DIY: 2007 – Survival

A wilderness ritual – an invitation to step outside of one’s social and artistic comfort zone and move with the flow of the city itself.

Led by Orion Maxted and Al Paldrok.

Friday 15 June to Wednesday 20 June 2007.
The Sussex Downs to central London.
Deadline: FULLY BOOKED.

Download the full report for ‘Survival’

The Project

‘Survival’ is a six-day nomadic workshop moving from the Sussex downs to the London streets, whilst penny-less and sleeping outdoors. The first two days will be workshops in the rural environment exploring primitivism, whilst foraging for food. On moving into London, the outcomes of the workshops will form street actions responding to the context of the city. The focus will be on the activity, development and survival of the group, not the production of performances for passers by. Rather this artistic activity is a way to focus reflection on the activities in general, and mainly as a constituent part of the proposed fundamental needs: 1) Full stomach 2) Community 3) Art.

Together with six participants we will move with the flow of the city itself, nourishing ourselves and making art from its spare but healthy resources which will normally go to waste or are otherwise left inactivated. ‘Survival’ is as much about finding a contemporary evocation of an ancient ‘wilderness ritual’ as it is a workshop for exploring ideas about society and performance to help develop the professional practice of its participants. Consistent amongst these rites, is the action of being separated from one’s society and going to survive in the wilderness in order to find out about oneself, and hence about society.

‘Survival’ is anticipated to be a challenging yet life-affirming experience. Through it new understandings, new approaches, increased confidence and a renewed creative vigour may be gained.

Application Procedure

‘Survival’ is free, but travel to the Sussex downs at the start and from London at the end must be covered by the participants. Due to the extreme nature of the workshop, participants must be able-bodied and in good health.

Please email Orion, [email protected] for full application procedure. Please include ‘DIY 4’ in the subject line.

The final application deadline is 6pm on 30 April. Participants will be informed of their selection by the 7 May.

About the Artists

Orion Maxted is an artist and member of the transdisciplinary collective protoPLAY,www.protoplay.net. Al Paldrok is an artist and member of the Estonian performance group Non Grata, www.nongrata.ee and lecturer at the Independent art school Academia Non Grata. The two of them have been collaborating and performing alongside each other since 2004.

Any Questions
Email Orion at [email protected] for more information.