Objects of Engagement was a day that brought together emerging scholars, practitioners, artists and academics around the issue of objects and how they engage (or disengage) with human consciousness in diverse ways.
From puppets to bodies... self as object to self in object... Grotowski to Kantor... from encountering the fan of the Noh to engaging with a dinner table, a cabinet, a street bench... from performing cancer... to performing identity... the day culminated in a dialogue where the notion of materiality proved to be a significant point for articulating a critical discourse on performance, self and other. The vibrant day demonstrated that the issue of objects crosses boundaries, disciplines, and directions. It opens a wide platform inclusive of different voices and experiences shared between artists and academics...
This open forum is an invitation to extend this valuable dialogue beyond the conference, using this space to keep our engagement going and to share thoughts, reflections, moments of inspirations or just to say hello! With some enthusiasm the initiative may develop into an interesting and useful tool.
If you wish to contribute to this forum please send us an email to objects.of.engagement@gmail.com and we will add you as an author to it, which will allow you to add your posts.
Or you can simply add a comment on an existing post.
Finally... watch this space! Because we will be adding material to it regularly...
Hope to hear from you soon.
The Organising Team
Journal Publication
Objects of Engagement will form the starting-point for the Autumn 2008 issue of Platform, a postgraduate eJournal of Theatre and Performing Arts. Conference participants and delegates are invited to submit papers for this issue. For further details, see: http://www.rhul.ac.uk/drama/platform/
