Composting Politics

Composting Politics is a method for social change. Just as we compost food scraps, at Nieuwe Vide we compost ideologies and practices. We transform these practices through rotting, recycling, rethinking, and remaking, into something new. These processes can be realized with more or less of our attention: do you let the apple peels rot away? Or do you actively compost them and contribute to their change by turning the compost heap every day? Some processes take longer than others; what choices do we make in this process? When do we actively participate in the decomposition processes that allow us to grow, and what do we allow to decay, transform, and ultimately return on its own? The artistic practices that guide us in this process are Cyclic > Restorative > Speculative > Regenerative > Sustainable. These are interrelated concepts; choosing one practice doesn’t exclude the others. In fact, if we put them into practice effectively, one leads to the other. For this open call, we want to select artists who embody these practices, confident that through intensive collaboration, we will internalize these methods and become stronger together.

Cyclic practices emphasize the power of repetition. Sometimes these practices refer to natural life cycles, they take shape in repetitive patterns or processes, they strive to maintain balance in a system, minimize waste, and maximize resource utilization. The premise is that repetition increases insights, that with each new iteration, there’s a new opportunity to observe something different, which in turn adds value or strength to the cycle and strives to become a self-reinforcing and resilient system.

Restorative practices focus on repairing damage, resolving conflicts, and building positive relationships with individuals, communities, and organizations. Dialogue and active participation are essential components for promoting healing processes, avoiding blame and instead focusing on creating self-insights and taking responsibility.

With Speculative Practices, we circumvent the limitations of current reality and imagine alternatives grounded in social justice and intersectional politics. Consider forms of speculative fiction or philosophy, the application of alienation, and narrative strategies of world-building or other imaginative explorations.

Regenerative practices follow strategies of renewal and revitalization. True regeneration goes beyond maintaining something, it harbors hope and the aspiration to improve a particular system, making it healthier and more resilient. We are often familiar with this from ecological, agricultural, and economic domains, but we also view social systems through this lens. It involves more than excluding negative factors; it strives to create a situation from which new positive developments emerge.

We see this as constructive steps towards becoming sustainable practices, with lasting positive impacts for people, the environment, and the planet. We believe that something is only sustainable if it continues to contribute to the equal distribution of goods and rights. A crucial and often overlooked element for maintaining a sustainable trend is that the efforts also bring joy and pleasure. These are valuable insights we’ve learned from activism and intersectional-queer communities: satisfaction and internal joy are essential for keeping our focus on the horizon. Art, creativity, and self-expression are excellent vehicles for this.