How does wisdom travel?
What is Cascade Network?
Cascade Network is researching and protoyping the creation of self-sovereign cultural and communication networks with communities in the Pacific. We are researching how traditional creative practices can work with new media technologies to create networks for community wisdom.
We have run explorative workshops with Mixed Reality, 360 video and binaural sound and network technologies. Artistic community workshops bring together experimental interactive solutions towards documenting stories, intangible culture and oral tradition in ways that centre embodied communication and the land.
Each network is designed and owned by the community itself, emphasises that sharing stories, cultural practices and dreams in community strengthens understanding, resilience, identity and grows wisdom to meet challenges.
Beginnings
The Cascade Network has origin in 2015 at ONCA Gallery’s Festival of Climate Ideas and the #ArtCop21 during the Climate Talks in Paris 2015. The creative protests during Cop21 brought together activists, artists, technologists and earth citizens to stand together for the planet and listen to the communities on the front lines of the Climate Crisis.
During the meeting in Paris, a relationship with the Leweton Community in Vanuatu, the NGO [Further Arts](http://www.furtherarts.org/) and Intercreate in Aotearoa NZ was initiated through artists Sandy Sur, Kate Genevieve, Toby Gifford and Tom Dick with the support of Sarah Doyle, Dr Leah Barclay and the Balance Unbalance Network.
Festival of Climate Ideas ONCA ︎︎
ArtCop21 ︎︎
Creative communities
The Cascade grew across the years through strong relationships between the Leweton Cultural Village and through residencies in Leweton, and workshops and meetings across diverse networks working across arts, media and indigenous rights, such as Balance Unbalance and Scanz Canberra.
During the evacuation of Ambae in 2017, the Ambae community asked Further Arts to support them in recording the stories of the island as community members relocate to nearby islands. This invitation galvanised the Cascade Network to explore mobilising the creative and radical potentials of emerging network technologies towards holding cultural knowledge in ways that supported the cultural sovereignty of Pacific communities.
In 2023, we are developing an artistic prototype - Aelans - the Bislama word for Islands. Aelans is an app to share recorded stories and culture, as well as recording dreams and climate diary, with powerful location features and star guides. The work holds an intention that - with trust, care and mutual respect - decentralised network technologies can explore a plurality of futures for technology and provide real support to ni-Vanuatu communities who want to communicate in ways that are grounded in living knowledge, values, and culture.
CASCADE.NETWORK // PROTOTYPE PAGE︎︎
