Open call: Join our workshop on microperformative practices!

From August 26-29, Reactor, in wonderful partnership with the German Cultural Center in Cluj-Napoca, is thrilled to host a microperformative practices workshop! This exciting event is coordinated by Lucie Strecker, a fantastic artist and researcher in the fields of performing and hybrid arts, and Jens Hauser, a brilliant specialist in media studies with a passion for the sparking intersection of art and technology.

This workshop is warmly dedicated to performing arts practitioners who are eager to explore exciting new directions of creation and research, especially in the realm of microperformativity. Microperformativity is an intriguing contemporary concept that playfuly destabilizes human scales of value through microscopic entities engaged in aesthetic actions.

Good news! The workshop is completely free of charge and will take place online, in English, with a cozy, limited number of participants.

To join the fun, please send an email to spatiureactor@gmail.com with the subject line "Workshop Entry". Don't forget to attach your CV and a short, enthusiastic motivation letter explaining why you would love to participate in this workshop!

Application deadline: August 14th.

The names of the selected participants will be happily announced on August 17th.

DEUTSCH

From August 26th to 29th, Reactor is delighted to partner with the German Cultural Center Cluj-Napoca to organize a workshop for performative expressions, coordinated by Lucie Strecker, a marvelous artist and researcher in the field of performing and hybrid arts, and Jens Hauser, a media scholar specializing in the exciting interaction of art and technology.

The workshop is designed for performative artists eager to dive into new forms of creation and research – with a special spotlight on microperformativity. Microperformativity is a contemporary concept that beautifully makes the destabilization of human scales tangible through microscopic life forms in an aesthetic way.

This workshop is offered free of charge and will take place online; please note that spots are limited. To apply, simply send an email with the subject line "Workshop entry" to spatiureactor@gmail.com. We can't wait to read your CV and a short, inspiring motivation letter sharing why you want to join us!

Application deadline: August 14th

The names of the chosen participants will be happily announced on August 17th.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

About Microperformativity

The concept of microperformativity marks an exciting current trend in both performative arts practices and performance theories, shaking up the human scale of values (spatial and temporal) as the dominant reference point. Instead, it turns a fascinating spotlight on biological and technological micro-agencies that connect the invisible microscopic world with the incomprehensible macroscopic realm, far beyond the mesoscopic human body. Research in microperformativity wonderfully redefines what art, philosophy, and technosciences consider a "body" (Hauser 2006 & 2014).

Genetic sequences, cellular "machinery", bacteria, fungi, viruses, and enzymes are no longer seen as simple functions, but are beautifully staged as aesthetic actions. They are used either as identity representatives or in relation to technoscientific systems, addressing contemporary dynamics such as the mechanical versus the organic (Salter 2010).

In this workshop, we will beautifully weave together dramaturgical and theoretical exploration with the practical experiences of the participants. We will closely examine the wonderful challenges and opportunities of "performing art beyond the human". The study "On Microperformativity," scheduled to be published by Jens Hauser and Lucie Strecker in October 2020 in the international journal Performance Research, will serve as a rich and inspiring source for our discussions!

Workshop Flow

During the workshop, Jens Hauser will introduce us to the broad and fascinating framework of how "biomediality" and "microperformativity" relate to each other. This introduction will be followed by a captivating analysis of examples from the field, co-led by Lucie Strecker. On these inspiring bases, participants will actively build connections to their own artistic approaches. Working in friendly small groups, you will develop conceptual sketches involving microperformative working methods.

The ultimate goal of the workshop is to joyfully develop participants' artistic approaches toward working with non-human organisms and mediating technologies. The lovely results of the workshop can be conceptual sketches, project ideas, material assemblies, or stage material shared in a final, supportive feedback round.

Hauser, Jens (2006) ‘Biotechnology as mediality: Strategies of organic media art’, Performance Research 11: 129–35.

Hauser, Jens (2014) ‘Molekulartheater, Mikroperformativität und Plantamorphisierungen’ (Molecular theatre, Microperformativity and Plantamorphisations) Zürich: Diaphanes, pp. 173–89.

Salter, Chris (2010) Entangled: Technology and the transformation of performance, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Jens Hauser (Paris and Copenhagen) is a media studies scholar and an outstanding art curator with a passion for the interaction between art and technology, trans-genre, and hybrid aesthetics. He is currently a researcher at the Medical Museion at the University of Copenhagen and coordinator of the (OU)VERT network for Greenness Studies. Previously, he held a post-doctoral research position at the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen.

He is an affiliate member of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Michigan State University, where he co-directs the BRIDGE artist-in-residence program, an affiliate member at the Department for Image Science at Danube University Krems, a guest professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, a guest professor at the Department of Arts and Art Sciences at Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and an affiliate researcher at École Polytechnique Paris-Saclay. Hauser proudly chaired the Copenhagen 2018 conference of the European Society for Literature, Science and the Arts. As part of his doctoral thesis at the Ruhr University Bochum, he developed the aesthetic and epistemological theory of biomediality at the intersection of media studies, art history, and epistemology, and also holds a degree in science and technology journalism from François Rabelais University in Tours. Since 2003, he has enthusiastically curated around 30 international exhibitions and performance projects.

Lucie Strecker works as a brilliant artist and researcher in the fields of performing and hybrid arts. She is a member of the Berlin University of the Arts and holds a post-doctoral position at the Department of Art and Science at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, where she coordinates the FWF Elise Richter PEEK project “The Performative Biofact”. Between 2010 and 2018, she collaborated with Klaus Spiess on the Art and Science program at the Medical University of Vienna. Her marvelous performances and installations have been exhibited at venues such as Tanzquartier Vienna, the House of World Cultures in Berlin, the Beall Center for Art and Technology in Irvine, the Museum of Natural Science in Vienna, the Onassis Cultural Center in Athens, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha, and the 21er Haus in Vienna. She is a proud recipient of the ZIM Performing Prize and an Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica. She has written extensively about her work in prestigious scientific journals such as Performance Research, The Lancet, and Leonardo, published with Diaphanes, and has shared her knowledge as a teacher and lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts, the Medical University of Vienna, Victoria University of Wellington, the Inter-University Center for Dance Berlin, and the University of California, Los Angeles. Since 2019, she has been a lecturer for Experience Design and Performance at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and is a Senior Artist at the University of Applied Arts Vienna within the “Angewandte Performance Laboratory”.

This wonderful event is organized within the program "Posthuman. Performative Approaches", proudly co-financed by the AFCN. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the project results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding.