TOTEM LATAMAT and COP26 - the journey

Join us to reflect on TOTEM LATAMAT’S journey to COP26 at a unique event hosted by Border Crossings at The Crichton in Dumfries, also available online via live-stream. 

TOTEM LATAMAT by Totonac artist Jun Tibercio has travelled over 9000km from Mexico to the UK, to reach the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.

Following the conference, the 4.5m Indigenous artwork will be brought to The Crichton where it will be ceremonially returned to the Earth, emphasising the cyclical and transient nature of life and art. The Crichton is an institutional campus with The Open University as one of its university partners. 

A panel from Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds, who have different but complementary perspectives on Climate Change, will explore the meaning of the totem’s journey to COP26, and its presence there at the Indigenous hub in The Hidden Gardens in Glasgow. Whether the climate summit has been “successful” or not, the discussion will take the story forward, and look at what needs to happen both in terms of science and culture in the aftermath of 2021.

The panel will include:

• Michael Walling, Artistic Director, Border Crossings (Chairing the event) 
• Graham Harvey, Professor of Religious Studies, The Open University
• Stephen Peake, Professor of Climate Change and Energy, The Open University
• Alexandra P. Alberda, Curator of Indigenous Perspectives, Manchester Museum
• Anna Perdibon, Independent researcher
• Freida J. Jacques, Onondaga clan mother

To attend this free event, register on the Eventbrite page for Totem Latamat and COP 26 - a reflection on the journey. Or you can watch it live online via the ORIGINS Festival Facebook page. 

The totem will be on the Crichton Estate from the 15 November. A short ceremony to commit the totem to the grounds of the Crichton will take place on Saturday 20 November from 11:00-12:00.

TOTEM LATAMAT is commissioned by Border Crossings’ ORIGINS Festival, co-presented by Centro de las Artes Indígenas with the support of The Open University and the Embassy of Mexico.

There is a wide range of free online resources exploring climate change and the importance of COP26, on the OU’s free learning site OpenLearn.