Towards cultural transformation : Culture as planetary well-being

This is a sel -a chi ed e sion o an o iginal a icle. This e sion may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ails. Au ho (s): Ti le: Yea : Ve sion: Copy igh : Righ s: Righ s u l: Please ci e he o iginal e sion: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Towa ds cul u al ans o ma ion : Cul u e as plane a y well-being © 2024 selec ion and edi o ial ma e , Me ja Elo, Jonne Hy önen, Sanna Ka kuleh o, Teea Ko e mäki, Janne S. Ko iaho, Mikael Puu inen, and Miikka Salo; indi idual chap e s, he con ibu o s Published e sion Kois inen, Aino-Kaisa; Ko ekallio, Kaisa; San aoja, Minna; Ka kuleh o, Sanna Kois inen, A.-K., Ko ekallio, K., San aoja, M., & Ka kuleh o, S. (2024). Towa ds cul u al ans o ma ion : Cul u e as plane a y well-being. In M. Elo, J. Hy önen, S. Ka kuleh o, T. Ko e mäki, J. S. Ko iaho, M. Puu inen, & M. Salo (Eds.), In e disciplina y Pe spec i es on Plane a y Well-Being (pp. 231-245). Rou ledge. h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9781003334002-23 2024 17 TOWARDS CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION Cul u e as plane a y well-being Aino-Kaisa Kois inen, Kaisa Ko ekallio, Minna San aoja and Sanna Ka kuleh o In oduc ion Cul u e is o en men ioned as he ou h pilla o sus ainabili y, alongside i s social, ecological, and economic dimensions. Whe eas “social”, “ecological”, and “economic” a e ela i ely clea ly dis inguished concep s and a ibu es o sus- ainabili y, “cul u al sus ainabili y”—le alone he o concep “cul u e”— emains ague (Soini and Bi keland, 2014; Saba ini, 2019). Cul u e is, indeed, an elusi e and mul idimensional concep ha can include e e y hing om Hollywood ilms o he i age si es and li es yles—no o men ion di isions in o “high” and “low” cul u e o mains eam and sub-cul u es. Cul u e can hus be de ined in mul iple ways. Acco ding o cul u al s udies schola Raymond Williams (1985, p. 64), he e a e h ee common de ini ions: (1) “[A] gene al p ocess o in ellec ual, spi i ual and aes he ic de elopmen ”; (2) “a pa icula way o li e, whe he o a people, a pe iod, a g oup, o humani y in gene al”; and (3) “ he wo ks and p ac ices o in ellec ual and especially a is ic ac i i y”. Williams’ hi d unde s anding o cul u e has become he mos common. This is a concep o cul u e as isual and ine a s, li e a u e, music, hea e, a chi ec- u e, ilms, games, conce s, and pe o mances—and ins i u ions such as lib a ies and museums ha os e hese p ac ices. Qui e o en cul u e is unde s ood mo e b oadly as ways o li e ha encompass in ellec ual/a is ic ac i i y as well as hab- i s, li es yles, adi ions, belie s, alues, and wo ld iews (see also Pi nes, 2009; Dessein e al., 2015, p. 21). Unde s ood b oadly, cul u e is pa o he li e o e e y human being—o e en, cul u e is human li e in all i s aspec s. Cul u al p ac ices, unde s ood as sha ed habi ual and cus oma y ways o li e, shape human li es, and cul u e as ways o li e is simul aneously shaped by he p ac ices and ac i i ies o indi iduals. DOI: 10.4324/9781003334002-23 232 Aino-Kaisa Kois inen e al. Building on and e hinking cul u e and cul u al sus ainabili y in he amewo k o plane a y well-being, his chap e ou lines how cul u e can be ega ded as plan- e a y well-being. In hei in luen ial epo ,Desseine al.(2015)de inecul u al sus ainabili yin e mso  h ee oles ha  e lec  hemul idimensionali yo cul- u easaconcep .The i s  ole,(1)cul u einsus ainablede elopmen ,de ines cul u e as some hing wi h in insic alue (i.e., aluable “as such”). This can e e o indi idual a wo ks, a chi ec u e, o he i age si es. When cul u e is seen as he ou hpilla insus ainabili ydiscou se,i isunde s oodinlinewi h his i s de ini- ion. The second ole, (2) cul u e o sus ainable de elopmen , ames cul u e as a media o o sus ainabili y, wi h he capaci y o ame, con ex ualize, and balance he equi emen s o social, ecological, and economic aspec s o sus ainabili y. This canencompass o example ilms,li e a ywo ks,and isuala  ha ca ymessages ele an o sus ainabili y. The hi d and mos comp ehensi e ole, (3) cul u e as sus ainable de elopmen , e e s o cul u e as a b oade shi owa ds mo e sus ain- able li es yles and wo ld iews. Cul u e in sus ainable de elopmen co esponds oughly o he na owe unde - s anding o cul u e as in ellec ual o a is ic ac i i ies, whe eas he second and hi d oles e e o he b oade unde s anding o cul u e as ways o li e. The di e en olesandde ini ionsa ein e linkedando e lapping,and he wo i s  oleso  cul u e—cul u e in and o sus ainabili y—a e a leas pa ly nes ed in cul u e as sus ainable de elopmen . Acco ding o Dessein e al. (ibid.), cul u e, in he b oad- es sense, o ms a ounda ion o sus ainable de elopmen and can e en be con- side ed he mos impo an dimension o sus ainabili y. Recognizing cul u e as an o e a ching conce n in sus ainabili y hinking, in all i s o ms, may allow cul u e and sus ainabili y o in e wine in ways ha can help dissol e he ensions be ween social, economic, and ecological sus ainabili y. In his chap e , we sugges ha in he cu en ecological and well-being c ises, cul u al ans o ma ion has o deno e a p ocess owa ds plane a y well-being, in which he well-being and needs o humans, o he species, and ecosys ems a e con- side ed bo h in insically impo an and in e linked. By cul u al ans o ma ion, we e e o a la ge-scale change in sha ed knowledges, li es yles, adi ions, belie s, mo als, laws, cus oms, alues, ins i u ions, and wo ld iews, and how hey a e p ac- ised in e e yday li e. La ge-scale cul u al ans o ma ion equi es simul aneous wo k and changes on di e en le els o socie y, om indi idual o ins i u ional and s uc u al. As cul u al p ac ices a e enewed in e e yday ac ions, hey a e open o change, and he changes may gi e ise o b oade cul u al ans o ma ions. Cul u al ans o ma ion—including changing unsus ainable p oduc ion and consump ion pa e ns—needs o be conside ed wi h espec o mul iple le els o socie y (e.g., Raa ikainen e al., 2021). In o he wo ds, cul u e as a whole—wha is conside ed meaning ul and how li e is o ganized based on ha —needs o ans- o m. To pu i simply, we sugges ha cul u al ans o ma ion is c i ical o achie - ing plane a y well-being, and he equi ed cul u al ans o ma ion can be called cul u e as plane a y well-being. We emphasize ha a na owe unde s anding o Towa ds cul u al ans o ma ion: Cul u e as plane a y well-being 233 cul u e as in ellec ual and a is ic ac i i y is ele an in his ans o ma ion. We ocusspeci icallyon hepo en ialo con empo a ya ine okingandde eloping plane a y hinkingandac ion.Thepo en ialo a sandli e a u e oin luenceo  ans o m people, o ei he good o bad, has been widely esea ched (e.g., Keen, 2007; Fialho, 2019; Lähdesmäki and Kois inen, 2021; Schneide -Maye son, 2021). Mo e b oadly, imagina ion—o symbolic meaning-making—has been conside ed one o he key d i e s o cul u al p ac ices, including social coope a ion, and hus he o ma ion o socie ies. By e oking imagined en i ies such as gods, na ion-s a es, and heo e ical concep s, human communi ies can explain and o ganize e en s and dynamics ha a e no eadily a ailable o hei senses (Th i , 2008, pp. 158–159). As an example o how a can con ibu e o cul u al ans o ma ion and p o- mo e cul u e as plane a y well-being, we examine he a exhibi ion Sia —Pigs (hence o h Pigs; 2021) by he in e na ionally enowned Finnish a is duo Gus a sson&Haapoja.1 The exhibi ion highligh ed he simul aneous socie al p es- ence and absence o pigs by explo ing he expe iences o a nonhuman animal commonly educed o a me e esou ce o human exploi a ion (see also Bolman, 2019). Fu he mo e, he exhibi ion discussed how pigs a e connec ed o class s ug- gles, indus ializa ion, global capi alism, en i onmen al c ises, and colonialism by emphasizing he poo wo king and li ing condi ions on pig a ms and in slaugh e - houses. The exhibi ion was conside ed con o e sial by some, as i was in e p e ed as c i icism owa ds he ea men o pigs in animal husband y. We a gue ha he exhibi ion engaged in cul u ally ans o ma i e imagina ion by unde lining he human and nonhumans’ ulne able, in e connec ed li es. By doing so in he con- ex o animal husband y, i also in i ed cul u al nego ia ion on wha o ms o wo k and li elihood a e iable in sus ainable socie ies. The empi ical case allows us o add ess cul u e as plane a y well-being on di e en scales, om he pe cep ions o an indi idual isi o o he b oade socie al con ex s o he a wo k. A and he sha ed ulne abili y o humans and nonhumans In Sep embe 2021, Pigs opened in he Kuns halle exhibi ion space in Seinäjoki, a own o app oxima ely 65,000 esiden s in a a ming egion, Wes e n Finland. The exhibi ion was held in h ee in e connec ed exhibi ion ooms. I included a sound ins alla ion Wai ing Room (2019), consis ing o a 16-channel eco ding o pigs’ oices ( eco ded he nigh be o e hey we e slaugh e ed), se up in a dim-li hall, and wo ideos. Un i led (Ali e) (2021) po ays he li e o a pig called Paa o, sa ed om slaugh e , and since li ing in an animal shel e . No Da a (2021) is a collage-like piece based on online da a conce ning he global pig indus y.2 The ideo b ings oge he he use o pigs and he condi ions o animal indus y wo k- e s h ough o en o e lapping black and whi e images (p ima ily as nega i es) o he pig indus y, such as slaugh e houses and hei su oundings, and agmen s o ex (in bo h English and Finnish). I includes a syn he ic soundscape wi h a da k unde one ha he isi o s could lis en o h ough headphones. 234 Aino-Kaisa Kois inen e al. The exhibi ion de eloped on he hemes exp essed in Gus a sson&Haapoja’s p e ious exhibi ions, such as The Museum o he His o y o Ca le (2014) o Museum o Nonhumani y (2016–), ha c i icized he ole o museums as ins i u ions and spaces o p ese ing only human his o y and cul u al he i age wi hou ecognizing he ole o nonhuman animals in his o y and cul u e. In Pigs, Gus a sson&Haapoja called a en ion o he well-being o bo h humans and nonhumans by p esen ing he isi o s wi h he expe iences o pigs and pig indus y wo ke s, bo h su e ing om poo li ing and wo king condi ions. Thus, he exhibi ion was hema ically in e wined wi h global con ex s and c i ical ques ions on ecological, economic, and social sus ainabili y and well-being on a plane a y scale. The sound ins alla ion Wai ing Room consis ed o speake s playing pigs’ oices and no hing else, bu i was amed by an exhibi ion ex in he oom leading o he sound ins alla ion, s a ing ha he pigs we e eco ded on hei las nigh be o e slaugh e . The minimalis se ing o he exhibi ion oom highligh ed he e ec o he oices: The e was no much else ha he isi o could ocus on (see Figu e 17.1). The isi o was hus o ced o encoun e he pigs in a manne o which mos ci y- dwelling museum-goe s a e no accus omed— ha is, by hei o e whelming audi- i e p esence. The lack o isual ep esen a ion o he pigs also emphasized he simul aneous absence and p esence o pigs in socie y ha he exhibi ion sough o add ess. Schola s such as Ca ol J. Adams (2010) and Timo hy Pachi a (2011, p. 3; see also C eed, 2017, p. 114) ha e no ed he cul u al in isibili y o animals ea ed o hei mea : The animals become p oduc s, mea , and he ac ual li ing and dying animals a e concealed om sigh . The pigs’ oices e en seeped h ough he headphones when iewing he ideos in he o he ooms, hus con ibu ing o he iewing expe ience. The ac ha he oices we e eco ded on hei las nigh be o e slaugh e highligh ed he pigs’ ulne abili y and dependency on humans and con on ed he isi o wi h ques ions such as he pigs’ possible awa eness o hei app oaching dea h. The isual absence o he pigs in Wai ing Room was in s a k con as o he ideo Un i led (Ali e) displayed in he p eceding oom—e en he i le o he ideo se es as a coun e poin o he soon- o-be-dead animals. The ideo was cap u ed by a aching a came a wi h a ha ness o he pig called Paa o, now li ing in an animal shel e . The came a was a ached o Paa o’s neck, so his ea s and snou we e is- ible om he back (see Figu e 17.2). In his sense, he ideo no only o e s a isual ep esen a ion o a pig ( ha was lacking in Wai ing Room) bu in i es he iewe s o see he wo ld h ough he eyes o one. Unlike he pigs in he sound ins alla ion, Paa ois oaming eelyon he a m,sni inganddigging heg ound,napping, and ecei ing human ca esses. Wa ching he ideo, i is easy o desc ibe Paa o as ahappyhogwhoge s oac acco ding ohisspecies-speci icbeha iou .The ideo po ays him as an indi idual, no as a esou ce o be consumed. In he exhibi ion ca alogue, Gus a sson&Haapoja desc ibe he ideo No Da a as “an a emp o examine wha kind o wo ld is c ea ed by animal husband y”.3 They alsono e hedi icul yina emp ing og asp hewholepic u eo pighusband y, Towa ds cul u al ans o ma ion: Cul u e as plane a y well-being 235 whe e he well-being o bo h humans and nonhumans is connec ed o bac e ia, eed p oduc ion, and indus ial in as uc u e. The name No Da a hus highligh s he eno mous scale and inaccessibili y o he animal indus y. The agmen ed poe ics o he ideo communica es his scale and inaccessibili y: The iewe s a e p esen ed wi h changing images and ex s ha do no p o ide enough da a o see he whole FIGURE 17.1 Wai ing Room. Copy igh : Jenni La a. Cou esy o Kuns halle Seinäjoki. FIGURE 17.2 Un i led (Ali e). Sc eensho . Cou esy o Kuns halle Seinäjoki. 236 Aino-Kaisa Kois inen e al. (see Figu e 17.3). The e ec is u he emphasized by he agmen ed na u e o he p esen ed ex s, as he ollowing exce p s illus a e: he bloodie inciden s eally bo he ed he , she said, such as when a new hi e caugh his an employee wo king on a sani a ion c ew pushed a bu on a e emo ing pa s om he uppe o a machine. he employee hen placed his oo in o a a wo ke was eaching o pick up a box o clea a jam when his jacke became caugh in a olle . As he ied o pull ou , his The agmen slea e hesen encesopen,allowing iewe s o illin hegaps.The p omiseo “bloodyinciden s”in he i s  agmen in i es iewe s oassume ha  he omi ed ex s would con ain some hing iolen o he wo ke s. I is no ewo hy ha No Da a also encompasses he expe iences o he pig a me s in he agmen : “Fa ms acing dis ess ha e elied on sho - e m loans”.4 The p eca ious condi ions o he pig indus y wo ke s discussed in he ideo hus ex end o he a me s. P eca - i y is commonly unde s ood as unce ain y o employmen and human li elihood wi hin he global capi alis economy (see, e.g., P eca ias a la de i a, 2009, pp. 100, 387). In he e a o ecosocial c ises, p eca i y has become an exis en ial ques ion abou he possibili y o u u e human and nonhuman li e on Ea h. In his p eca ious con- di ion, humans and pigs a e bo h culp i s o en i onmen al disas e s ia complex ecological and economic in e linkages, and simul aneously he ic ims o condi ions. The agmen ed ex s bo ow hei aes he ics om poe y. Discussing he pos- sibili y o w i ing he li e o ano he mea animal, he cow, Jessica Holmes (2021) connec s poe y o ac i ism in i s po en ial o lend oices o hose who a e silenced, “in pa due o i s capaci y o embody loss, agmen a ion, and absence”. Thus, “poems o e al e na i e me hods o seeing o bea ing wi ness o, emembe ing and assigning alue o indi idual subjec s” (ibid., p. 229). Wi hin he con ex o he Pigs exhibi ion, he poe ic language o No Da a in i ed he iewe s o bea wi ness o he ulne abili ies and in e connec ed li es o pigs and pig indus y wo ke s, habi ually ende ed in isible by he shee logis ics o echnological ci iliza ion. I is o en claimed ha he po en ial o a and li e a u e o ins iga e socie al changes lies in hei capaci y o allow people o g asp he expe iences, eelings, and emo ions o o he s, including nonhuman animals (Ri kin, 2010, p. 312; C eed, 2017, pp. 123–124; Weik on Mossne , 2017; Lähdesmäki and Kois inen, 2021). In Pigs, he isi o s we e in i ed o sha e some pa s o he expe iences o bo h pigs and pig indus y wo ke s. In No Da a, he a es and well-being o bo h humans and nonhumans a e deeply en angled, speaking o hei sha ed ulne abili y and p eca i y. The images and ex s depic condi ions ha a e haza dous and deadly o bo h—and e en o he b oade na u al en i onmen ha is a ec ed by pig indus- ial was e. Some o he agmen s also unde line he ole o immig an s as pig indus y wo ke s in poo condi ions, highligh ing how some humans a e in mo e p eca ious si ua ions han o he s (see Bu le , 2004). Towa ds cul u al ans o ma ion: Cul u e as plane a y well-being 237 In he case o he oice ins alla ion and he ex agmen s o No Da a, Pigs can also be in e p e ed as “gi ing oice” o cul u al “o he s”. The idea o speaking o o he s may be con es ed in he case o humans, since ins ead o “speaking o ” one migh ins ead need o lis en o o he s capable o speaking o hemsel es (e.g., ma ginalized, indigenous, o acialized people; see Mon e o-Siebu h, 2020). Howe e , as he ex s in No Da a ep esen he wo ds o ac ual wo ke s, he a - is s a e bo owing hei own wo ds o speak o hem, which eme ges as a o m o lis ening. When i comes o nonhumans, “speaking o ” becomes somewha p oblema ic, and he possibili y o human beings ep esen ing nonhumans ia lan- guage has been c i icized (Ka kuleh o e al., 2020; MacCo mack, 2020, p. 56, pp. 79–80). Tha said, in human legisla ion and cul u al p ac ices, nonhuman animals need humans o speak o hem, bu his “speaking o ” always equi es lis en- ing ononhumans i s .Thesoundins alla ionWai ing Room can be in e p e ed as in i ing he isi o s o lis en o he pigs as li ing, b ea hing, and some imes noisy animals. I is no always possible o conc e ely lis en o nonhumans, bu lis ening can be unde s ood as u ning human a en ion o nonhumans and hei expe iences. App oaching he expe iences o o he s h ough a s and li e a u e has been a gued o lead o empa hy owa ds o he people (e.g., Keen, 2007; Fialho, 2019) and pe haps e en o o he species (e.g., C eed, 2017, p. 19; Weik on Mossne , 2017, pp. 1–16)—e en hough i canno , o cou se, be a gued ha his is always he ou come o eading li e a u e o expe iencing a (Lähdesmäki and Kois inen, FIGURE 17.3 The agmen ed poe ics o No Da a. Copy igh Jenni La a. Cou esy o Kuns halle Seinäjoki. 238 Aino-Kaisa Kois inen e al. 2021). I can, howe e , be claimed ha he Pigs exhibi ion used he imagina i e po en ial o a o expose museum-goe s o he expe iences and li ing/wo king condi ions o bo h humans and animals in he pig indus y.5 Depending on he iewe , his may ha e been an a ec i e and emo ional expe ience ha in ol ed empa he ic eelings owa ds he pigs and mea indus y wo ke s and e eals he mo e- han-human ulne abili y, injus ices, and (poli ical) s uggle in he indus ial- ized, neolibe al, and pos colonial ma ke economy. A and he changing meanings o wo k The si e o he exhibi ion b ough ano he le el o he discussion on he animal indus y. Un il he 1980s, he building was used as a cowshed, wi h a slaugh e - house and a mea p ocessing plan in i s immedia e icini y. Kuns halle Seinä- joki’s exhibi ions add ess issues a ising om i s loca ion on he in e sec ion o u ban and u al con ex s. The animal indus y is s ill an impo an li elihood in he egion, and Gus a sson&Haapoja wan ed o b ing he exhibi ion o discuss he u u e o ood p oduc ion on-si e. The exhibi ion hi a p essu e poin a he in e sec ion o local li elihoods, animal e hics, and sus ainable ans o ma ion o ( ood) cul u e. In No embe 2021, Pigs a ac ed a lo o media a en ion. A e wo middle school classes om he nea by own o Ku ikka had isi ed he exhibi ion, he mayo o Ku ikka o bade u he elemen a y school classes om isi ing i . Pa en s, many o hem pig a me s hemsel es, had con ac ed he mayo . The ban was based on he claim ha he exhibi ion ga e oo one-sided an image o pig husband y. Acco ding o he head o he local educa ion and cul u e depa men , he decision aimed o p o ec child en om o ensi e con en (Koi- u an a and Ahola, 2021). The media deba e ha ollowed he ban on school isi s ques ioned whe he he mayo had he au ho i y o in e ene in he cu iculum. A e all, animal wel a e has been pa o he Finnish school cu iculum since 2016, al hough i a ies sig- ni ican lyhow hisisimplemen edinschools.Inanin e iew(Mäenpää,2021), he exhibi ion cu a o claimed ha people who had no e en seen he exhibi ion ga e oo scandalous an image o i . Acco ding o he cu a o , many o he people who had seen he exhibi ion said ha hey we e a he posi i ely disappoin ed han shocked, as e e y hing was p esen ed in a sensi i e manne . The local pig a me s, o hei pa , ook he exhibi ion as pa o a b oade a ack on hei li elihood, e en hough he exhibi ion did no di ec ly commen on local pig husband y. Wha was o go en in he media discussions a ound he exhibi ion was ha No Da a also highligh s he p eca ious si ua ion o pig indus y wo ke s, as discussed abo e. The a me s’ eac ion o he exhibi ion s esses he need o eimagining and ans o ming li elihoods and wo k o plane a y well-being in ways ha no one is le behind, e en when he ans o ma ion becomes a si e o hea ed cul u al nego- ia ion and poli ical s uggle. We sugges ha he imagina i e po en ial o a can be Towa ds cul u al ans o ma ion: Cul u e as plane a y well-being 245 Smi h, L. (2021) Emo ional He i age. Visi o Engagemen a Museums and He i age Si es. London and New Yo k: Rou ledge. Soini,K.andBi keland,I.(2014)‘Explo ing hescien i icdiscou seoncul u alsus ainabil- i y’, Geo o um, 51, pp. 213–223. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.geo o um.2013.12.001 Somme , L.K. and Klöckne , C.A. 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