THE BODY & IDENTITY FORUM

It is through our bodies that we experience the world, that we gain our genetic footprint, that we are codified by others, and that we seek to express our connections and our place in the world.

Join us on the closing weekend of the exhibition KNOWN | UNKNOWN to explore the body as a site of personal, cultural and social identity. Hear from artists from a range of disciplines, cultural knowledge holders and academics, as we discuss performance practice, language, culture and the politicised body.

PROGRAM

1PM Welcome to Country

1.10PM PANEL 1 – First Nations perspectives on Culture, Language & Identity

A discussion on culture and language as intimately connected to identity and the increasing acknowledgement of First Nations language revitalisation as essential in contemporary cultural, social and education practice. The panel will also reflect on the role of creative practice, technology and research in leading the renewal of language.

Panelists include artist Toby Cedar, General Manager of Miromaa Aboriginal Language & Technology Centre Daryn McKenny and curator and artist Donna Biles Fernando.

2.10PM PANEL 2 – Performing Identity

Artists from diverse creative practices discuss the body as personal, social and political, and as a site for questioning and understanding, integration and polarity.

Panelists include artists Lottie Consalvo and Bleck, choreographer and dancer Kristina Chan, and curator of KNOWN | UNKNOWN and The Lock-Up’s director Jessi England.

3.10PM BREAK

3.30PM ARTIST FEATURE TALK

Indian born and Sydney based multidisciplinary performance artist and dancer Dr Rakini Devi presents elements of her doctorial thesis including her work with the body as icon, ritual artifact and feminist protest, and the integration of Indian and western performance techniques in her work to explore cultural identity.

3.50PM PANEL 3 - Art & the medicalised body

A conversation with artists John A Douglas, Clare Weeks and Dr Miranda Lawry about their work and research, how its intersects with personally experiences of the medical system and chronic illness, and art as a tool for reflection and processing.