Study Room Gatherings: an open series

Hosted by Live Art Development Agency

Amy Sharrocks, Ophelia Bitz and Johanna Linsley have been invited to run a series of Study Room Gatherings on ideas and issues in performance that excites and intrigues them.

Developing themes that came up from this year’s DIY projects, these Gatherings are an opportunity for artists at all stages of their career to explore and discuss a topic of interest to them in relation to their practice.

Each event is free and takes place from 6.30 to 9.30pm in the Agency’s Study Room in our new premises at The White Building, Hackney Wick, East London.

Applications are essential as spaces are limited. Please see the full details for each Gathering for information on how to apply.

Amy Sharrocks
ON FALLING
An evening to discuss falling in Live Art.
Wednesday 28 November 2012
This Gathering is now FULL

Ophelia Bitz
ArtWank
Live Art and Pornography
Thursday 6 December 2012
This Gathering is now FULL

Project summary:

Cabaret hostess and porn historian Ophelia Bitz leads an informal research and discussion session on the potential artistic functions and forms of pornography, on the growing trend of ethical pornography, and on ideas of feminist sexuality.

Participants of all genders, sexualities and artistic disciplines are welcome.

Application procedure:

This Gathering is free, but places must be applied for. To apply, please complete the phrase 'Porn is..' and send your answer along with a short paragraph about yourself and why you are interested in taking part in this Gathering to [email protected] (cc'ing [email protected]).

The artist:

Ophelia Bitz is an award-winning cabaret performer (The Tiger Lillies, Derren Brown's Trick or Treat, The Dresden Dolls) and the curator of ArtWank, a performative research and entertainment company concerned with the history and future of pornography which has produced shows at The Old Vic Tunnels, The Horse Hospital, The Sapphire Rooms and received excellent reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe 2012, as well as winning an Erotic Award in 2011 and a nomination for Best On-Going Production at the London Cabaret Awards.

Her influences and inspirations include Danny La Rue, The Feminist Porn Awards, The Muppet Show and Aldous Huxley.

www.opheliabitz.com
www.artwank.co.uk

Johanna Linsley
Dreams for an Institution: A Congress
A Gathering to confer about the state of the institution and its alternatives for (and as) Live Art.
Tuesday 11 December 2012

Project summary:

For many artists, the relationship with institutions is contested and often the site of compromise. Striking a balance between precarity and autonomy means negotiating with institutions around resources, accountability, identity and other tough subjects. At the same time, artists are using the forms and structures of institutionality as an integral part of their practice. From the citizens of Nowhere Island to the (family) members of the Institute of the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home, establishing alternative institutions is a particularly vibrant form of both critical resistance and creative articulation. This Gathering aims to bring together artists who are working on or with alternative institutions to ask what these structures can do, how they can sustain themselves and what forms of collectivity might emerge. Structured around the development of a 'policy document' – a sort of 'White Paper' for alternative Live Art institutions – we will be considering a range of practices, from fictional to functional, immaterial to physically established.

Dates, times and location:

Tuesday 11 December 2012 from 6.30pm- 9.30pm in the Agency’s Study Room at our new premises at The White Building, Hackney Wick, East London.

Application procedure:

This Gathering is free, but places must be applied for. To apply, please write a short paragraph about yourself and why you are interested in taking part in this Gathering to [email protected](cc'ing [email protected]).

The artist:

Johanna Linsley is an artist and researcher whose interests include experimental pedagogy, alternative institutions, queer domesticity and performative text. Her work has been presented by the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Hayward Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Battersea Arts Centre, and Duckie, and her research has been published in Contemporary Theatre Review and Performance Research. She is a co-founder of London-based performance collaborative I'm With You, and Brooklyn-based documentary arts organisation UnionDocs.

If you would like further information on any of the Gatherings please either contact the artist directly (contact email on individual event webpage) or email the Agency at [email protected]

Please note the building is fully accessible for wheelchair users.