Invitation: HOW TO START A MOVEMENT by Merel Smitt (DAS Theatre Master Presentations 2020)

Merel Smitt - HOW TO START A MOVEMENT

Merel Smitt - HOW TO START A MOVEMENT. Graphic design by Maaike Besseling.

Gepubliceerd op

Starting in June 2020, artists and curators working in the field of performing arts will share their work with you at the conclusion of an intensive two-year period of master’s research at DAS Theatre. You are cordially invited to join Merel Smitt's DAS Theatre Master Presentation HOW TO START A MOVEMENT and engage in a multiple day, durational experience as part of the presentation. You can participate in this experience from your own home.

"over the course of 18 days each participant will receive 14 envelopes in their mailbox. in each envelope you will find instructions, readings, messages, material and traces that you will have to look at, follow or engage with. To sign up please fill out this form."

invitation to HOW TO START A MOVEMENT

are you someone who enjoys the unknown? someone who values the journey over its destination? someone who wants to experience something? someone who would like to be part of a gang, causing a little trouble? someone who would like to play with the rules rather than following them? are you not afraid to explore new territory? challenge yourself? make your own decisions? think on your own? maybe you are not that person but you want to become that person. or maybe you simply just want to change the daily routine of your life.

if this speaks to you then this offer might be exactly what you need. 

however..

if you now find yourself longing for guarantees, answers and have a desire to focus on a clear outcome, then this offer might not be right for you.

how to start a movement began in september 2018 and has welcomed around 100 participants since. when joining the movement you will engage with your everyday life in a different way. you will explore in an intimate yet collective way the dynamics and rules that we produce, follow and maintain on a personal, political and societal level.

the movement takes place between june 2nd and june 19th. It can be completed from your home, designed to fit within the frame of your everyday life, respecting the rules of a 1.5 meter society. 

over the course of 18 days each participant will receive 14 envelopes in their mailbox. in each envelope you will find instructions, readings, messages, material and traces that you will have to look at, follow or engage with.

the time you need to commit to it varies each day from 10 minutes to an hour. some days will require you to just look at the material while others will require you to go outside and follow an instruction. there will be no mail on sundays and mondays.

a collective debriefing will take place in a digital space on june 19th where we will meet each other and share our traces. the only requirement to participate is that you must reside at an address in the netherlands during this time.

to SIGN UP please fill out this form.

there are limited spaces available so signing up is not yet a guarantee. your reservation is complete when you have received a confirmation with extra info about the continuation of the experience. for additional questions please contact at info@merelsmitt.nl

About Merel Smitt

Merel Smitt is an artist based in Rotterdam. She builds immersive installations and creates interventions in the public space that interfere with our daily lives. Her work is research based, site-specific and the audience, knowingly and unknowingly, participate in various ways. You may come across one of her projects in situations or settings where you don’t expect art to happen. 

Her projects often result in multiple outcomes that can be seen together as a whole but can also be experienced separately. The output consists of installations, websites, fictional campaigns, score-books, audio-tours, walks, role playing games and so on. 

The impact of the work lies within the participants; they become aware of the way certain frameworks produced by political and social systems in our society influence our environment, behaviour and interactions. Her projects can be seen as methodologies to rethink protests and social movements, occupy spaces, raise voices, and set something in motion.

Credits

Collaborators: Ariane Gros, Marnix de Klerk (takeadetour.eu
Tutor: Marjorie Boston
External advisor: Sarah Vanhee
With special thanks to: Simon Allemeersch, Adelita Husni-Bey, Amy van der Weerden, Eva Jansen Manenschijn, Rick Boerman, Felizitas Stilleke, Rodrigo Batista, Michael Ronen & my peers from DAS Theatre.

Delen