Emerging through Fermentation

Abstract

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Leonardo’s three decades-long partnership with MIT Press. As a tribute, amidst kickoff celebrations, this special, bilingual issue of Leonardo champions the power and promise of the creative spirit to counter the trauma and devastation of a tumultuous time.Created in collaboration with CYLAND Media Arts Lab, the efforts to bring Volume 55, Issue 6 to light required overcoming pressures of dislocation, discrimination, disaster, and war with all the associated anguish, fears, and insecurities. We deeply admire the courage, fortitude, and patient dedication of all those whose contributions made this special issue so special. We are especially grateful to our exceptional editorial colleagues, staff, and partners.Nonetheless, as the events of 2022 unfolded, questions arose regarding Leonardo’s decision to go ahead with this issue and publish work in English and Russian. The following statement reflects our response and our enduring commitment to creative collaboration: We stand for the free and open exchange of culture, ideas, and arts. Our deep partnership with the international arts organization CYLAND Media Arts Lab is an important collaboration that has expanded our international reach and understanding promoting international tolerance and cooperation. In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, our colleagues at CYLAND needed to evacuate their offices and homes in St. Petersburg and relocate to safe spaces in Armenia, the US, and Western Europe. As CYLAND no longer had safe access to their festival venue in St. Petersburg, we are privileged to stand by our colleagues and create open space for the exchange of ideas around arts, science, and technology as a statement against censorship and for freedom of expression.In addition to this publication, we have facilitated a satellite of CYLAND’s CYFEST on the theme of Fermentation, taking place at Arizona State University as a companion to the Emerge Festival (November 2022, postponed from March 2020), which Leonardo proudly co-sponsors. Like CYFEST, the Emerge Festival explores the future in evocative ways. This year’s Emerge Festival theme, Eating at the Edges, asks what it means to eat in an increasingly hostile and fragile world of environmental extremes, setting a compelling context for CYFEST’s Fermentation.Both themes resonate with Leonardo as we explore the alchemy of transformation, transmutation, and metamorphosis. Depending on its phase, fermentation can be invisible or unspeakably picturesque, grotesque, putrid, or intoxicating. What might we learn from the process of fermentation and what might emerge from it? Perhaps this is the quest for Leonardo to consider, not only in this special issue, but in the years to come as we find ourselves on the cusp of the next 30 years of provocative inquiry and adventurous publications. Thank you for joining us on this journey.