This is a past event
The Centre for Modern Languages Research at the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen welcomes Dr Sarah Pogoda (Prifysgol Bangor University) for a talk as part of the centres seminar series.
Abstract
With the easing of lockdown restrictions, in-person cultural events re-emerged in the UK and in Wales. In the meantime – as the cultural participation monitoring showed (Audience Agency, 2021) – audiences have developed new habits of engaging with arts. This adds an extra challenge to the sector’s efforts to bring audiences back to arts venues and into the flow of the creative economy. Surveys suggest that the future will show that less people will attend cultural activities. But does this necessarily have to cause concerns?
As part of an AHRC funded research project investigating how artists experiment with new formats and materials for adjusting to the pandemic, in June 2021 the Metamorffosis festival brought together artists and audiences in north Wales for a week of small-scale events from performances, dance, music, workshops, poetry readings, creative walks, exhibitions and more – all adjusted to pandemic restrictions, including social distancing, audience limitations of 30 max, face coverings and hygiene protocols. The presentation will summarize first findings arisen from artists and audience questionnaires about their experience of the festival to then take with a closer look into the innovative artistic formats developed for the festival responding creatively to the circumstances. The presentation will then focus on formats emerging with and from the Metamorffosis festival that explored intimate aesthetic experiences with the more than human.
I will then share future research ideas and hopefully initiate a discussion how we can continue the creative trajectory on all sides, artists, academics and audiences, beyond the pandemic, e.g. for climate action.
Sarah Pogoda, Dr works as Senior lecturer in German Studies at Bangor University (Wales, UK) since 2016. With a background in literary studies (monograph on architects in German literature in the 20th century), she has embarked into performance studies with a focus on practices and strategies of the Avant Garde (in a broad sense). She currently completes the AHRC funded Covid-19 response research project “Re-Inventing the Live Event with Local Communities: Covid-19”. Documentation of the project can be accessed online here: http://re-inventing-live-events.bangor.ac.uk/index.php.en
Sarah has also been engaging with artistic practice since 2019 when exploring how Heiner Müller’s socialist production play “Der Lohndrücker” can be appropriated to the neoliberal British University. The durational performance (over 9 months), entitled “The Redundancy”, directed Sarah to the epistemology of process. With the first lockdown in 2020, Sarah co-founded the shiver of artists “Neue Walisische Kunst” – Celf Newydd Cymru. Together with human and more than human artists based in Wales, NWK is experimenting with Fluxus and Dada.
Processes can be explored in an assemblage of websites. Best starting point: https://deutsch-walisische-freundschaft.jimdosite.com/
- Hosted by
- Centre for Modern Languages Research, University of Aberdeen
- Venue
- Online Event