Conference – Exploring the Borderlands
between performance arts, political theatre and academic research
17th– 18thJanuary, 2019
University of Birmingham, UK
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 642571
Overview
Event:
To arrive at an enhanced understanding of the use of creative and performance arts for the transfer of knowledge, amplifying the impact of academic research.
Conference organized jointly by University of Birmingham,
Children Born of War Innovative Training Network (CHIBOW),
and
the alpha group
with support from
AVL Cultural Foundation
Date: 17th– 18thJanuary, 2019
Venue: Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre, 53 Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2RS, United Kingdom
Hosts: Prof. Dr. Sabine Lee, University of Birmingham (UK)
Darrel Toulon, Artistic Director of the alpha group (Austria)
Aim
To explore the borderlands between performance arts, political theatre and academic research, and to investigate how and where our practices and methodologies diverge and intersect, cross-fertilise and complement.
During the first day of the conference we will invite participants to share their experiences of working in these borderlands with a view to facilitating a rich and multi-voiced exploration of the nature of collaborations between academic researchers and performance artists while investigating what happens in the spaces that we jointly occupy.
The second day will move from the theoretical space into a more practical space and will be case-study based, looking at the specifics of a collaboration with one arm in performance and the other in academia.
This part of the workshop will focus in particular on a production under development: IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, a docu-dance-theatre production which aims to shed light on the experiences of Children Born of War, children fathered by foreign soldiers and born to local mothers often after exploitative, abusive or violent encounters.
Exploring the link between research insights and the genesis of performance art, this project forms the basis of discussions of the interdependence between impactful research and performance as a medium for communication.
University of Birmingham contributes to the growth and spread of knowledge and ideas which will help to
transform the world; working with partners to take on the big questions, find and implement solutions and
make a difference locally, nationally and globally. By investing in, and cultivating, intellectual talent and
ideas, and delivering world-class research and education, the University of Birmingham will unlock value,
make important things happen, and continue to thrive.
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx
CHIBOW (Children Born of War – Past, Present, Future) is an H2020 Marie Curie Innovative Training Network
(ITN), supporting a new generation of researchers to advance our knowledge and understanding of the lived
experiences of Children Born of War in a variety of 20thcentury conflict and post-conflict situations.
The AVL Cultural Foundation was born out of AVL CEO Professor Helmut List’s vision to bring art into AVL’s
corporate culture. With Arts & Science, the AVL Cultural Foundation embraces projects that bridge the gap
between science and art to explore and support human creativity and innovation.
the alpha group was founded in 2006 by Darrel Toulon and Herwig Baumgartner to develop interdisciplinary,
experimental artistic works for installations and performances. In 2018, the alpha group was re-launched with
a view to focus on the development of participative docu-dance-theater and trauma-transformation projects
dealing with socially relevant contemporary issues.
