Extinction Marathon: Visions of the Future

« As artists we need to take a stand against the ongoing erasure of species, even where there is little chance of ultimate success. It is our privilege and our duty to be at the forefront of the struggle. While humanity has moved through extreme crises in the past, time and speed is of the essence. »

–Gustav Metzger

Serpentine Galleries presents the Extinction Marathon, the ninth in the Galleries’ yearly Marathon series. Artists, writers, scientists, filmmakers, choreographers, theorists and musicians explore the complex and timely topic of extinction through talks, conversations, performances and screenings. Both a reflexive overview and a call to action, the two-day event invites us to respond to a changing world, addressing visions of the future in all their scientific, artistic and literary ramifications. The Extinction Marathon is programmed in collaboration with artist Gustav Metzger.

Participants include artist and poet Etel Adnan; artist Maria Thereza Alves; artist Korakrit Arunanondchai; artist Ed Atkins; conservationist Jonathan Baillie; architect Alessandro Bava; writer and media activistFranco ‘Bifo’ Berardi; designer Irma Boom; Founder of The Whole Earth Catalogue and Co-Founder of The Long Now Foundation, Stewart Brand; artist James Bridle; EDGE Foundation founder John Brockman; philosopher Federico Campagna; artist Heman Chong; artist Yve Laris Cohen; model and actress Lily Cole; philosopher Helena Cronin; artist Jesse Darling; artist Benedict Drew; artist and poet Jimmie Durham; mathematician Marcus du Sautoy; palaeontologist Richard Fortey; agriculturalist and biodiversity archivist Cary Fowler; artists Gilbert & George; cultural critic and queer theorist Jack Halberstam; artist and designer Marguerite Humeau; choreographer Mette Ingvartsen; environmental social scientist Jennifer Jacquet; biologist and author Steve Jones; Royal Navy Rear Admiral Nick Lambert; speculative designerLisa Ma; biologist Georgina Mace; physicist Chiara Marletto; filmmaker  Sandy McLeod; artist and activist Gustav Metzger; artist Katja Novitskova; artist Trevor Paglen; artist Cornelia Parker; artist Hetain Patel; anthropologist Elizabeth Povinelli; evolutionary ornithologist Richard Prum; design writer Alice Rawsthorn; astrophysicist Martin Rees; Professor of Operational Research Jonathan Rosenhead; artistJeremy Shaw; artist Shimabuku; filmmaker Eyal Sivan; writer Adam Thirlwell; environmental lawyer James Thornton; musician and sound recordist Chris Watson, artist Cerith Wyn Evans and artist Anna Zett, as well as contributions by artist and writer Sophia Al-Maria; sociologist Zygmunt Bauman; artist Paul Chan; filmmaker Adam Curtis; artist Tacita Dean; artist Olafur Eliasson; artist Anna Galkina; writer William Gibson; author Daniel Kehlmann; poet Joanne Kyger; concrete poet Franz Mon; artist Yoko Ono; artist and poet Heather Phillipson; filmmaker Laura Poitras and designer David Rudnick.

The event is live-streamed by thespace.org, which partners with Serpentine for the Extinction Marathon in 2014. The Space hosts two new digital commissions by Gustav Metzger and Ed Atkins in addition to the online platform EXTINCT.LY, which gathers data about global resource depletion, conflict zones and climate change scenarios as well as artists’ projects and activists’ calls to action, including works by Kari Altmann;Kevin Bewersdorf; David Blandy; Benjamin Bratton; Femke Herregraven; Italian Limes; Emily Jones;Maurizio Lazzarato; Lisa Ma; Alex Mackin Dolan; Timothy Morton; Julian Oliver; Tobias Revell;UBERMORGEN; Michael Wang; Liam Young and Anna Zett.

The Serpentine Marathon series was conceived by Co-Director Hans Ulrich Obrist in 2006 and is deeply intertwined with the annual Serpentine Galleries Pavilion commission, launched by Director Julia Peyton-Jones in 2000.

Extinction Marathon: Visions of the Future is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects; artist Gustav Metzger; Jochen Volz, Head of Programmes; Lucia Pietroiusti, Curator, Public Programmes; Ben Vickers, Curator of Digital and Claude Adjil, Assistant Curator.

Curatorial Assistants: Sarah Shattock, Joseph Constable, Bridie Hindle, Lizzie Homersham and Owen Lacey.