May 16–18, 2019

The first retreat in Hadres, Lower Austria, brought together a smaller project group for a concentrated discussion. Controversially discussed topics were the notion of the goddess as a research perspective and the characterizing approach already in the project title. Against the background of the Gaia debate, which has gained an argumentative profile through the French philosopher Bruno Latour in recent years, a pagan or theologically grasped goddess was the model for discussion. After all, the concept of the goddess found approval precisely because of the ambivalences it triggers. “Goddess” stands for a strong symbolic feminine, which should have an open hermeneutic function for the research in the project. Federica Matta presented her ideas for the “Little Goddess Books.” She will be responsible for the artistic execution of the books. In the end, Federica Matta will present the Pocket Theater “Théatre des Imaginaires,” in which the goddesses appear as drawn silhouettes. This animation of the goddesses as artistic interpretation and poetic expression was greeted with the team’s applause. Matta will also turn this theater into a film for the symposium in autumn 2019.