"I think pushing things down inside of ourselves is the mucus of humanity. That is where things come together and get stuck, so that there is no longer any movement and circulation - we always need circulation and we are always looking for that movement to happen."
- Kennedy Yanko
Therme Art joined forces with the One Health Research Centre, Serpentine and IKEM to present the Wellbeing Culture Symposium on Hildegard von Bingen in Meisenheim, Germany. The symposium was co-curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Mikolaj Sekutowicz, and hosted by Christian Held, to encompass three days of engaging, multidisciplinary keynotes and roundtable discussions inspired by the legacy of the twelfth-century Benedictine Abbess, Hildegard von Bingen, whose approach to life is still considered remarkably integrative and progressive.
Marking the 10th anniversary of her canonization and nomination as ‘Doctor of the Church’, the symposium took place the backdrop of Meisenheim and Disibodenberg, the site of the ruins of the monastery where Hildegard spent most of her life. Thought leaders from diverse fields of expertise and regions of the world came together to discuss the role of culture as a force for positive change in light of the most urgent issues facing humanity and the natural world. Envisioned as an interdisciplinary and collaborative exchange, the symposium’s programme was positioned at the confluence of science, the arts and spirituality and gathered of experts from the arts and sciences, locally and internationally.
METAPHYSICS, THEOLOGY AND BIOLOGY
As the Hildegard von Bingen Wellbeing Culture Symposium’s opening keynote, Kennedy Yanko introduced participants to her intrinsic practice as an artist and sculptor.
By observing the life that her works carry as organisms of their own, she has come to view her practice through spiritual and Daoist principles that guide her on her unique journey as an artist and in her position as a creative healer. Creating a connection between Hildegard von Bingen’s theological and mysticism-driven discoveries, Kennedy Yanko observes the organic life that exists in her work, the processes, stresses, and permutations that accompany it, and how these shape her personal endeavours as they reverberate into the rest of the world.
Keynote: Kennedy Yanko
Moderators: Hans Ulrich Obrist and Mikolaj Sekutowicz
KINCENTRIC ECOLOGY
On the evening of Friday April 1, artist Tino Sehgal held a talk, after which he was joined by Kennedy Yanko, Es Devlin, Jeanne de Kroon and Sumayya Vally in a roundtable discussion.
Tino Sehgal explored the vertical model of transcendence of religious cultures and political systems of the past, in opposition to the horizontal transcendence that fashion, art and entertainment offer us today in our secular cultures, the subject of which inspired the roundtable discussion that followed. He illustrated the pathways to fulfilling this expanded and interdisciplinary perspective, creating a continuum of progression through history. The roundtable built upon these ideas, evaluating the boundaries of the Christian cosmology in the development of value systems.
Keynote: Tino Sehgal
Roundtable Discussion: Kennedy Yanko, Es Devlin, Jeanne de Kroon, Sumayya Vally
Moderators: Hans Ulrich Obrist and Mikolaj Sekutowicz
HILDEGARD HEALING
Saturday’s closing roundtable brought together artists and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa to explore the small and large-scale modes through which healing can take place.
The roundtable discussion saw participants present methods to redefine our relationship with our environments, beginning with introspection and self-healing practices and expanding outwards on a greater societal level, in the arts, through architecture and diplomacy.
MIKOLAJ SEKUTOWICZ
“Every true artist is not only an artist, but also a botanist, or a scientist, sociologist or psychologist. We are creating all these boxes. But actually the true value happens in between these boxes, and maybe without boxes at all. A true artist is somehow also a healer.”
KOO JEONG A
“From point A to B, B to C, C to D and turning back to A, the North and South energies are using different values of power, free-flowing energy and the opposite energy, for healing. The point of the city corresponds with the meridian points of the body. It was a great inspiration for healing myself in the last five years.”
KENNEDY YANKO
“I think pushing things down inside of ourselves is the mucus of humanity. That is where things come together and get stuck, so that there is no longer any movement and circulation— we always need circulation and we are always looking for that movement to happen.”
Roundtable Discussion: Koo Yeong A, Es Devlin, Patricia Espinosa, Kennedy Yanko, Sumayya Vally, Jakob Kudsk Steensen
Moderators: Hans Ulrich Obrist and Mikolaj Sekutowicz
