Online Workshop 2023
2nd International Online Workshop
Conserving performance
Live on Zoom
21-22 November 2023
Cancelled due to the Gaza War
Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Fountain of Youth (detail), oil on canvas, 1546
Questions about the ephemeral nature of performance have been long standing and constitutive for the practice and theory of artists, curators, conservators and agents of the field.This polemic nature of performance becomes palpable when we engage in the practice of conservation, preservation, archiving and digitization of performance, dance and time based art. New ethical, artistic, theoretical and practical questions arise. It seems that it’s not just a matter of capturing this object of loss, rather giving-in to the performative logic itself, which most definitely “remains”.
How do these “remains” make us give-in to performative logic when we conserve performance, and subsequently modify the decision making and operations of artists, curators, institutions, conservation rooms and archives?
Is conservation forever changed whence it became itself ֿ a performative procedure?
Does this sensing, and sense-making, of performance’s conservation allow for a reorientation of our delicate perceptions of art and its survival in the future?
The format we aim for is an intimate online conference, a workshop, a professional ‘think-tank’. Each day, we will hear about 6 speakers, and will conclude with a moderated discussion. Each participant is asked to invite one or two people from their team, community or city - thinkers, artists, curators, conservators, administrators - whom they believe could contribute to the discussion. We wish for a tight group of participants who could push discourse further. Thus, the event is not open for the general public, but will be available online for general use later on.
Dr Megan Metcalf received her PhD in conteheadshot of Megan Metcalfmporary art history from UCLA. She is currently the Diana A. and Harry A. Stern Fellow in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she is working on her book about the history of dance and performance in art museums. More info here
Olivia Brum is a Junior Conservator at LIMA, Amsterdam. More info here
Hanna B. Hölling is a Research Professor and Principal Investigator at the Bern University of Applied Sciences—Academy of the Arts, where she leads and collaborates on research projects funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. She is also an Honorary Fellow in the Department of History of Art at University College London (UCL). More info here
Sarah Spies (to be confirmed) is a choreographer, performance curator and senior lecturer in contemporary dance and performance art in the University of Chester. More info here
Cori Olinghouse is an American artist, archivist, and curator working with performance and time based media. Her work has been shown at BRIC Arts Media, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Danspace Project, Knockdown Center, Lincoln Center, Microscope Gallery, New York Live Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and Movement Research. More info here and here
Dana Yahalomi is a choreographer and artist. Since 2011 Yahalomi led and created new Public Movement’s actions and exhibitions in many different platforms and locations, among them the Göteborg International Biennial, Guggenheim Museum New York, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Berlin Biennale, Asian Art Biennial Taiwan, Pinchuk Art Center Kiev, Impulse Festival Dusseldorf, Baltic Circle Festival Helsinki, Performa New York, and more. More info here
Udi Edelman is a researcher, director and chief curator of the Center for Digital Art in Holon. More info here
Ido Feder is a choreographer and artistic director of Diver Festival and of Tights:dance&thought. More info here
Ruti Direktor is the recently retired curator for contemporary art of Tel Aviv Museum of Art. More info here
Lihi Levie is a time based media conservator in Tel Aviv Museum of Art. More info here