The 2022 Edition of Performersion – Power in Digital Theater
The 2022 Edition of Performersion – Power in Digital Theater
At the moment, there are a very large number of events focusing on the practical application of digital tools and on the aesthetic formulation of digital formats. (And, frankly, it is about time). With this is mind, we would like to take a look at the power structures in digital theater in this year’s edition of Performersion and look beyond aesthetics and practice. After all, the reflection upon power relationships is not only an aesthetic feature of a great deal of the work created within the independent performing arts, but also deeply ingrained within the ways in which many artists develop and refine materials as well as the methods they use.
But have the ownership and property relationships of digital platforms and art products already been structurally examined and reflected upon like the routine analysis of cultural production in physical spaces that has been routinely conducted for many years? If the gatekeeping power of jury members and the directors of performance venues is less present in digital spaces, who is it that controls these digital access points? How has the role of digital curators changed? Is the utopian claim true that performing artists can now become self-determined broadcasters of their own art in safe spaces that they choose themselves? Who earns money from all of the video recordings that have been made available online and the other online formats? How many rights of exploitation have been unintentionally ceded to tech companies because the general terms and conditions are opaque? And what factors must be taken into consideration on the search for fair representation on digital stages?
In an attempt to begin to find answers to these questions, we have invited powerful (in terms of their knowledge) experts from the fields of politics, the performing arts and digital artists and will also present empowering workshops. On each of the three days, we will meet in a safe expedition camp on Gather.Town and set off from there on excursions to digital cultural spaces.
The Berlin Performing Arts Program has worked with re:publica and additional cooperation partners since 2016 to bring members of the independent performing arts community together with experts in digitalism: international artists, game developers, experts from the field of technology and research meet regularly to develop ideas, try out practical approaches in collaborative formats as well as to exchange. The different strengths of the participants helps to provide inspiration, transfer knowledge and to test out new approaches and methods. Performersion thus functions as an interface from which the participants are able to continuously develop interdisciplinary impulses and bring these back to their respective working fields.