Aftereffects and Untold Histories. Politics and Spaces of Performance since the 1990
International conference
A major conference at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, organised in conjunction with the Irish Museum of Modern Art, 2-4th April 2020
On 2-4th April the National College of Art and Design in Dublin will host an international conference on performance and performativity since the 1990s. It will be one of the College’s key contributions to L’Internationale research network, Our Many Europes.
Over three days, historians and critics, artists and activists will reflect on the ways in which performance – understood in broad terms as the activities of artists as well as other creative figures and social organisations – has sought to have social, political and other kinds of effects.
The 1990s was a period of considerable transformation, with the end of communist rule in the Eastern Bloc and the arrival of turbocapitalism as well as new forms of nationalism. AIDS activism as well as forms of civil rights campaigning for matters like same-sex marriage brought new forms of performativity to public space, as well as sharp reaction from the conservative right. The body-mindedness of much performance and political activism was a reflex of these and other changes.
Performance is often understood as a kind of ephemeral form of expression, yet many of these actions have left their mark on the present.
The conference combines screenings, talks, conversations and performances by artists, activists, critics and curators including Kevin Atherton, Brian Connolly, Amanda Coogan, Maria Fusco, Niall Sweeney and Mick Wilson.
Leading researchers will present talks on the recent history of performance in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Wales, Switzerland and many other settings.
The exhibition is accompanied by an archival exhibition in the NCAD Gallery documenting performance in Ireland since the 1990s. Details here.
For details of the programme, please click here.
For details of how to book a place, please click here.
