The Stakes of Performing Knowledge

About

Storytelling might well be the oldest art form. Public lectures are a fundamental aspect of universities, public speeches are essential to politics, while narratives are crucial for the emancipatory potential of the arts. Rhetoric was a cornerstone in education until just a century ago, when the rise of scientific positivism side-lined the liberal arts. Does lecture performance have the potential to serve as a meeting point for critical humanities?
We will look into lecture performances by, among others, John Cage, Andrea Fraser, Hito Steyerl, Laurie Anderson, and Christian Nyampeta, and consider diverse aspects of the power of shaping discourse between performers, audiences, and contexts of the presentation. The subject of distribution of luck will serve as a starting point for experimenting with the mediality of performing knowledge and ideas. Through group sessions and individual consultations, the participants will get the chance to approach their artistic practices anew and experiment with the medium’s agencies of plurivocality, disorientation, and estrangement vis-à-vis “the known”. Our aim is to create an environment where participants can think critically about their practices through a narrative lens.

Course leader

Mirela Baciak / Denis Maksimov

Target group

Requirements: none

Fee info