Event overview
The Performance Research Forum hosts a range of events, talks and presentations by established and early-career researchers and practitioners in theatre and performance.
Dr Andrew Cummings: 'Arts of Public Grieving'
Abstract:
In future, today might come to be seen as a tipping point for grief in public discourse. Little wonder, considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen many of us suffer personal loss and has aggravated existing inequalities along the lines of race, class, and (dis)ability, among others. Amidst bereavement, climate breakdown, fascism, and war, many of us are seeking ways to tend to grief in community.
Against this backdrop, there is increasing institutional and public interest in artists who take grief and grieving as their subject matter, especially with regard to bereavement. These artists invite grief into the public realm and invite us to grieve differently. Like these artists, this talk asks: what if we grieved together? What can we learn from contemporary art about grief and grieving? And what are the possibilities and limits of contemporary art for grief-tending?
This is not a grief-tending session, but space will be made to gently notice any grief that emerges. Attendees are invited to bring objects for a small grief altar — including but not limited to pebbles, feathers, plants, flowers, food, or a photo — if they wish. The talk will be followed by a sharing circle. Attendees are encouraged to participate in the sharing circle but are also free to simply listen.
Speaker Bio:
Andrew Cummings is a historian of contemporary art and a postdoctoral researcher on Transforming Collections, a multi-year project that seeks to surface bias and absences in public collections of modern and contemporary art across the UK, based at UAL. In 2023, Andrew participated in the six-month peer inquiry group 'Death x Life', exploring possibilities of ritual and grief-tending in community.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 7 May 2024 |
6:00pm - 8:00pm We will gather at 6:00 PM, and the event will begin promptly at 6:15 PM. |
Accessibility
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