Joya: arte + ecología / AiR (Joya: AiR) is a climate-positive arts-led field research centre, a residency for artists and writers and an advocacy association engaged with creative environmental projects. Projects contextualised to our location and to the ever increasing dry lands of our planet.

The Earth is one interconnected ecosystem referred to as the biosphere. This system encompasses all living organisms and their interaction with the environment. This system includes interactions between animals, plants and microorganisms and their physical surroundings, water, land and air. All these components are interconnected and influence each other. All these components make our planet a complex, beautiful and dynamic system.

However one organism, above all others ‘humankind’, exceeds its ability to live within the biosphere jeopardising the existence of the other component parts. Component parts that we depend upon for our own existence. Habitat destruction, climate change, overexploitation of resources, pollution, invasive species, disease and pathogens, loss of biodiversity, feedback loops, lack of conservation measures and human population pressure our leading the planet to ecosystem collapse and the sixth mass extinction. The global political will is too weak to counter this problem and lacks imagination. What efforts we make to protect the environment are only achieved by reducing it to a set of commodity values, an ecosystem service for humankind.

We believe that nature should have the same inherent legal status as individuals and entities. We believe that there is an urgent need for a legal framework for nature, to grant legal standing to ecosystems, allowing them to be represented in our legal system by its guardians and advocates. The significant benefits of such a legal structure would lead to the recognition of ecosystems having intrinsic value independent of their utility to humans. It would foster a respect for nature and its inherent worth. It would offer protection for the environment and prevent habitat destruction. Legally binding regulation would promote sustainable resource management stopping the depletion of natural resources beyond their capacity to regenerate. The reduction in greenhouse gasses would mitigate the impact of climate change. Ecosystems would be allowed to be resilient and able to maintain their functionality and services. A legal framework would encourage sustainable development balancing human and natural needs. It would serve as a catalyst for making the public conscious of the need for greater environmental awareness and responsibility. It would require constant enforcement but it would facilitate international cooperation bringing countries to work together.

Joya:AiR projects are contextualised to our location on the Mediterranean or Iberian steppe lands. It’s a unique biome characterised by hot dry summers and cold dry winters. Vegetation consists of grasses and herbaceous shrubs adapted to the arid climate and despite conditions the biome is diverse. Generations in this zone have abandoned the land and moved to the city in a phenomenon called ‘España Vacia’ (empty Spain). 85% of the Spanish population now live in urban areas. Human activity in the form of livestock grazing and traditional land use shaped the steppe lands but now modern agricultural intensifications have become threats to the natural system. Pig farms, deep wells for drip irrigation and cereal cultivation along with extensive grazing have led to habitat fragmentation and the loss of natural vegetation. This leads to particular conservation challenges. Some areas are protected not least the 22,000 hectare natural park which is the location of Joya: AiR. Understanding and conserving the Spanish Steppe biome is crucial as is promoting sustainable land management practices.

Here at Joya: AiR through collaborations with artists on projects generated, through transdiciplinary programmes with ecologists, environmental activists and educational programs we seek to redress this decline. Cultural practice at Joya: AiR is inseparable from cultural activities expressed through land and land use. Joya: AiR is in a continuous state of development evolving sustainable ways to convert dry land to sustainable and productive land via research, inquiry and development. As an organisation we have a number of initiatives that help us meet our climate goals and that make us climate positive. To undo the current situation and restore biodiversity back into our landscape requires imagination, resistance and change. Imagination, resistance and change begins with art so what better catalyst for change can their be other than an arts organisation devoted to this end in the heart of ‘España Vacia’.

Cultural and sustainable activities are needed in this landscape, activities that can foster the regeneration of rural life and biodiversity in the environment.

Joya: AiR is off-grid within a 22,000 hectare natural park. We generate all our own electricity with renewables notably a wind turbine and a photovoltaic array. Hot water comes from a solar array. Winter heating is via biomass, a bi-product of local almond and olive farming as well as ecological forestry.

Our water is harvested from the roof and from a well situated in a water catchment system. Grey and black water is separated and treated in a series of reed beds and given back as clean water to the water table.

We have a 20 hectare tree planting/re-wilding project running parallel with a food forest built on permaculture design principles. When established it will become a co-evolutive food source for both nature and resident artists. Each year we plant in the region of 300 native trees and shrubs creating shade, moisture and soil reparation, restoring micro-hydrological cycles improving groundwater interaction.

It is these implementations that make Joya: AiR climate positive.

Within the boundaries of the residency lies an ancient water catchment system known as a ‘cañada y boquera’. This is a novel landscape adaptation using technologies dating back to the time of the Moors. It is an interruption in the macro-hydrological cycle that holds rain in the uplands (cañada), accumulating it as ground water and depositing it at a water tank. From here it is distributed for agriculture in an elaborate system of water transference (boquera). This was a sustainable means to creating a water resource but it had fallen into disrepair as a consequence of land abandonment and increased aridity. It has been the long term project for Joya: AiR to restore this complex vernacular system. Its returns have resulted in many artists studying this system creatively. It has also been the ground zero for physical action in studying and restoring the system with several European universities. Most recently (February 2024) with University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins MA in Art and Science in a project called ‘Holding Rain in the Headwater’ supported by the LVMH Maison/0 Challenge Fund. More can be read here… https://www.simonbeckmann.com/deposition-restore-brief

The attributions of imagination, resistance and change are ones embodied within contemporary art practice and are a powerful means to understand hyper objects like climate change or ecosystem collapse. These embodied attributes within contemporary art practice reflect cultural values and societal attitudes and are insightful to the way different cultures respond to the challenges. It is imagination, innovation, and activism/advocacy that drives community engagement and communication across cultures. Many contemporary artists cross disciplinary approaches challenge conventional perspectives allowing for critical reflection. And ultimately it is the common language of all creatives, storytelling that resonates, narrative that communicates experience and carries an emotional impact. For these reasons Joya: AiR implements the following statutes…

Facilitate the advancement of contemporary art and artists by fostering production and collaboration, particularly those whose creations engage in a meaningful discourse on environmental issues and sustainability. Use contemporary art as a medium to elucidate abstract concepts such as climate change and environmental degradation.

Examine the specific challenges faced by rural Spain concerning land utilisation and emphasise the intrinsic value of semi-arid ecosystems. Advocate for sustainable adaptations in the use of land and water resources, reshaping the conventional notion of culture within the context of ongoing environmental transformations.

Set an exemplary standard for sustainability, aiming to cultivate awareness about the imperative to coexist harmoniously with nature. Generate and promote cultural activities within the Los Vélez Region of Almería while concurrently preserving and showcasing the rich history and culture of Almería.

Expand the reach of our initiatives to a global audience and extend collaborations beyond the realm of arts organisations, actively engaging with institutions and individuals from diverse disciplines. Champion artists with a focus on the environment and ecology, particularly spotlighting the work of young Andalusian, Spanish, European, and international talents.

Highlight the contributions of mid-career artists who have consistently demonstrated a professional commitment to ecological themes over the years, thereby promoting a diverse and enduring perspective within the field.

Through education and awareness, we aim to facilitate resident artists in the utilization of pre-industrial fabrication techniques, exemplified by our 'wild clay' project. This initiative involves instructing participants on identifying wild clay, processing it, and crafting three-dimensional items using an up-draft adobe wood-fired kiln.

We promote and facilitate chemical-free photography through our 'sustainable darkroom' and 'developers' garden.' The darkroom fosters non-toxic and sustainable photographic practices, while the 'developers' garden' features plants whose biological composition can be used to create photographic images.

Joya: arte + ecología is the embodiment of a truly contemporary arts organisation working independently to engage with contemporary thought in relation to climate change and sustainability via education, research and activism.

Simon Beckmann curator and co-founder of Joya: AiR