Thinking in, about and through atmospheres: the animated atmosphere of the Camino Primitivo
Event Hours: 11/09/2025 (15:30)
Location: Komuna - Kino Šiška
Emma Hallemans
Atmospheres give our surroundings a certain tone and situate themselves in the in between. We are affected by their configurations as they unfold through time. They are ambiguous, forming a connective element between multiple dualities. This makes them a flexible concept to think through as they take on both the role of research object and research medium. I use this concept to analyse the Camino Primitivo, a pilgrimage in Northern Spain. There is something about this pilgrimage that is not entirely graspable, but which make thousands of pilgrims move through pain, discomfort, and solitude. The Camino embodies tacitly a cultural context and this is exactly why I use atmospheres to understand my case study.
I apply Sumartojo and Pink’s (2019) research methodology of researching in, about and through the atmosphere of the Camino. Researching in reflects an embodied perspective, researching about transforms this knowledge into a representation and researching through uses the concept of atmospheres as a route to arrive at new knowledge. More specifically, I tackle the following main question: “How can we think in, about and through the atmosphere of the Camino?” and sub-questions: “How can I, applying this methodology, uncover new knowledge about the atmosphere of the Camino?” and “What is this new knowledge about the atmosphere of the Camino?”
I established an ethnographic-theoretical dialogue using fieldnotes and photographs that I took of the atmosphere of the Camino. In the end, I arrived at the idea that the atmosphere of the Camino is animated. On the Camino pilgrims surrender to its atmosphere in the form of mystical participation which translate into affect, serendipities, and movement.
Emma Hallemans
Emma Hallemans is a Belgian scientist and cultural mediator at Cultivamos Cultura. Her interest in putting both natural science and human science in conversation with each other led her to finish an MA (2024) in Management of the Arts and Culture (UCP) after her MA (2022) in Biochemistry and Biotechnology (KUL). As a cultural mediator she searches for a nexus between artists, scientist and audiences. In an attempt at identifying with these three groups, she also explores multiple fields of arts. As a photographer she contributed to a project about mental health for the Belgian governmental youth department “MIJNLeuven”. Besides, she has photographed multiple exhibitions, interviews and concerts in both Belgium, Sweden and Lisbon. In Sweden, she also contributed to the musical project “Cloudgazers” (2022) and created a micro-exhibition at Galaxy Protonen (2022). Furthermore, in Lisbon she co-created an installation (2023) at Bairro em Festa and curated micro-exhibitions (2024) at both Católica and Rizoma. Her research interests lie in Cultural Theory, Music Studies, Visual Culture, Science Philosophy and Social Anthropology. Her creative practices mostly explore visual arts, installations and sound.
