Liveworks, the celebration of performance and cross-disciplinary art, is returning to Carriageworks this month with its most exciting program yet. From 19 to 29 October 2017, a mix of leading Australian and international artists will showcase their works exploring gender, the environment, queer and trans identities, sexuality, race, politics, Indigenous memory and land rights, and the future.
We can expect even more this year, with the program featuring a range of exclusive key note lectures, artist-in-conversation events and artist workshops.
“The artists hail from across Australia as well as Korea, Japan, New Zealand and the Philippines: we travelled the world to develop this festival and it was a joy to research the program and bring it together,” Artistic Director Jeff Khan said.
“The works in this year’s Liveworks also bring fresh perspectives to some of the most urgent and pressing issues of our time: from the environmental destruction we are wreaking on our planet to our personal relationship to political turmoil; the shifting boundaries of gender, sexuality and power; and the role of art in the midst of all this chaos we are experiencing in the world at present.”
Among the highlights is esteemed Indigenous artist Dr Christian Thompson who will unveil a live performance titled Tree of Knowledge, a rich new performance work examining the complexities and possibilities of Aboriginal experience in a global world. It draws on Thompson’s own personal biography as well as a wide palette of references—from pop music to contemporary art and traditional cultural practices.
Renowned performance artist, Agatha Gothe-Snape, will present the Australian premiere of Rhetorical Chorus which was specially commissioned for New York’s Performa Biennial (2015). And following rave reviews at Dark Mofo; Nat Randall will be showcasing The Second Woman, a gruelling 24-hour performance where the artist invites 100 male participants to perform a scene from the film Opening Night.
“The inclusion of Day for Night is also going to make for a huge closing weekend of the festival, placing this landmark celebration of queer art and culture at the heart of the festival’s final days,” Khan added.
Day for Night presented with Carriageworks and Mardi Gras is a celebration of queer performance and party culture, bringing together a host of Australia’s finest queer artists, performers, DJs, musicians, and lovers in a glorious collision of club culture, contemporary art and new performance.
Other highlights include Jen Jamieson’s Let’s Make Love, a special one on one performance attempting to generate oxytocin by guiding participants through an intimate performance driven by discussion, adventure, touch and trust.
Internationally acclaimed Korean artist Geumhyung Jeong will perform 7 Ways, an exploration of the potential of the human: the sensuality, power, and mutability of the body. It combines dance, puppetry, and a technical mastery of theatrical conventions, to create a moving choreography of the body and mind.
For the full program details and tickets, head to performancespace.com.au
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