DIY: 2015 – Katie Etheridge and Simon Pergishetti ‘University of DIY’

Can you start a University of Live Art in your front room, garden shed or local pub?

Project Summary

University of DIY invites a group of artists to come together to explore DIY approaches to innovative Live Art education.

Colossal fees, ideological shifts, and the closure of iconic courses that have long acted as pathways into a career for 1000’s of artists, are threatening the whole ecology of the sector. Whilst surviving courses should be celebrated, as a community we need to prepare for a major paradigm shift in arts education.

In this workshop we will explore radical alternatives to institutional based models of education, through discussion, playful experimentation, sharing of experience and practice, and meeting artists and organisations already addressing these concerns.

A 4-day intensive project with guest intervention from Clerke & Joy.

University of DIY is for artists at all stages of their careers, including those who are just starting out and want to invent their own education. Participants might include emerging artists who are interested in animating their communities, established artists who are concerned about where the next generation is going to come from, artist-activists, artist-educators, artist-producers, artist-academics and those who don’t call themselves artists yet.

Areas of practice include: live art performance, site-specific practice, visual performance, devised theatre, relational and socially engaged practice.

Participants will be selected through the submission of an expression of interest. The selection process will endeavor to reflect a range of entry points, perspectives, backgrounds and levels of experience.

Application Deadline: Deadline passed.

Dates, times, location
Tuesday 24 November 10am – Friday 27 November 6pm
Contact, Manchester, Oxford Road, M15 6JA.

The Artists

Katie Etheridge & Simon Persighetti are artists and performance makers who create and produce projects that explore the interrelationships between people and place. Simon is a core member of Wrights & Sites, a group of performance-trained artists producing international site-specific performances, walking projects, publications, and other art works since their formation in 1997. Katie is the face behind Faceback, the live art game that has gone viral at Festivals and events across the UK, connecting 1000’s of people who wouldn’t normally meet. Etheridge & Persighetti are experienced educators, and both taught at Dartington College of Arts and Falmouth University.

Clerke and Joy is an ongoing collaboration between Rachael Clerke and Josephine Joy. They are artists with an ongoing interest in education, creating Tips for the Real World, a survival kit for graduating artists, and leading workshops internationally.