Future Talk
The Polar Silk Road

FUTURE TALK: CLIMATE X CHANGE
The Polar Silk Road

What was unthinkable for a long time is expected to happen as early as 2040, according to estimates: As a result of climate change, the Arctic Ocean around the Arctic will be virtually ice-free and therefore navigable for ships all year round. This will create a new sea route that is of economic, military and political interest to the neighbouring countries as well as the superpowers USA, Russia and China: the so-called "Polar Silk Road". This is not only of great importance as a sea and trade route, but also provides access to increasingly scarce raw materials such as oil and natural gas. The geopolitical consequences of this development are already being felt in the Arctic regions: states inside and outside the Arctic are asserting claims, and the relationship between the restricted military areas in Arctic territory is sometimes tense.

As part of the exhibition UNSEEN PLACES, the artist Gregor Sailer and the scientist Peter Schweitzer talk about the geopolitical relevance of the polar Silk Road: What are the global consequences of the arms race for the Arctic? What consequences do these developments have for the indigenous population?

Panellists:

Gregor Sailer is an Austrian photo artist. For his most recent project "The Polar Silk Road" (2017-2022), the photographer undertook extensive expeditions to the human outposts of the North. At temperatures as low as -55 degrees Celsius, Sailer documented geothermal power plants and production facilities, transmission facilities and drilling platforms as well as research facilities and military listening stations with his analogue view camera.

Professor Dr Peter Schweitzer is Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna. He also heads the "Schweitzer Research Group" at the Austrian Institute of Polar Research. There he deals with questions of mobility, climate change and identity in the circumpolar North and investigates the extent to which geopolitics and the global resource economy determine the social and cultural future of the Arctic and sub-Arctic.

Moderation: Bernhard Gaul, Kurier
In cooperation with Kurier.

Recorded on: MI 25.01.2023, 18:00