MECHANISMS OF PROTECTION II : On Rights of Nature with Marjetica Potrč and Sabina Rodrígues Van der Hammen

Following the theme of mechanisms of protection, the upcoming episode explores how we can safeguard nature’s inherent right to exist and flourish, focusing on the legal framework of the Rights of Nature and complementary approaches that shield ecosystems from exploitation. The conversation unfolds within a vibrant landscape of translocal action, from Ecuador’s constitutional recognition of Pachamama as a legal subject to Slovenian Waters Act referendum, raising the question of which concepts can mobilize imagination and take root in practice.

Our two extraordinary guests are Marjetica Potrč, an internationally acclaimed artist and architect who has collaborated closely with local and Indigenous communities worldwide, and Sabina Rodrigues van der Hammen, an environmental activist, lawyer, PhD researcher, and defender of the Thomas van der Hammen Reserve in Bogotá. Both are passionate advocates for land rights, uniting art, law, civil disobedience, community action, and creativity to shift mindsets and protect ecosystems alongside the communities that care for them. Drawing on Krater’s experience, the episode is grounded in Colombian legal innovations and situated practices, examining how legal declarations are intersecting with everyday civic action—and how such alliances may foster transformative eco-social change in the current political climate.

Marjetica Potrč is an artist and architect based in Ljubljana. Her practice, which ranges from visual essays and architectural case studies to on-site community-based projects, cuts across disciplines to merge art, architecture, ecology, and anthropology. Her work emphasizes collaborative processes that reflect the power of collective action and shared knowledge. From 2011 to 2018, she was a professor of social practice at the University of Fine Arts/HFBK in Hamburg, where she taught Design for the Living World, a class on participatory practices. In 2024, her research-based project Agreements with the Natural World and the Assembly of Living Beings on care and defence of fragile urban nature by local communities in Bogota was exhibited at Fragmentos, Espacio de Arte y Memoria.

Sabina Rodrigues van der Hammen is an environmental activist and lawyer with a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Los Andes. Currently a doctoral student in Law and a professor at the Environmental and Public Health Legal Clinic at the same university. She is a member of various citizen groups defending the environment and the right to the city in Bogotá, Colombia.

Hosted and curated by Gaja Mežnarić Osole.

Produced by Evano. 

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Tracklist. 25 min: Music by Bionic and The Wires – Moss Playing Keyboard. https://bionicandthewires.com. Video Link: https://youtu.be/zZeNkB54bds; 60 min: Jan Eerala - The Final Cut - 15/10/2020 - Makholma Forest. https://www.eerala.com. Sound Description: https://www.rupuranta.net/weblog/filet/201015/; 95 min: Excerpt from AMOLAB MIX by 198319831983. https://soundcloud.com/198319831983; 112 min. Ariel Kalma - Orguitar Soir. ariel-kalma.com

You can find related references in this document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/159K9FT9XAooToQoHQPgL0yNT-l57or06jCeNJUCPkh4/edit?usp=sharing