Mieke Van de Voort
dal 28/7/2010 al 28/7/2010
Segnalato da
28/7/2010
Mieke Van de Voort
The Showroom, London
627K invites young people from the Prince's Trust and members of 60 Penfold Street to participate in a physical role-playing game that imagines the outbreak of a life threatening disease in a fictional state. Over a series of workshops, Van de Voort workd with the group to examine key themes such as Fear, Risk and Play. Workshops range from practical advice on the prevention of infection to historical analysis of pandemics, exploring historical and cultural responses to infectious disease.
The Showroom presents 627K, a project by Dutch artist Mieke Van de Voort in collaboration
with the Prince’s Trust and 60 Penfold Street.
627K invites young people from the Prince’s Trust (age 17-21) and members of 60 Penfold
Street (age 50+) to participate in a physical role-playing game that imagines the outbreak
of a life threatening disease in a fictional state. Thematic workshops, ranging from the
sociological impact of infectious diseases to drama and improvisation techniques, led by
specialists from the field, will prepare the group for play. The final game performance
will take place in the Cockpit Theatre, located in the Church Street neighbourhood.
Over a series of workshops, Van de Voort will work with the group to examine key themes
such as ‘Fear’, ‘Risk’ and ‘Play’. Workshops will range from practical advice on the
prevention of infection to historical analysis of pandemics, exploring historical and
cultural responses to infectious disease. ‘Play’ will focus on game play strategy,
performance techniques and exercises referring to pandemic situations and infectious
diseases as a context.
627K will provide a compelling forum where complex philosophical dilemmas such as free
will and our relationship to the ‘other’, and biomedical knowledge are explored. To win
the game and stay alive participants will need to work together as a team, utilising
empathy, care and communication skills.
The final performance will be filmed and screened to the public at a special event at The
Showroom on 29 July 2010.
Mieke Van de Voort (b. 1972) lives and works in Amsterdam. Her work often uses direct
social and historical engagement with performance strategies. She has exhibited widely in
the UK and abroad, including Driving out Discord (2009) a performance project taking place
in the Ruyschstraat neighbourhood of Amsterdam, a neighbourhood known for high levels of
deprivation; The Revolution That Didn't Happen (2005) restaged the failed attempt of Dutch
socialists and communists to start a revolution in 1918 and General States (2008) staged
at Casco, Office for Art, Design and Theory, in Utrecht.
Van de Voort will collaborate with a number of specialists to deliver the workshops
including Dr. Carole Reeves, Outreach Historian for The Wellcome Trust Centre for the
History of Medicine at UCL, Deena Blumenkrantz, scientist and PhD student at Imperial
College specialising in Influenza, and artist Howard Matthew.
627K is the second in a trio of participation-based commissions taking place in 2010 under
the umbrella title of Communal Knowledge. 627K is funded by the Mondriaan Foundation.
Communal Knowledge is generously supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, John Lyon’s
Charity, and Westminster Arts. The Showroom is supported by Arts Council England and
members of the gallery’s Supporters Scheme.
For further information please contact Natasha Tebbs on 020 7724 4300 or
natasha@theshowroom.org
Workshops 6 - 7 July 2010 (Closed event for invited participants only)
Public preview and screening on Thursday 29 July 2010, 6-8pm
The Showroom
63 Penfold Street, London
Opening hours: Wednesday - Saturday, 12 - 6pm