Introduction to the festival by Jørgen Callesen & Gritt Uldall-Jessen
The festival will be in two parts.
One part is Visions of Excess curated by Lee Adams from London with its own artistic profile.
The other part is Warehouse 9’s own supplement to our first international festival in the Project Live Art Context, which aims to contextualize Live Art and Performance art locally, nationally and internationally. The festival is reflecting our broad approach and interpretation of the genre. In the festival we combine tendencies within body art, new circus, burlesque, experimental stage art and visual art. Furthermore we have a strong focus on queer artists and femininity. This is not a general theme for the festival even though we wish to make visible and empower femininity. Many of the presented pieces are from different angels and positions raising discussions about normative structures and how they influence and construct gender. Questions which are raised are: What narratives and what values concerning gender are following the representation of femininity in the piece. Is there a critique of patriarchy and do the pieces mobilize a change in thinking and action. Are the audience left in a passive safe position or in what way is the audience involved in the situation of the performance.
With our new live art venue Warehouse 9 as a frame, we wish to create new hybrid forms between art exhibition, stage arts and club performance. We wish to create new relations between artist, work of art and the audience, which is also the theme of the seminar on Sunday 25th of October, where Dr. Gavin Butt from Goldsmiths College in London will introduce with a lecture followed by artist talks with several of the participating artists.
22-25 October 2009 at Warehouse9