Reading Circus. Dramaturgy on the Border between Art and Academia
On 7. October, the documentary film ‘Reading Circus. Dramaturgy on the Border between Art and Academia’ premiers in an arthouse cinema in Münster. The film records Zirkus | Wissenschaft’s study- and research project that, using contemporary circus as example, aimed at discussing the potential of cultural-semiotic analysis methods in artistic practice. Four artists of the Dutch Tall Tales Company had the chance to work on the further development of their latest production Square One. In the course of this work in progress, students of the master programme Kulturpoetik der Literatur und Medien lent their support as dramaturges. The group intended to develop a feedback method from a semiotic analysis model for contemporary circus performances that can be applied in future artistic creation processes.
Regarding its aim, the project not only contributes to contemporary circus practice but also takes a stand on highly topical matters of university policy and scientific border areas. The project’s cultural relevance and its impact on university policies have already been discussed by representatives of the university and advocates of the German circus scene in the week-long artistic residency. In the following two years, the project shall be positioned at the border between established theory and innovation, as well as at the threshold of cultural science and cultural practice, giving rise to an intense dialogue within semiotic research. In how far can insights from semiotic analyses of ‘new’ objects change the view on common concepts and methods? What role can and should semiotics play in practice? Why is semiotics relevant today?
In order to answer these questions, the documentary will be shown internationally at scientific- and study meetings as well as events in cultural scenes (e.g. Freiburger Kulturbörse 2020) starting 7. October. Thereby, the screening serves as a starting point for impulse presentations, panel discussions and world-cafés by and with artists, cultural workers, scholars and students. The resulting discussions and insights will be published in 2021 in a special issue of the series Schriften zur Kultur und Mediensemiotik entitled Semiotics Matters! Borderlines and Application Areas of Current Semiotics. A Call-for-Papers will be announced.
In case you are interested in realizing an event of this dimension at your university or cultural institution, please feel free to contact Dr. Franziska Trapp via f.trapp@uni-muenster.de.
This summer Münster University will be hosting its firstever artist residency. From June 10th to 14th students and the circus artists Tall Tales will work on developing the artist's programme. The goal is to combine a scientific literary approach with a practical artistic approach. The residency ends with a public work-in-progress presentation in which artists and students present their experiences. Recently Dr. Franziska Trapp explained more about the projects aim at Circus Talks.
The Graphic Novel UpsideDown can now be purchased for 10 Euro. Simply send an E-Mail to kultur@uni-muenster.de to order a copy. Please provide a shipping adress.
The results of the graphic recordings at this summer’s conference are printed on waterproof truck tarpaulin to enrich your festival or conference with a space for discussion on circus arts.
For further information and technical data take a look at the Dossier!
'UpSideDown' is the first circensic academic graphic novel, inspired by the results of 2017's international conference UpSideDown | Circus and Space in Münster with contributions by graphic recorders Die-Zeichner. The novel is curated by Zirkuswissenschaft in cooperation with Kulturbüro der WWU. The book launch is accompanied by the presentation of the traveling exhibition 'UpSideDown', making the conference's graphic recordings available to a larger audience. As two prime examples of successful science communication, the young academic discipline's book launch and exhibition opening invite discussion on the status quo of science communication. For this purpose, a lecture by Philipp Niemann (science communication at Karlsruher Institute for Technology) on "Science Communication Today: More Content, More Colour - More Importance?" and a panel discussion will explore possibilities and relevance of science communication.
We especially welcome young academics!
Keynote
Philipp Niemann | Science Communication at Karlsruher Institute for Technology
Moderation
Norbert Robers | Press Officer Münster University
Panel
Michael Quante | Vice-Rector for International Matters and Transfer
Philipp Niemann | Science Communication at Karlsruher Institute for Technology
Viola Van Melis | Science Communication at Excellence Cluster ‚Religion and Politics’
Moritz Baßler | Chair of New German Literature, Cultural Poet
Franziska Trapp | PhD Student at the Graduate School 'Practices of Literature' and founder of Zirkus | Wissenschaft
Organisation
Zirkus | Wissenschaft (Franziska Trapp), WWU Graduate Center (Jan Schmidt), Zentrale Kustodie and Kulturbüro (Eckhard Kluth)
