‘Write this down’
It was the end of a long day. We’d run out of time and the guards needed to get us
How participation won, and why it matters
It was the end of a long day. We’d run out of time and the guards needed to get us
Today will see the third performance of O Tempo (Somos Nós) , “Time (It’s Us), this time at the Gulbenkian Concert
Between the Traction opera performances in the prison last week, and those that will take place in Lisbon at the
Three days ago, anticipating the first performance of the Leiria prison opera, I wrote that I didn’t expect to see
In the dusty hall of a disused prison workshop, 30 people shuffle into a big circle. Silence falls. They draw
“And then this: do not depend on the hope of results. […] You may have to face the fact that
Evaluation has become a dominant preoccupation in participatory art in the past generation. It’s a fascinating field, and I’ve played
Dave Loewenstein, community murals and living democracy Browsing the artwork in Dave Loewenstein’s online shop, I was delighted by this
When I talk about community art practice with younger or less experienced artists, I often warn against offering friendship to
The problem of opera Opera is a problematic art. It’s not just the extravagant cost of producing it, or the
It is a surprise, in my sixties, to find myself working on opera, as part of the Traction project. This prestigious art
As the pandemic recedes—or perhaps becomes normalised—it is becoming hard to recall the strangeness of those lockdown months, and the
Suddenly, we are there. In the next six months, a series of performances will test everything we have imagined, planned, organised and created. There are dates. There will be audiences