Remediation is often understood as the action of remedying something, in particular of reversing or stopping environmental damage.

A counterpoint to the Energy War Room, Remediation Room supports the research and work of artists investigating concepts of remediation in nuanced, thoughtful, and critical ways. Remediation Room aims to foster strategies for collective community building, knowledge sharing, and connections between artists and the public.

The Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), aka “Energy War Room”, is a $30 million 2019 initiative of the Alberta United Conservative government located in Mohkinstsis/Otôskwanihk (Calgary) to combat “lies and myths told about Alberta’s energy industry” (United Conservative Party 19). While COVID-19 has impacted funding, the work of the CEC continues. The CEC is part of a Government of Alberta multi-prong strategy that includes a public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns.

What does remediation look like in the face of mounting liabilities from fossil fuel industries or when sites of extraction have been “remediated” but continue to pollute, contaminate and destroy? How can perspectives shift around remediation from something that occurs after the damage is done to one that prevents harm in the first place? In the work of remediation, how is the labour of maintenance, care, and repair valued and enacted?

Remediation Room sees artists' work as essential to exploring these questions. We are interested in shifting perspectives of remediation towards restoring relationships and our ability to co-flourish with nature and each other. Curated by Alana Bartol, Remediation Room worked with Christina Battle, Tamara Lee-Anne Cardinal, Rita McKeough, Nurgül Rodriguez, and Mia Rushton + Eric Moschopedis.

 United Conservative Party. “United Conservatives Alberta Strong and Free Platform”, UCP Platform: Getting Alberta Back to Work, United Conservative Association, 2019.