Curating PQ Talks 2023: an act in four transgressions

ABSTRACT

In this short reflective writing piece, I explore my position as the curator of PQ Talks, describing the process behind my thinking when designing the concept, selecting the participants, and shaping some of the panel discussions. Although all the selected talks showcased an incredibly rich array of nuanced ideas, approaches, and concerns, and as such resist any unifying interpretation, I argue that many of them were guided by an ethos of transgression: transgression of dominant norms, practices, institutions, disciplines, spaces, and ideas about and around performance design and scenography. I highlight four of these transgressions that point to the politics of my curatorial gesture: the decolonial turn, toward pedagogies of empathy, trans/non-binary and feminist approaches, and ecoscenographic practices as an emerging field.

Notes

1 A complete list of the talks and speakers can be found on the PQ website. https://pq.cz/pq-2023-info/projects-2023/pq-talks-curated-by-barbora-prihodova/.

2 All talks were recorded, with the permission of the speakers, and made part of PQ’s Digital Archive that is now free and accessible to everyone. This decision, made by PQ 2019 leadership as a way of helping to disseminate scenographic knowledge and practices beyond institutional paid walls, echoes PQ Talks’ quest for inclusive dialogue and knowledge sharing. See https://pq.cz/digital-archive/