SAR conference care, dare, share

site-reading – site specific writing and reading (research catalogue)

initiated by emma cocker and lena séraphin and presented at

sar 12th international conference on artistic research: share, dare, care in vienna.

in association with writers

andrea coyotzi borja

alexander damianisch

cordula daus

sepideh karami

vidha saumya

care dare share a collection of presentations from the 2021 sar conference 

https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1572726/1572727

site-reading – site specific writing and reading conceives writing, reading and listening as aesthetic research practices, caring for their inter-subjective potential, whilst asking how shared spaces are constructed in/by/with text. Invited writers/artistic researchers make written observations of a public site for a time-bound period, collaborating in a shared action, though geographically apart. the performativity of this practice redefines the solitary act of writing, introducing writing in public space as a literary genre. reading the texts aloud together creates a liminal space, through the intermingling of different voices, places and approaches to writing/reading. where are you when you listen — especially if you don’t grasp the language? does site-reading affirm a shared space — what does it look or feel like?

site-reading – site specific writing and reading research experiment for the sar conference comprises 2 related phases: phase 1: prior to the conference, a group of invited international writers/artists will engage in live writing in public spaces, each observing/writing in a public site simultaneously for a given period, using specified constraints that challenge writing to bridge the cerebral + corporeal – e.g. avoid adjectives or notate when bodily perception shifts to storytelling. phase 2: within the conference presentation, the written texts will be read aloud live as a site-reading intermingling different voices, exploring the potential of both inter-locationality + inter-subjectivity emerging therein. since the writing can be in any chosen language, the performative reading pays respect to a shared multilingual space, emphasising the tonal and acoustic qualities of spoken language challenging the meaning-making of words. whilst aware of language limitations and abilities, we argue that understanding involves caring for communication and reciprocity – even if we lack exact translations. silences and overlaps can occur; misunderstandings can happen, repetitions can take place.