Dirk-Jan Visser

With a background in arts and journalism, Dirk-Jan Visser is a documentary photographer, senior lecturer at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and an active participant in the cultural and political arena. As a co-founder of the New Horizon Initiative, he is interested in how innovative artistic approaches can be used to address ecological challenges. The initiative is inspired by the Rights of Nature movement and aims to visualise the different interests of non-human life in a landscape through the use of Artificial Intelligence. Through photography, stakeholder management and public affairs, its goal is to contribute to a governance model that recognises the interests of non-human life in organisational and political decision-making, thereby promoting inclusive representation.

“We position ‘New Horizon Initiative’ at the intersection of science, technology and art, to inspire new ways of engaging in dialogue on climate change,” explains Visser about the project. “Our thinking towards non-human life requests a paradigmatic shift. By showing the perspectives of the flora and fauna, this project provides an A.I. rendered visual stakeholder analysis to promote sustainable use of ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss.”