MITR (Made in the river) collective is an interdisciplinary project rooted in art/science research around the ecosystem of the Aygalades river in Quartiers Nord of Marseille. The project explores the possibilities of artistic exploration and co-creation with its polluted waters, through œuvres plastiques, performance and audiovisual art.
In 2023-24 MITR co-created with the river a number of hybrid creations, notably the rivermade creatures. These creature skins slowly evolved from out of river found waste, all the altered contaminated materials, to form a new Aygalades cosmology. During 2024 these creatures continue to materialse, as apparitions in a number of intergated performances, in masquerade, as principles in film, as actors in local events or actions.
MITR is led by three artists working in collaboration with the river and with the local community collective, les Gammares. For ten years les Gammares have been working on revitalizing the river’s ecosystem. But today’s postnatural environment heavily altered by human intervention needs new ways of seeing, listening, thinking and acting. Through interdisciplinary artistic research, MITR explores the vital interplay between nature and people – possible ways of collaborative co-creation with the river and its communities – to raise awareness of the river’s future.
The MITR project began in Autumn 2022 with close observation of materials sourced from the urban waterways, including plastics, metals and fabric. Through the transformative influence of water over time, these materials have evolved into entirely new, unmapped fibres; inspiring several research/work directions, which we develop in 2024-25: for now see here for more images and details
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