Body Politic
Body Politic is a strand of debates focusing on key cultural issues affecting dance and performance led by Dance Umbrella and in partnership with King's College London, the Arts and Humanities Festival at King’s, and Dance UK.
Body Politic 2015 - Power or persuasion? Art and culture as a tool in international politics
Body Politic 2015, taking place on 23 October as part of the Arts & Humanities Festival at King's College London, is a live and online discussion with a selection of King's academics and art industry leaders. It will examine the role of art in international relations, and unravel the relationship between policy makers and artists in fabricating identity.
In Olympic ceremonies from London to Beijing we project an image of ourselves to the world. Dance Umbrella invite artists, policy makers, political thinkers and the public to ask questions about how culture is used by politicians and policy makers to define our national identity.
Chair: Dr. Daniel Glaser, Director Science Gallery at King’s College London.
Panel: Gregory Maqoma, Choreographer (South Africa); Graham Sheffield, Director Arts, British Council; Dr. Melissa Nisbett, Lecturer in Arts & Cultural Management, King’s College London; Sandy Dawe, Strategic Tourism Advisor.
For more detail, and to book your place, either live or online, please visit the Dance Umbrella website. You can also follow the debate on Twitter by using #bodpol15.
Body Politic 2014 - Politics of participation
Body Politic 2014 was a live an online discussion focused on how artists choose to create work with non-professional performers, some for their own artistic reasons, others to provide creative experiences for those participating, but all with a belief in the artistic credibility of the results.
The 2014 discussion was chaired by Dr Daniel Glaser, Director Science Gallery, King’s College London, and panellists included Penny Woolcock (writer and filmmaker), Matt Fenton (Artistic Director & Chief Executive, Contact, Manchester), Kenrick 'H2O' Sandy (Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director, Boy Blue Entertainment), Julie Anne Stanzak (Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch), and Simon Dove (Co-curator, Crossing the Line). A recording can be found here.
About the Arts & Humanities Festival
The Arts & Humanities Festival is an annual event which celebrates and disseminates the work going on across the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s College London. The festival is an opportunity for collaboration between departments, across the College, and with external partners. It is a showcase of academic excellence with an emphasis on practical application and public engagement. The theme for this year’s festival is ‘fabrication’. The festival is organised by the Arts & Humanities Research Institute and takes place at the Strand Campus. Most events and installations are free and all are open to the public. See the Arts & Humanities Festival programme here.
It was supported by the university's Culture team.