world surrounded, trespassed, and organized by multiple uncertainties. Speaking of sustainability today implies to situate, temporally and spatially, the needs that a given society has, as well as the path to cover such needs. To build a world where many worlds fit, we need people who can accommodate multiple worlds inside themselves. Empathy is a matter of intimacy. The more intimacy we share, the more we can recognize in each other, no matter how distant we might appear to be. Sustainability is about building peace in a globalizing world. Article by Soledad Jiménez-Tovar, illustrated [...]
April 11, 2025
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Climate change is a global reality, the result of intense and unsustainable human exploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation. The regular sustainable techniques are not enough to change this situation. Some authors attribute this to the lack of “connection and empathy with nature”, characteristics of a lifestyle in a capitalist society. Faced with this unpromising reality, some people have sought answers in spirituality, through practices, behaviors and worldviews supported by values related to the environment. This perception, studied by the anthropological field of Spiritual Ecology, aims to understand how some people create symbolic systems of human-planet relations, unfolding in [...]
April 11, 2025
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Beyond politics and technology, there exists deeper narratives and cultural conditions that have brought our world out of balance. Drawing on insights from a summer school for sustainability in Gothenburg, this article argues that imagination plays a crucial part in reshaping our understanding of the climate crisis and navigating towards a more just and sustainable world. Presented in two principles: ‘The Work of Justice’ and ‘Recognizing a Web of Relations’, the article counters the current separation and economic value-based narrative and calls for finding ways to recognize the intrinsic value of both humans and nature in an interconnected web of [...]
April 11, 2025
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The article addresses how humanitarian crises—driven by conflict, climate change, and displacement—disrupt menstrual health, particularly in low-income, disaster-prone regions. Fieldwork conducted in Indonesia illustrates the challenges menstruating individuals face, including lack of access to clean water, proper sanitation, and quality menstrual products. Environmental and/or humanitarian crises exacerbate these issues, with extreme weather events destroying vital infrastructure and displacing communities in refugee camps. This instability often forces menstruators to manage their health in unsanitary, unsafe conditions, leading to both physical discomfort and mental stress. The article highlights the emotional and social exclusion menstruators experience due to stigma, particularly in conservative societies [...]
April 11, 2025
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Asked about what they value in life, (South)Africans often explain the concept of Ubuntu. With this they mean brother/sisterhood, sharing and compassion; being a person through other persons. They also said that this care extends to nature too. When asked the same question, the people in Bhutan emphasize Buddhist culture and finding inner peace and harmony. They have declared this as a national policy: Gross National Happiness (GNH). In this guardianship with nature also plays an important role. The (indigenous) people in Ecuador responded that for them the right way of living is living in harmony with nature; they call [...]
April 11, 2025
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In this paper, I would like to share the story of the development of seawall infrastructure in Wakatobi, Indonesia, a top tourism destination and national park. The story of the seawall caught my attention because when I first arrived in Wakatobi for research, I found that the seawall story was a hot topic of conversation among community members. This paper tells the story of how residents perceive the seawall and what kind of impact it has had. I found that the seawall was built to prevent the loss of sand due to abrasion. Still, it also provides a space for [...]
April 11, 2025
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In the face of challenges posed by climate change, sustainability promises to safeguard our collective future. But not all sustainability projects have a positive impact, and not everyone understands sustainability to mean the same thing. This is a story about Zenata, a much-celebrated Eco-City currently being built from scratch on a polluted stretch of coast in Morocco. Who benefits from such urban renewal projects and who gets left out? How sustainable is sustainability when it leads to displacement and reproduces inequalities? Answering these questions also points the way towards more inclusive methods for addressing the shared challenges posed by climate [...]
February 9, 2025
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Explore the fusion of corporate anthropology, the business world and sustainable transformation. We’ve created and economy and society based on negative reciprocity, a culture of extraction. That means our challenge is not about more technology or new business cases but much more about people. About our belief systems and shared values that shape our societies. I propose to understand the sustainability transition as place of liminality, of not knowing, confusion and a power struggle. Learn how anthropological methods are harnessed to embed sustainability, circularity and impact into corporate culture – how dialogue, storytelling, and peer influence shape organizational DNA for [...]
February 9, 2025
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In their exploration of wind energy in the Netherlands, Diny van Est, Anne Marieke Schwenke, and Noud Sleumer discuss the societal attitudes and challenges. Traditional windmills held local significance, unlike modern wind turbines which lack community ties. Resistance arises from concerns about visual pollution, lack of fairness, posing obstacles to wind projects. Sleumer’s installation aims to bridge the gap between tradition and modernity, aiming to reflect on our relation with renewable energy. Community energy cooperatives, like Rijnland Energy and Zuidenwind, involve residents in decision-making and profit-sharing, fostering community empowerment and strengthening the bond with wind infrastructure. The authors stress the [...]
February 9, 2025
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