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An 17ú Comhdháil de chuid Chumann na Taighde Ealaíonta (SAR)

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Submission Number: 317
Submission ID: 382
Submission UUID: 34ead5d8-eb36-4881-bcff-ad4e27fc5442

Cruthaithe: Sun, 1 Mar 2026 - 15:04
Déanta: Sun, 1 Mar 2026 - 15:17
Changed: Wed, 13 May 2026 - 08:43

Remote IP address: 193.207.222.34
Submitted by: Anonymous
Teanga: English

Is draft: Níl
Current page: webform_confirmation

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Given name Leonardo
Surname Mezzalira
Email leonardomezzalira@yahoo.it
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Title Exploring ecological thought in composition: endangerment as a key point on the map
Format Project presentation
Main language English
Abstract There is no single definition of ecological thought. First emerged in the wake of evolutionary biology, it has since been shaped by multiple influences, among which the rise of systems theory and cybernetics in the mid-twentieth century. In the next decades it has taken on political and philosophical implications, shaping desires and utopias and merging with older and endangered traditions of thought. As it grew into a worldview characterized by layered meanings and a complex set of affective patterns, this form of thought has begun to increasingly inform artistic practices, which in turn have become an essential place to investigate what an ecological approach can be.

As a composer engaged with ecological thought, I constantly experience how this approach resists attempts to embrace it comprehensively. Every experiment generates new questions and insights, which in turn are reflected in the next compositional choices. In order to articulate the knowledge that emerges through this exploration, I started drawing a map in which sound excerpts, quotations, preparatory materials and insights coming from other fields are grouped around nodes of intensity, with a close intertwining between verbal and non-verbal elements—and between the cognitive and the affective.

After an overview of some of the many possible itineraries within this map, my presentation focuses on “endangerment” as one of the main cognitive-affective intensity nodes within ecological thought, and shows its connections and tensions with other nodes, among which “situatedness” and “organicity”. The constellation of practices and materials around these nodes can be intended as an ongoing assemblage capable of bringing out connections between different fields and of hinting at the existence of still unexplored areas. In this sense, the map is also a generative tool, because it allows to identify patterns and tensions in practice and theory and to find new gaps to address in future research.
Link to the Exposition https://www.researchcatalogue.net/shared/03fde61a16cfc7de3da5a471ec2d5286
Image immagine presentazione2.png
Short biographies of the presenter(s)
  • Leonardo Mezzalira studied Composition and Forest and Environmental Sciences in Padova (Italy) and is pursuing a PhD in Music Composition and Performance in a doctoral program coordinated by the Conservatory of Pescara (Italy). His works received several prizes and were performed at music festivals in Europe and in the USA, among which: EstOvest, Festival Luigi Nono, impuls festival, CAMPGround, IlSuono Contemporary Music Week, ISCM New Music Miami etc. In 2019 he founded Taverna Maderna, a contemporary music collective based in Padova, with which he is involved in collaborative projects.
Previous presentations or iterations of the research
Additional information
Spatial and technical requirements No special requirements, except a normal projection and audio system.
Potential risks or ethical concerns
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An 17ú Comhdháil de chuid Chumann na Taighde Ealaíonta (SAR)

Welcome to SAR 2026

Endangered Conceptual Worlds

The 2026 International Forum on Artistic Research takes place from 23 to 26 June 2026. Hosted by the University of Galway on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, the Forum addresses the challenges of Endangered Conceptual Worlds. As the 17th annual conference of the Society for Artistic Research it is the largest conference on practice-based research within and through the arts, bringing together more than 300 international participants: leading practitioners, scholars and policymakers from the entire range of arts-based disciplines.

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Slightly extended deadline for submissions

The 2026 Forum on Artistic Research website has been inaccessible for several hours on Friday night and Saturday morning. Unfortunately, an update to the web server was scheduled to take place, which automatically activated maintenance mode and prevented any work on the submissions during the night and the next morning. We have therefore decided to slightly extend the deadline for submissions to Monday 2 March 2026 at 23:59 GMT. Feel free to work on your proposals until then.