DC+CMI

The workshop departs from the philosophy of language and the concept of the ‘speech act’, and expands on contemporary theories of performance and performativity, with an intersectional emphasis on questions of sexuality, gender, race, ethnicity, nation, class, border and public space. At the same time, it traces the history of performance from the 1970s to the present. We focus on the intersections between theory and practice, and on the multiform encounters between performance and ethnography. Questions such as the ritualistic element in performance art, performances of identity and culture, the relationships between performance and activism, hybrid performances of displaced subjects, engagement of local communities in artistic performances, or site-specific performances, are analyzed in depth. The theoretical and historical exposition of concepts and artistic performances is interwoven with practical performance exercises in relation to each thematic. Focusing on the genre of ‘lecture performance’, the workshop explores the connection of speech with the voice and the body, and the interaction between live presentation and sound recording (voice, song, music, soundscape etc.). Students are asked to link the research process and critical thinking with the composition and presentation of individual narrative works and collective performances.

Syllabus