Uncivilization Festival Contemplates the Apocalypse

What’s the Latest Development?

Convinced they are witnessing a turning point in the history of our planet, groups gathered at last weekend’s Uncivilization Festival to confront crises small and existential in hopes of creating a new, deep ecological political narrative. “Originally the project was set up to create a writers’ journal, but the manifesto has also inspired singers, craftsmen and artists and it is this mix of earth-based creativity and intellectual discussion that defines it.” One of its founders, Dougald Hine, says the festival is more a space for contemplation than a rush to action. 

What’s the Big Idea?

The Uncivilization Festival was organized by a group called the Dark Mountain Project which, though accused of being alarmist, romantic and dangerous, wants to reflect on some practical solutions to contemporary crises. Their message is that we will have to adjust to a future vastly different from the one we have been promised. “Dark Mountain is about finding the light in the darkness; a new way of proceeding. … It feels like the beginning of the story of the world. Not a world shaped by politicians or by global corporations, but by storytellers and singers who make us feel at home on the earth.”