BAD - Beyond Art Disciplines

For the last two years Stockholm University of the Arts, SKH (Performing Arts and Opera), the Iceland University of the Arts (Music and Performing Arts) and the Hanze University of Groningen (Music and Fine Arts), have been working together in an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership (SP) called BAD – Beyond Art Disciplines.

The aim is to create a cross-cutting transdisciplinary arts module, wherein artists will expand, improve and enhance their community of practice, professional development and employability.

Welcome to SKH 20 January!

BAD - Beyond Art Disciplines

We have been practically exploring the notion of cross-arts and developing methods for teaching in a cross-art setting. In doing so we want to create a cross-art module for students from our universities to meet, share and study together.

It’s becoming more and more clear to us that the cross-art landscape could be described as what the Japanese call MA, a space ‘in-between’, nor inside nor out, not defined but created to encourage fantasy as much as challenging us to not define or make use of it as we do of other spaces. It’s a space for a special way of listening to each other, to understand where our artistic roads cross.

To go where no artist has gone before does not entail a journey of many light-years, but is easily found in-between the ‘inter’ of disciplines. To do so you should not be afraid of emptiness, silence or wayfaring. 

A good example

A good example of how different storylines cross and intertwine is that of two Master's students, one in Fine arts, the other in Music. They found an in-between space in discovering they both loved cooking food, thus creating a performative piece of music, cooking food and serving the audience a meal as the final act of the performance. You could never tell who was the composer and who was the fine art student.

They were both subordinated the method, the mind game, their love for food and their wish to share it with others. Embedded in the idea of cross-arts is a deep sense of trying to get away from preconceived methods to meet the audience. It is unexpectedly reaching the unexpected. Sometimes cross-art happens out of the pure need of getting away from fixed relations with the audience such as theatres and concert halls offer. This is the performative aspect of art – it only happens in the moment of creating it, it is not there forever and we seek a unique relation to the audience.

Presenters

Tine Stolte is coordinator for the master New Audiences and Innovative practice and Instrumental Learning and Teaching at the Prince Claus Conservatoire in Groningen. She also is responsible for the 'creative learning strand' in the bachelor programme of the Prince Claus Conservatoire. Tine is a creative director of the Innovative Conservatoire (ICON, innovativeconservatoire.com). 

Robin Punt is Head of Bachelor Fine Art and Masters of Fine Art and Design at Minerva Art Academy of the Hanze University for Applied Sciences in Groningen. He is also Manager Portfolio Education & Research at Minerva Art Academy. 

Wilhelm Carlsson is Professor of music dramatic performance at the Department of Opera at SKH. He is  currently working with a new interdisciplinary Master programme – “Creating New Opera” in collaboration with the Department of Performing Arts and Royal College of Music. His current research project at the Department of Opera is called “Pendular Movements – the transformations of the voice in theatre and opera”. Läs mer  

Sara Erlingsdotter is a Swedish theatre- and opera director and artistic leader. She is also working with artistic development projects and gives seminars and lectures. Linked to this Sara Erlingsdotter writes texts and produces publications. In addition she is teaching at universities of arts, in Sweden and abroad. She has developed innovative national and international courses at masters level for performing artists, where the participants examine the meeting between music, theatre and landscape design and to create new stage rooms and meeting places. Läs mer 

Sigurdur Halldorsson is a Professor and Programme Director at the Iceland Academy of the Arts where he also directs the choir and teaches period performance, improvisation and creative-collaborative practices. Sigurður Halldorsson is active in early music, contemporary and improvised music, mostly with CAPUT, Voces Thules, Camerarctica and his newly founded Early Music Ensemble, Symphonia Angelica.

Guests

Helena Jonsdottir is a dancer, director, choreographer, film- & video maker from Reykjavik Island.

Ariel Gutierrez Torres holds a PhD in Modern Languages and Literatures with an emphasis on Performance. Currently, he directs the Research Institute at Arthauss Berlin where he teaches movement, improvisation and performance theory.

Trond Lossius investigates the dynamics of sound, place and space in field recordings, audio-visual installations and collaborative cross-disciplinary projects. He develops open-source software for spatial audio and real-time media and has formerly served as Head of Artistic Research and PhD Programme at Oslo National Academy of the Arts.