Fertile Ground

05/01/2026

Delighted to announce 'Sensing energy transition' an exhibition that explores how people experience the sounds, textures, and atmospheres of energy transition.

Dates: Monday 19 January - Friday 20 February 2026
Opening hours: 10-8pm daily.
Location: LSE Arts Atrium Gallery, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE
Entry is free

'Sensing energy transition' showcases work from 'Living with Energy Transition', a collaborative project that centred a series of public soundwalks by artist Maja Zećo. The soundwalks focused on St. Fittick’s Park in Torry, Aberdeen – a site partially earmarked for development as an energy transition zone. The exhibition comprises a new body of artistic work informed by the soundwalks, alongside ephemera and photographic documentation by Phoebe McBride.

The exhibition has been realised, over the past two years, through a dialogue between anthropology and the arts. Through practice-based research, the team have developed ways of thinking, making, and creating knowledge that contribute to their respective fields as well as engage with sound beyond established disciplinary frames. Sensing Energy Transition is organised by LSE Anthropology in association with LSE Arts and funding from the LSE Engagement and Partnerships Fund. For more information on the exhibition and project team visit the link.

Image credit: Phoebe McBride

https://www.lse.ac.uk/events/arts-and-music/exhibitions/exhibitions/sensing-energy-transition

01/07/2025

🌿Delighted to be part of ‘Connected at the root’ a green tease event organised by Culture for Climate Scotland. The event will take place Tuesday 8 July 6-8.30pm at the Anatomy rooms, Aberdeen. The event is free to attend, booking suggested.

Connected at the root includes a screening and conversation to explore climate justice and international solidarity, and to reflect on entanglements between people and land. The event will be an informal space with food and time to make connections.

Speakers include: Michele Marshall, North East Community Engagement Officer for Friends of the Earth Scotland. Screening includes two short films ‘Seaweed (2022) by Julia Parks and The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing (2024) by Theo Panagopoulos. This will be followed by a short creative workshop led by Take One Action.

I’ll be speaking to the collaborative project ‘Living with Energy Transition’ a collaborative project with artist Maja Zećo, anthropologist Dr Gisa Weszkalnys, urban planner Dr William Otchere-Darko and community partner Friends of St Fittick’s Park.

Maja Zeco Friends of St Fittick's Park Friends of the Earth Scotland CCScotland

Details on access and booking at the link

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We encourage and equip individuals, organisations and strategic bodies to harness the role of culture in achieving the transformational change to an environmentally sustainable Scotland

17/09/2024

🌟Delighted to share ‘Living with Energy Transition - Soundwalks in Words’ a publication produced as part of the project ‘Living with Energy Transition’. The project explores what it means to live with energy transition through a series of Soundwalks led by artist Maja Zećo, at St Fittick’s park in Aberdeen. Co-organised by an interdisciplinary team including Gisa Weszkalnys, William Otchere-Darko, Rachel Grant (Fertile ground) and Maja Zeco, and Friends of St Fittick’s park as community partner.

The publication shares reflections from the project organisers on the Soundwalk series, including participant reflections, the methodology of soundwalking and its collaborative and interdisciplinary nature. While reading the text, you can listen to some field recordings of St Fittick's!

Designed by Maja Zećo. Publication photos by Phoebe McBride.

Online version available at the link
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https://www.lse.ac.uk/anthropology/assets/documents/research/Soundwalks-in-words-2024.pdf

‘Living with Energy Transition’ was co-organised by anthropologist Gisa Weszkalnys, urbanist William Otchere-Darko, curator Rachel Grant, artist-researcher Maja Zećo and community partner, Friends of St Fittick’s Park. Friends of St Fittick’s Park are a group that aim to protect St Fittick’s Park and the adjacent green areas from the development of an Energy Transition Zone (ETZ), celebrate the park as a place to be used and enjoyed by people living in Torry and Aberdeen and collaborate with other action groups in the city region to maintain and improve the park and its biodiversity.

The project received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Community partner Friends of St Fittick’s Park was remunerated via funds provided by the transdisciplinary working group ‘Intersecting Energy Cultures’ (Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, Penn Global, Edinburgh Futures Institute).

29/07/2024

Excited to contribute to ‘Confronting Climate Change with Creativity and Collaboration’ as part of this year’s WayWORD Festival. Alongside University of Aberdeen Interdisciplinary Fellow Dr Rebecca Macklin, sound artist Maja Zećo and poet Genevieve Carver.

The panel discussion brings together Aberdeen-based artists and writers who are responding to climate change and its impacts on our environment through creative approaches.

📌Wednesday 24 September 5pm. Tickets are free!

Photo credit: Phoebe McBride

Tickets are now available for Confronting Climate Change with Creativity and Collaboration at Main Hall, King's Pavilion, King's Pavilion on Wed 25 Sep 2024 at 5:00PM. Click the link for further information and to secure your tickets now!

29/07/2024

🌟Delighted to share this joint interview with Maja Zećo and Gisa Weszkalnys ‘Soundwalking the energy transition: will Aberdeen's clean energy ambitions damage its local community?’ available on ‘Research for the World’ London School of Economics (LSE).

We reflect on ‘Living with energy transition’ a project exploring overlapping energy regimes in Aberdeen. The project's focus has been to ask what it means to live with energy transition, in collaboration with artist-researcher Dr. Maja Zećo, and Social Scientists Dr. Gisa Weszkalnys (LSE) and Dr. Willam Otchere-Darko (Newcastle University).

👇🍃Listen to the sounds of St Fittick’s Park as you read! 👇🍃

Maja Zeco

Photo credits: Phoebe McBride

Aberdeen’s plans to move away from oil and gas towards clean energy have highlighted the difficulties in ensuring such transitions are equitable. Through a series of soundwalks, Gisa Weszkalnys, Rachel Grant and Maja Zećo explore how the city’s overlapping energy regimes are already impacting i...

29/04/2024

🌟Thanks to everyone who participated in our Soundwalk and discussion event this weekend! 🌟

As the last in the series, we wanted to offer space to deepen discussion and share experience. We are incredibly grateful for the time, generosity and reflections of those that participated.

After a morning Soundwalk, led by Maja Zećo at St Fittick's park, the project team offered short presentations to frame the broader context of the work, we then engaged in mapping exercises and group discussion guided by questions.

We were delighted to work with Kirsty and Mathilde who provided a delicious vegetarian lunch and Old Torry Community Centre where the workshop took place.

The Soundwalk series was part of a broader project ‘Living with Energy Transition’ working with community partner Friends of St Fittick’s park, organised by interdisciplinary; researchers Gisa Weszkalnys, William Otchere-Darko and curator Rachel Grant. The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (EsRC) and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

📌Stay tuned for the forthcoming publication!

Image 3 courtesy: Gisa Weszkalnys

Zeco

12/03/2024

'Violence and Propaganda - Energy Transition Zone' in St Fittick's park'

Fantastic writing from Scott Herrett reflecting on the Energy Transition Zone [ETZ] proposal:

📌ETZ as another iteration of decades worth of 'structural violence' in Torry.
📌A land grab of public land for private profit.
📌"The park is a green jewel in an area classed in the top 10% of the Scottish index of multiple social deprivation."
📌'Their [ETZ's] real motivations can be found in the Port of Aberdeen’s 30-year masterplan.... the Port of Aberdeen, a private company and key partner seek to move most of the traffic and quayside businesses from the north harbour, to the recently constructed south harbour.'

Scott Herrett lives in Torry, Aberdeen and is an active member of the Friends of St Fittick’s Park. He also works for Friends of the Earth Scotland as a Just Transition organiser. He is part of Grassroots2Global and previously worked in social environmental research as well as the construction industry.

Friends of St Fittick's Park Friends of the Earth Scotland

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This article is about exposing the violence and flaws at the root of plans to destroy St Fittick’s Park in Torry, Aberdeen for a so called ‘Energy Transition Zone’ (ETZ). The ETZ proposals first …

05/03/2024

After a short winter sleep, our Soundwalk Series led by artist Maja Zećo return for March and April at St Fittick's Park, Torry. The next session will take place Saturday 23 March 11-1pm.

👂Soundwalks are walks with a focus on listening to the environment designed to immerse walkers in the sounds of a place and guided by prompts. We move at a gentle pace and each session takes a different journey around the park. There is time for informal sharing though group discussion over tea and coffee.

📍Free and open to all ages, booking via the link.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/813725223047?aff=oddtdtcreator

Maja Zećo [maya zecho], originally from Sarajevo and now based in Aberdeen, is an interdisciplinary artist-researcher whose practice spans performance art, sound, and moving image. While many of her works are performances and art installations, exhibited across the UK and internationally, soundwalking (walking with a focus on listening) has a special place in her practice. She recorded sounds recently on trains across the UK supported by LNER. Since the conclusion of her PhD she developed soundwalks in Corby, Aberdeen, Banchory, and Huntly. Her research on the socio-polities of listening through soundwalking and sound field recording was published in Organised Sound (Cambridge University Press) and Journal of Sonic Studies (Leiden University Press).

The Soundwalks are part of an ongoing research project “Living with the Energy Transition”, co-organised by interdisciplinary practitioners: Gisa Weszkalnys, William Otchere-Darko and Rachel Grant (Fertile Ground) and community partner Friends of St Fittick's. They are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Image courtesy: Phoebe McBride

Maja Zeco Friends of St Fittick's Park

Join artist Maja Zećo on a series of Soundwalks at Fittick’s park, Torry Aberdeen. The events are free and open to all ages.

24/10/2023

Looking forward to the next in a series of Soundwalks this Saturday 28 October 11-1pm at St Fittick's park, Torry with artist Maja Zećo

👂Soundwalks are walks with a focus on listening to the environment designed to immerse walkers in the sounds of a place and guided by prompts. We move at a gentle pace and each session takes a different journey around the park. There is time for informal sharing though group discussion over tea and coffee.

📍Free and open to all ages, booking via the link.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/soundwalk-series-with-maja-zeco-tickets-713511621467?aff=oddtdtcreator

Maja Zećo [maya zecho], originally from Sarajevo and now based in Aberdeen, is an interdisciplinary artist-researcher whose practice spans performance art, sound, and moving image. While many of her works are performances and art installations, exhibited across the UK and internationally, soundwalking (walking with a focus on listening) has a special place in her practice. She recorded sounds recently on trains across the UK supported by LNER. Since the conclusion of her PhD she developed soundwalks in Corby, Aberdeen, Banchory, and Huntly. Her research on the socio-polities of listening through soundwalking and sound field recording was published in Organised Sound (Cambridge University Press) and Journal of Sonic Studies (Leiden University Press).

The events are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). St Fittick’s park in Torry Aberdeen currently under threat from the Energy Transition Zone [ETZ]. The series is part of a broader project working with Friends of St Fittick’s park, organised by interdisciplinary practitioners; Gisa Weszkalnys, William Otchere-Darko and Rachel Grant.

A series of Soundwalks at St Fittick's park, Torry led by artist Maja Zećo. Events are free and open to all ages, booking recommended.

24/09/2023

Soundwalk Series with Maja Zećo

📣 Join artist Maja Zećo on a new series of Soundwalks at Fittick’s park, a nature reserve in Torry. Soundwalks are walks with a focus on listening to the environment designed to immerse walkers in the sounds of a place. The events are free and open to all ages, booking via Eventbrite.

🍃👂Listen to the rich soundscape of the park; natural and manmade, loud and quiet and notice the sounds around you. Explore what sounds you hear now and imagine future soundscapes through guided questions and scores specially designed by Maja.

📍Saturday 30 September | 28 October | 25 November
📍11-1pm
📍St Fittick's park, meeting point available on booking.

Each event takes a different journey around the park and there is time for informal sharing through group discussion. Participants can book for one or all of the Soundwalks.

Maja Zećo [maya zecho], originally from Sarajevo and now based in Aberdeen, is an interdisciplinary artist-researcher whose practice spans performance art, sound, and moving image. While many of her works are performances and art installations, exhibited across the UK and internationally, soundwalking (walking with a focus on listening) has a special place in her practice. She recorded sounds recently on trains across the UK supported by LNER. Since the conclusion of her PhD she developed soundwalks in Corby, Aberdeen, Banchory, and Huntly. Her research on the socio-polities of listening through soundwalking and sound field recording was published in Organised Sound (Cambridge University Press) and Journal of Sonic Studies (Leiden University Press).

The events are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). St Fittick’s park is a nature reserve in Torry Aberdeen currently under threat from the Energy Transition Zone [ETZ]. The series is part of a broader project working with Friends of St Fittick’s park, organised by interdisciplinary practitioners; Gisa Weszkalnys, William Otchere-Darko and Rachel Grant.

A series of Soundwalks at St Fittick's park, Torry led by artist Maja Zećo. Events are free and open to all ages, booking recommended.