Unsettling Space
Reinterpreting the Institution Using Site-Responsive Art
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8364638 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katherine Arbuckle (0000-0001-6801-5485, University of KwaZulu-Natal, corresponding author), Pumelela Nqelenga (0000-0001-9376-7400, University of KwaZulu-Natal) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 23-40 |
| Publication date | 2019-09-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | de arte (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-3389 • E-ISSN: 2471-4100 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00043389.2019.1623471 |
| OpenAlex | W3010396107 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 11 |
In a collaborative project at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), students from the Visual Arts and the Drama and Performance Studies programmes explored institutional space through site-responsive performances. The aim of the project was to critically engage with the decolonial turn, to enact transformation, and to build students’ ownership of institutional space using contemporary art practices. This article describes a participatory art event on campus, highlighting the central role of communication and dialogue in the process leading up to its execution. Despite having been publicly lauded as a model of transformation, UKZN was badly affected by violence and arson attacks during the student protests which rocked South African universities in 2016, a reminder that transformation rhetoric does not address the daily experiences and struggles of students to navigate the academic and societal demands of higher education. This project aimed to create an opportunity for students to identify and respond to symbolic aspects of higher education they experienced as alienating, and to literally occupy and “unsettle” their learning environments. It was inspired by the notion of site-specific art created in a particular physical location/structure, which can be collaborative and subversive, and is able to cross established boundaries. The physical properties of a site can be used to explore complex symbolic relationships, by highlighting stories, events, and the meanings we attach to places. The process can be used to regenerate space in an empowering manner. In the context of this project, regeneration follows unsettling—the decolonisation and reinvention of institutional space
Art · Citizen journalism · Context (archaeology) · Drama · Institution · Linguistics · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Rhetoric · Social science · Sociology · Space (punctuation) · The arts · Visual arts · African cultural and philosophical studies · Computer Science · History · Law · Participatory Visual Research Methods · South African History and Culture
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2023 (4) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |