Art and science initiative
From September 2 to October 2, 2024 – London, The Italian Cultural Institute
After successful installments in Venice in 2023 and New York City in 2024, The Cooling Solution lands in London in September 2024 at the Italian Cultural Institute. A photographic and scientific project, resulting from a collaboration between CMCC and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, it showcases global resilience to climate challenges and how different communities adapt to high heat and humidity in countries most affected by climate change.
The Cooling Solution is a scientific project that uses photography to investigate how people of different socioeconomic backgrounds around the world adapt to high temperatures and humidity in the context of climate change. Beginning with the title, the term solution is meant to call into question this adaptation paradigm. The project examines the phenomenon of the rising AC demand in its various facets, addressing its numerous shortcomings and drawbacks, as well as the reasons for its use, which are often related to the necessity of protecting the most fragile members of society from health hazards. According to the report of the International Energy Agency, “The Future of Cooling”, published in 2018, 10 new AC units will be sold every second for the next 30 years, bringing the number of installed cooling units worldwide to 5.6 billion by 2050.
The project combines scientific research, photography and infographics to investigate people’s experiences as they deal with thermal discomfort in Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Italy. The goal is to use photography’s communicative power to make academic knowledge accessible to the wider public.
The Cooling Solution VERNISSAGE:
OPENING September 9, 2024 – 6.30PM
at The Italian Cultural Institute in London
LOCATIONS
The Cooling Solution has been hosted at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, May-July 2023, and in New York City at the Photoville Festival, 1-16 June 2024.
In the second half of 2024, The Cooling Solution will be hosted at The Italian Cultural Institute in London, from September 2 to October 2, 2024 (with a vernissage on September 9, 2024) and at the Radar Festival of Photography in Trani from October 4 to November 30, 2024.
The Cooling Solution features photography by Gaia Squarci, research by the ENERGYA team led by prof. Enrica De Cian at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Fondazione CMCC.
The exhibition is curated by Kublaiklan and coordinated by element6.eu.
WEBSITE AND CATALOG
The content of the project Cooling Solution is available in an extended version at thecoolingsolution.com, a custom website launched on May 19, 2023.
SPONSORS
The project has been supported by the European Research Council (ERC) and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, the Department of Economics at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Fondazione CMCC, and THE NEW INSTITUTE Centre for Environmental Humanities.
The London edition of The Cooling Solution is supported by the The Italian Cultural Institute of London, the Department of Economics at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Fondazione CMCC, and THE NEW INSTITUTE Centre for Environmental Humanities.