Zines for Art and Activism

Breakout Session 1: Thursday 21 November 14:30 - 16:30
Julia Lewicka, Kamila Różańska, Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology, Warsaw, Poland

This session aims to showcase the potential of using art, specifically zines, for local activism. The focus is on reviving zines as tools of protest, echoing their historical role, and amplifying the voices of silenced poets. By employing physical creation and subsequent digitisation, the zines transcend local distribution, reaching a broader online audience. Through the lens of select poems, participants engage in collage-based visualisation, creating zine spreads that serve as a unique form of protest. The overarching goal is to highlight diverse avenues of protest, fostering awareness and empowering individuals to leverage art for social impact.

 

Guess How

Breakout Session 1: Thursday 21 November 14:30 - 16:30
Demis Quadri, Angela Calia, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Switzerland

‘Guess How’ is an innovative research project intertwining movement and sounds, placing experiential and sensory learning at its core. This exploration aims to enhance movement practices through sound, challenging participants to recognise and understand movements solely by listening, without visual cues. The project involves creating distinctive sounds for specific movements, prompting the audience to guess the corresponding actions and details like the number of participants or location. In its initial phase as a collective experiment, ‘Guess How’ prioritises group participation, but as it progresses the project seeks to uncover new pathways for artistic composition and teaching methods. Notably, it addresses inclusivity by helping individuals with specific educational needs, such as those on the autistic spectrum, to develop competences and social skills. Led by the collaborative efforts of Accademia Dimitri's research department, including physical theatre theory teacher Demis Quadri, performer Angela Calia, and communication specialist Susanna Lotz, this project combines diverse expertise for a comprehensive and inclusive approach. Join this exciting venture, where movement and sounds converge to redefine learning experiences.

 

Cultuur & Campus Putselaan: Community Building in Rotterdam South

Breakout Session 2: Thursday 21 November 17:00 - 18:30
Aïssatou Traoré, Willem de Kooning Academy, Irene Garofalo, ELIA, Netherlands

Cultuur&Campus Putselaan (C&CP) aims to establish a vibrant and sustainable hub in Rotterdam South in 2025, fostering local connections and innovative education models through co-creation with local stakeholders and civil society. The project employs ongoing placemaking initiatives such as the Bloemhof Festival, Makersweek, and issue wrestling events to build trust and strengthen community ties, laying the groundwork for the future campus. By involving residents in shaping their neighborhood's future, C&CP creates a model for sustainable urban development that resonates beyond Rotterdam.
This approach prepares the community for the upcoming campus while establishing a blueprint for how educational institutions can integrate into local ecosystems, driving innovation and social cohesion. The project builds trust and community as a foundation for the campus, and this workshop unveils methods and results, inviting participants to question current approaches and co-create future steps. The session aims to offer inspiration and discuss methods to innovate arts education by cultivating external relationships.
The project is part of the European Union's New European Bauhaus initiative, funded by Horizon Europe. C&CP is a collaboration between the municipality of Rotterdam, Erasmus University, Willem de Kooning Academy, Codarts Rotterdam, Hogeschool Rotterdam, BuzinezzClub foundation, and De Afrikaanderwijk Coöperatie.

 

Bursting the Bubble: How participation can redefine Conservatoire training

Breakout Session 2: Thursday 21 November 17:00 - 18:30
Josh Slater, Baptiste Bourgougnon, London Contemporary Dance School, The Place, United Kingdom

This innovative pedagogical unit at LCDS works with students from diverse London-based communities, including stroke survivors, older individuals, refugees, and youth clubs. An experimental unit fostering a creative, co-creative journey with participants. Engaging in participatory art practices, students reflect on the transformative nature of dance, challenging established norms. Hear insights and findings from students, practitioners, and participant reflections, using this experiment as a catalyst for discussions on immersive art practices. We'll burst bubbles related to Conservatoire Dance student self-awareness and hierarchy, community dance practice and ‘who dance is for’—institutional methods for authentic relationships with communities—and the transformational nature of participation in multiple ways. The World Café format will provoke discussions and co-creation of methods, drawing inspiration from Ruth Pethybridge and Diane Amans's cross-generational participatory arts practice, addressing crucial questions about training and knowledge. Attendees can explore adapting similar experiments in their artistic practices and institutions.

 

Guests? Intruders? Good-doers? Challenges of bringing artists into dialogue with heritage and communities

Breakout Session 2: Thursday 21 November 17:00 - 18:30
Maarin Ektermann, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, Estonia

Embark on a critical exploration of the ‘Artists in Collections, Collectives, and in Communities’ project co-initiated by Maarin Ektermann in Estonia in 2017. This session unravels the dynamics of decentralising contemporary art, addressing challenges in small towns and villages grappling with population decline and cultural concentration in larger cities. Focusing on artistic intelligence, it delves into an artist's capacity to discern the extraordinary in ordinary situations and communicate these insights through site-specific, multisensorial experiences. Ektermann analyses nineteen projects executed under this initiative, examining the complexities of engaging with diverse communities and their visible and invisible borders. The presentation, titled ‘Uninvited Guests’, draws inspiration from Markus Miessen's ‘crossbencher’ practice, fostering dialogue on the unexpected outcomes and discussions that unfolded in contexts with minimal infrastructure for contemporary art. Explore the transformative potential of artistic intelligence in redefining cultural landscapes and fostering dialogues across communities.

 

IPSS Milan

Breakout Session 3: Friday 22 November 09:00 - 11:00
Peter McCaughey, Ben Parry, Roddy Buchanan, The Glasgow School of Art, United Kingdom

The International Peripatetic Sculptors Society (IPSS), founded in Glasgow in 2003, extends its artistic footprint globally with divisions in Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Czech Republic. Renowned for crafting spontaneous, unsanctioned public sculptures in overlooked urban spaces, IPSS melds situationist dérive with Allan Kaprow's ethos of reclaiming everyday art. This session immerses participants in action-based walks, employing peripatetic exploration to transform cityscapes through small, creative gestures. Led by artist and lecturer Peter McCaughey, IPSS invites individuals to co-produce this artistic journey, fostering engagement, playfulness, and provocation.

 

Reclaim the streets with art and music

Breakout Session 4: Friday 22 November 11:30 - 12:30
Staffan Mossenmark, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Examine the significance of students, artists, and musicians venturing beyond university confines to champion free speech, freedom of opinion, and democratic ideals in public spaces. In this session, attendees will explore impactful projects like the Verona Risuona festival, an annual collaboration between the Conservatorio E.F. Abaco, Accademia Cignaroli, and the University of Gothenburg, fostering interdisciplinary engagement. The facilitator will showcase a series of workshops, including ‘Sound Art in City Spaces’ (2009–2011) and ‘Interdisciplinary Involvement and Community Spaces’ (2012–2014), illustrating the potential of students to catalyse social change through art. The presentation also delves into the restoration of the agora, emphasising the role of developed listening in artistic expressions that leverage sound as a conduit for memories and social values. Discover how these initiatives navigate the urban soundscape, connecting with diverse audiences and prompting meaningful conversations. Join the conversation on redefining public spaces through artistic endeavours, fostering collective identity and dialogue.

 

Beyond the Noise: An interactive installation exploring womanhood, beauty, and the freedom of ageing

Breakout Session 4: Friday 22 November 11:30 - 12:30
Samar Nahas, Stefania Matache, ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln, Germany

‘Beyond the Noise’ is an interactive installation that explores current and emerging narratives of the feminine, specifically beauty ideals and ageing. The installation is designed as a journey that moves through distinct yet interconnected experiences, tracing the path from rejection of outer noise to acceptance of inner wisdom, to embracing connection. The installation moves along the path of transformation from being defined by external voices to finding an inner voice of acceptance and healing. This journey from the outer world to the inner one, from societal noise to personal silence, encapsulates the essence of moving from pain to healing, symbolising the profound process of reclaiming one's identity and worth in a world that often seeks to diminish it.

 

Filming in the front-line cities: To help or to harm?

Breakout Session 4: Friday 22 November 11:30 - 12:30
Daria Holosko, Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi Theatre, Cinema and Television, Ukraine

Embarking on a comprehensive exploration, Daria Holosko aims to compile a report delving into the intricacies of filming in front-line cities. This session seeks to investigate the profound impacts on residents, examining both the advantages and disadvantages inherent in representing the lives of individuals residing in war zones.

 

Homecoming: Research on theatre at war

Breakout Session 4: Friday 22 November 11:30 - 12:30
Sofiia Zinchenko, Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts, Ukraine

Explore the profound shifts in theatre within a front-line city through ‘Homecoming: Research on Theatre at War’, a compelling session led by an artist deeply connected to the current crisis in Ukraine. This work in progress delves into the transformative impact of the full-scale invasion on the creative life in Kharkiv, offering a first-hand account of the challenges faced by theatre performers. The session unfolds as a narrative of resilience and adaptation, shedding light on the evolving theatre language and the unique bond forged between actors and their audience amidst shared traumatic experiences. The artist, having returned to a city marked by air raid alarms and distant explosions, navigates the surreal intersection of art, life, and conflict. Join this exploration of the theatre's metamorphosis, probing into the creation of a new artistic language and envisioning its future in the face of adversity.