The Witness Openlab: Worlding Through Socially Engaged Art Practice

Iulia-Andreea Smeu

About this exposition

This paper examines The Witness Openlab, a transdisciplinary artistic research project conducted in fall 2023 as part of the pilot phase for a new Master of Arts program at Basel Academy of Music/FHNW. Inspired by Pauline Oliveros' score The Witness, twelve emerging artists and students explored deep listening practices, embodiment, and community-building through two key projects: Urban Witnesses, investigating trans-border communities around Basel, and Soil Witnesses, exploring human-more-than-human relationships in urban gardens. Drawing on concepts of "worlding" from Martin Heidegger and Donna Haraway, the project positioned the body as an active medium for understanding ecological and social interconnectedness. The methodology integrated ecosomatic practices, and community engagement, culminating in a public presentation at Tinguely Museum Basel that translated collaborative processes into immersive experiences. While highlighting the transformative potential of embodied practices in fostering ecological consciousness, the paper critically examines the limitations of privileging somatic approaches, arguing for their integration with theoretical frameworks and systemic analysis to avoid aestheticizing ecological connection.

type	research exposition
keywords	embodiment, deep listening, ecology, worlding, transnationalism, Social Studies, transdisciplinary
date	12/09/2025
published	17/11/2025
last modified	17/11/2025
status	published
affiliation	Independent researcher
copyright	Sole Author
license	CC BY-NC-ND
language	English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/3863537/3863538
doi	https://doi.org/10.22501/rc.3863537
published in	Research Catalogue
external link	https://www.thewitness.earth/projects/northern-switzerland

name	Figure-1
copyright	Iulia-Andreea Smeu, The Witness Openlab
license	All rights reserved
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name	Figure-2
copyright	Ed Williams / The Witness Openlab
license	All rights reserved
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name	Figure-3
copyright	Nina Maghsoodloo / The Witness Openlab
license	All rights reserved
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name	Figure-4 (1)
copyright	Simon Schwab
license	All rights reserved
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name	Figure-6 (1)
copyright	Simon Schwab
license	All rights reserved
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name	Figure-6 (1)
copyright	Simon Schwab
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Figure-5 (1)
copyright	Simon Schwab
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

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The Witness Openlab: Worlding Through Socially Engaged Art Practice (2025)

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