Liveworks

As ambitions go, the scope of the experimental art festival is damned impressive; housed at Carriageworks in Redfern, with over two weeks of performance, discussion, artwork and innovation, Liveworks promises to be quite unlike any festival you’ve encountered before. In fact, that’s rather the point. And for those who shirk at the mere mention of ‘experimental’, Performance Space artistic director Jeff Khan promises your fears will be allayed.

“I think those people who are a little bit wary or nervous of the term ‘experimental art’ and what it means have maybe been burnt by things like interpretive dance in the past,” Khan laughs. “This is a festival for anyone who has a sense of curiosity and adventure. ‘Experimental art’ can be an intimidating term, but I’d ask people to look at what is in the festival, rather than what it’s called. There’s Robot Opera, a piece entirely performed by robots. There’s a physical theatre performance based on head-banging as a movement language; there’s an indigenous woman lost on the Paris Metro on her 45th birthday. These are some of the ideas that everyone will find a way of relating to, but will also find quite exciting.”

While each Liveworks event promises to conjure something unique, there are several that seem particularly striking. Les FestivitesLubrifier, Triumphs And Other Alternatives (which wins the award for best name) and Robot Opera each have an intriguing premise, and it is precisely their capacity to stir audiences’ emotions and expectations that first drew Khan’s attention.

“You look at all the great work that is out there in Australia, and we’ve only limited spots in a festival to show that. So we want to make sure that we’re programming the best and most exciting work we can find. A big part of that is the level of research. We’ll be in artists’ studios, seeing festivals, catching shows in Australia and around the world, talking with colleagues and making sure we have really strong relationships with artists, making sure we understand what they do and why. By the time we select the shows, even if it’s a commission and a world premiere, we know that the artist is a leader in their field. Even if they’re an emerging artist, we know the rigour of their process and that they’re doing exciting things.”

Though Liveworks does not shy away from serious and stirring themes, it is by no means a celebration of all things severe. Amidst the dance, distress and desire, there are great reserves of pathos and humour. It is the whole gamut of human experience that Khan and the artists are attempting to chart here, even when humans themselves are conspicuously absent.

“You look at Robot Opera and can’t help but ask, ‘Just how intelligent are they?’ It’s certainly an aspect of this work. I think the idea of what it means to be human is something that all forms and genres address in some way. You look at comedies and they’re concerned with that as much as something like Robot Opera, though expressed in different ways. I think they’re themes artists return to again and again. But in terms of heaviness, in Robot Opera there are certainly heavy themes, but there’s also a lot of humour. You’re being confronted by these things that are humanoid but behave bizarrely and are struggling to understand us as much as we’re struggling to understand them. There are other works in the festival, like Vicki Van Hout’s [Les FestivitesLubrifier], which has indigenous politics but is also this story of Vicki getting lost on the Metro – [it’s] about an Aboriginal woman getting lost far from home. There are real moments of lightness within the festival, and to use a bit of a cliché, there’s really something for everyone.”

In addition to the performances and installations themselves, a further hallmark of the festival is the inclusion of ‘meditations’ – opportunities for audiences to delve behind the curtain and uncover new insights about particular artists or creations. It is a further attempt by Khan and his colleagues to demystify that abstract term, ‘experimental’, and allow the festival to flourish across a broad sweep of people. In short, if you have yet to sample experimental wares, there is surely no finer time.

“The meditations are something really interesting,” says Khan. “For an extra $20, you meet an hour before the show and an expert on that artist or art form will lead a discussion or exercises that relate to what you’re about to see. Then you all go into the show together, and afterwards come back to the space and there’s wine, the chance to talk about what you’ve seen and ask questions. We don’t want it to be alienating, we want it to be as welcoming as possible. We want people to get to know the artist and the work beyond simply turning up at the theatre and seeing a show before walking away.

“So we have this series of programs built around the festival, and there’s one space at Carriageworks that is entirely dedicated to these artist talks and workshops. There are actually 22 of those, as well as the 11 works in the festival itself, and they’re really designed to give people more insight into the work. There are all sorts of different ways for people to have a more rounded, exciting experience.”

[ABOVE: Liveworks – Nicola Gunn in Piece For Person And Ghetto Blaster]