Weathered Perspectives: Feminist Imagining and Imaging of Earth.
Transcription of Radio Web MACBA’s SON[I]A #397. open-weather podcast 

open-weather is a feminist collective that leverages open-source technology and community collaboration to democratise access to weather and climate data. Driven by a DIY/DIWO ethos, open-weather merge artistic practices, science-fiction, workshops, and participatory events to make complex atmospheric data more accessible and meaningful to a broader audience. Open-weather interrogates how satellite technologies influence our perception of weather and climate.

This critical approach not only raises awareness about the socio-political aspects, power dynamics and surveillance systems embedded in satellite technologies, but also encourages a more equitable distribution of environmental knowledge. The upcoming phase of open-weather is called the Year of Weather—a year-long investigative partnership with creative design studio Rectangle (Lizzie Malcolm and Daniel Powers) radio amateur, engineer and scientist Bill Liles, and artist Grayson Earle to create a dynamic, collective map of planetary weather that will continuously evolve throughout the year. Building on their previous ‘nowcasts’, open-weather’s Year of Weather will explore how satellite images are interpreted and, by extension, how weather is understood and experienced in a world that has just passed 1.5 degrees Celsius warming since pre-industrial levels. This project seeks to highlight diverse methods of reading and interpreting weather that go beyond the scientific towards sensory, situated and intergenerational knowledges. The Year of Weather coincides with the final operational year of the three still-active NOAA satellites, anticipated to be maintained by Parsons Corporation until September 2025. This project represents a critical inquiry into the accessibility and interpretation of satellite technology, advocating for a more inclusive and multifaceted understanding of meteorological phenomena.

This is a transcript of the open-weather podcast recorded in December 2023, following a one-day workshop held at MACBA with the RWM Working Group. The text has been edited for clarity and flow while maintaining the original length and meaning.
Listen to the podcast on RWM website:
Son[i]a #397. open-weather