ADHOCRACY

Vitalstatistix hosts National artist/performer hothouse. Lesley Reed reports.

Vitalstatistix’s Adhocracy program started out as a one day workshop in 2010 and in less than four years has grown into a national interdisciplinary development platform for performers and artists. It has supported thirty five projects and involved one hundred and fifty artists over its short life.

From a national callout, Adelaide’s Vitalstatistix has chosen nine creative teams and their projects to be part of Adhocracy in 2014. At first, ten artists will undertake Future Present, a two week residency project led by Rosie Dennis, Artistic Director of Urban Theatre Projects, NSW (pictured below, photographer: Heidrun Lohr). Immediately following this, four days of intensive creative development will take place, commencing Friday, June 6, which is an artist-only day. This continues through the entire Queen’s Birthday long weekend, with plenty of opportunity for public involvement.

Artists/performers from around Australia will be included, gathering at Vitalstatistix’s heritage-listed Port Adelaide home, Waterside, to create, converse and critique in one space. As the new works are developed the public are welcome to engage with the artists and their creative processes from Saturday until Monday through a program of talks and ‘work in progress’ reveals.

The diverse range of themes this year includes climate change, sustainability, memory, history, economic transition, new modes of exchange, feminism, conflict and cooperation, identity, transgression, landscape and periphery.

‘Artists are engaged in exploring how we imagine the future, the liveliness and uncertainty of the present and how we remember the past, our own past,’ explains Creative Producer, Vitalstatistix’s Emma Webb, who curates the program together with Jason Sweeney, Paul Gazzola and Lara Torr.

While there are several artistic disciplines included in Adhocracy, there are interesting and very different performance components to the program. Telemetry is one example. It is a live performance exploration of communication, collaboration and technology, under the guidance of Nathan Harrison and Jake Pember, both from New South Wales. Nathan Harrison is a performer and writer, primarily working with performance collective Applespiel, with whom he has developed and performed work for Performance Space, Next Wave Festival, Underbelly Arts and others. Jake Pember is a musician and composer, with his music practice spanning into music for film, interactive sound installations and live theatre. Telemetry will include various performance processes, including a live performance that the program describes as having ‘high stakes and spectacle’. The audience is invited to explore and experience for themselves the various performance modes used. There will be a chance to see the progress of Telemetry on the Saturday of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, from 3.30-9 pm, together with artist/performer talks on Sunday and Monday at 8 pm (top image is from Telemetry's Mayfly Project).

Heat (left) is a performance work that explores aggression, violence, competition and conflict between women. Encompassing performance, video and sound it investigates a range of assumptions about women, including passivity. Heat is produced by Hissy Fit, and is another Adhocracy event out of New South Wales. Artists include Emily O’connor, who is a founding member of Hissy Fit and who completed her honours in Performance and Theatre Studies at the University of New South Wales in 2013. Joining Emily is Natalie Randall, a solo artist and core member of performance collectives, Team MESS and Hissy Fit.

The public’s chance to see the progress of Heat will occur on Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the June long weekend, at 9 pm. A performer/artist conversation will take place on Sunday at 5 pm.

For those interested in the history of Australian live art and contemporary performance, Victoria’s Leisa Shelton will be creating the participatory project, Mapping, in which a live and visceral archive will be created by charting memories of seminal points in Australian practice. It will also be a documentation of Australia’s key artists. Leisa Shelton is a performance artist, maker, teacher and curator. She has had a broad and international background in the performing arts, including as Head of Physical Performance/New Work and Theatre Creation at the VCA.

Audiences can involve themselves in Mapping during conversations on Saturday and Sunday 3-5 pm, 6-7 pm and 8-9 pm. A conversation about archiving our history will also take place, scheduled for 5 pm Monday.

Only a few Adhocracy events have been described here, but audiences also have much to enjoy from the other creative artists, performers, themes and elements of the program. Vitalstatistix’s Adhocracy program can be downloaded by clicking here.

There’ll be durational showings and many Conversations (or performer/artist discussions) occurring regularly during the June long weekend, Saturday-Monday. There’s music and also a bar, open 3 pm-12 am. The TACO Cats will provide Mexican food from a 1960’s caravan each evening 5.30 pm-9.30 pm.

Says Creative Producer, Emma Webb, ‘Adhocracy is a festival of ideas meets intense art camp meets magic house party. As with previous years, many of these new works will go on to presentations around the country – see them in development first at Adhocracy.’

Adhocracy is a feast for the senses, the heart, the mind and the creative juices. Don’t miss this startlingly different event.

Bookings: Entry by donation on the day. Bar and food available.

Program can be downloaded at http://www.vitalstatistixtheatrecompany.blogspot.com.au/

Dates: Queen’s Birthday long weekend: Public events Sat-Mon 7-9 June, 3pm–midnight.

Venue: Waterside, 11 Nile Street, Port Adelaide.