”Circus as Practices of Hope” presented in Colombia
Marie-Andree Robitaille, a PhD student in Performative and Media-Based practices in choreography at Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH), is invited to present the circus performance Multiverse as part of the first International Encounter of Circus Wisdom - Achura Karpa, which will take place from 28 February–3 March 2024, at the National Centre for the Arts, Delia Zapata Olivella (CNA) in Bogotá. Robitaille will also present a lecture on her doctoral project, Circus as Practices of Hope at the International Circus Conference Circus and its Others IV Circus, Solidarity, Difference, and Mobility.
Prestigious international conference
Circus and its Others is the contemporary circus field’s most prestigious international conference. It is an international cross-disciplinary initiative that explores how contemporary circus artists and companies relate to the concept of difference in their practices. The International Encounter of Circus Wisdom – Achura Karpa is a space of encounter to celebrate the multiplicity of circus formats and aesthetics while reflecting on building creative, diverse, and sustainable citizenships.
– I am honored to be invited to present my performance, Multiverse, and give a lecture on my research in this context. The encounter situates Colombia as a meeting point between North and South and a continued key site of movements of people and ideas within and beyond Latin America. The curating committee proposes the fourth edition of Circus and its Others and the first edition of Achura Karpa as a historical moment and decolonizing effort. This will be a chance to celebrate and recognize the contemporary circus’s diversity and an opportunity for me to participate in conversations with the members of the International circus field, says Marie-Andrée Robitaille, PhD student at SKH.
Multiverse – a part of the PhD project
Marie-Andrée Robitaille has carried out research work as a PhD student at SKH, where she has investigated modes of composition and performance from a posthuman lens and neo-materialist approaches. The research has resulted in multiple iterations of the piece Multiverse presented notably at the centenary celebration of the Bauhaus movement Festival Total Stage in Dessau Bauhaus School, Germany in 2019, Gävle Konstcentrum in Sweden 2020, International Symposium for Artistic Research in Film and Philosophy Intra-Activity: The posthuman fabulation and Matter at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF Germany in 2021, the Conferences Alliances and Commonalities at Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden in 2020-2022, Festival CirkusMania, Sweden in 2023, Dynamo Contemporary Circus Festival, Danemark 2023, and at the launch of the Southern Sweden Circus Festival in 2023.
The completed doctoral thesis, which will consist of the live performance Multiverse, a digital exhibition, a written exegesis, a series of articles, and a chapter in the book Posthumanism in Practice published at Bloomsbury Academic.
Making Public
The documented artistic research will be made public on 29 April, 2024, at 13.30–16.30 at Stockholm University of the Arts, Brinellvägen 58, 11420 Stockholm, Sweden.
Public defence
The public defence will be held on 27 May, 2024, at Stockholm University of the Arts, Brinellvägen 58, 11420 Stockholm, Sweden.
Multiverse is part of the PhD project Circus as Practices of Hope at Stockholm University of the Arts.
PhD project
The piece Multiverse was created as part of « Nomadic Circus Gallery » with the support of Stockholm City and the Swedish Art Council and as part of CirkusPerspektiv's exhibition “Circus meets Visual Arts” at Gävle Konstcentrum. Multiverse is Co-produced by CirkusPerspektiv in collaboration with Gävle Konstcentrum, Kristofferscenen, Kristofferskolan, and Stockholm University of the Arts.
The performance and the lecture in Colombia are made possible thanks to the support of Stockholm University of the Arts, the Swedish Art Grant Committee, and Theatre Artemotion.
More about the conference
International Conference Circus and its Others IV Circus, Solidarity, Difference, and Mobility.
www.circusanditsothers.org
Conference program
The International Encounter of Circus Wisdom - Achura Karpa is a co-production of Artemotion, the CNA and CAIO IV, with the support of the Colombian Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Knowledges, Iberescena, the Gabriel García Márquez Cultural Centre, and the Canadian and Brazilian Embassies in Bogotá.
Achura Karpa
