September 27 – 29, 2021 / 19:00 – 22:00
Art Academy – Møllendalsveien 61, Bergen / with Sara Gebran, Audrey Hurd, Brandon LaBelle, Sveinung Unneland, Emilie Wright
For the second gathering of The Pirate Academy, we focus on the topic of Second Culture. Developed in the context of the Prague Underground in the 1970s, second culture became a conceptual framework for nurturing social and political resistances as well as communal survival. Yet, second culture was not only an instrumental or practical tool, it was also a highly creative, imaginary and at times fantastical vocabulary that contributed to a range of musical, artistic and experimental actions. From the Plastic People of the Universe to Milan Knizak’s broken music to communalistic happenings in the countryside, second culture became a form of creative and imaginary power. For this session of the Pirate Academy, we’ll reflect upon Second Culture, its theorization and manifestation in the context of Prague, as well as explore its presence within today’s artistic and cultural environment. In what ways does second culture function today? And how might understandings of second culture contribute to our practice as artists? From questions of climate crisis and multi-species companionship to withdrawal and radical exist, from music, listening and sonic worlds to alternative futures, explorations of the Second will be posed through creative presentations, performances and lectures by invited guests, as well as open discussions together.
Monday, September 27 / 19:00 – 22:00: introductory performative thoughts by Brandon LaBelle on second culture, the Prague Underground, and the notion of “the destituent” – undercover and out of sight, a second under the first //// we are glad to welcome visiting artist, writer and choreographer Sara Gebran whose current work on Quantum Community will be presented – Sara will share her writings, speak about choreography as writing, and invite us into the world of the quantum, which she imagines as the basis for Social Intimacy.
Tuesday, September 28 / 19:00 – 22:00: continuing our work with second culture, reflections and approaches to commoning practices will be shared, and how expressions of self-organization, pirate copying, rewilding and direct democracy are articulated today, including anarchic principles of direct relations, neighborhood councils, creative commons, feminist foreign-policy making, free culture and urban gardens – the artist Sveinung Unneland will also join opening his Kitchen Sculpture for us to use for making tea /// in addition, artist and performer Emilie Wright will join us, presenting a performative listening session, including her own sound compositions – Emilie will immerse us in a sonic world, inviting us to listen-together.
Wednesday, September 29 / 19:00 – 22:00: we finish the Pirate Academy Research Festival this evening, where Sara Gebran will continue her presentation and discussion of Quantum Community, introducing her particular form of Trance-Writing by way of reading-listening-dancing /// and finally, Audrey Hurd, an artist living in Bergen, will conclude the evening. Audrey has a background in printmaking and ceramics but currently works more with drawing, sound and sculpture. Her work often focuses on touch as a means of understanding. In 2017 she began ‘The Bedroom Residency’ which has hosted nine artists thus far, inviting them to prioritize rest over productivity. In the Pirate Academy she would like our help to try to figure out how to resist the urge to “make the most of it” and accept that not all life experiences have to be food for content.
