Spaces of Memory & Performance: Trauma, Affect, Displacement
Last weekend 20-21 June 2014, Lorna attended a 2 day International Conference on ‘Spaces of Memory and Performance : Trauma, Affect, Displacement; at University of East London, Centre of Performing Arts
This was an intense, jam packed 2 days of stimulating presentations from delegates across the globe. Great work being made and research carried out by artists and academics in response to acts of atrocities, displacement and trauma from ‘The Disappeared’ in South America, to the continuing impact of the Holocuast, and the communities left behind in the transition from Communism in Eastern Europe.
“I felt privileged and inspired to be part of it, exciting, creative, important times ahead!”
Speakers included Claudia Fontes (visual artist), Lola Arias (theatre director), Vikki Bell (Goldsmiths), Anne Huffschmidt (Freie Universitat Berlin), Ananda Breed (UEL), Carl Lavery (University of Glasgow), Valentina Salvi (UNTREF), Patricia Violi (University of Bologna), Eve Katsouraki (UEL), Lisa Peschel (University of York), Marcelo Brodsky (photographer artist), and Alan Marcus(University of Aberdeen)
‘Places are lost – destroyed, vacated, barred – but then there is some new place, and it is not the first, never can be the first.’ – Judith Butler
The conference was billed as follows:
“The aftermath of episodes of trauma and loss have traditionally given way to urban rituals and encounters with sites of public grieving. Even so, the emergence of disparate sites of trauma has not been enough addressed from a performative perspective. The very existence of the so-called ‘spaces of memory’ requests the reconfiguration of modes of engagement with the public space in the face of trauma and its performance. With this in mind, this two-day symposium will explore unconventional forms of intervention in performance and visual arts in a wide spectrum of geographical scenarios. “