Tiziano Cruz – Artist Lab

Tiziano Cruz will lead a two-day artist lab exploring periphery-driven art practice, in collaboration with Performance Art Video. Tiziano will share practical and theoretical methodologies that insist on political art and collective action in the context of neocolonialism.

Art, Public Space, and Political Thought in Creative Processes:

This theoretical-practical workshop proposes a methodology for research and artistic experimentation—one that is situated where critical thought meets sensory experience. Through the body, memory, and collective exploration, we invite artists from various disciplines to interrogate the territories they inhabit and to test alternative ways of relating to them.

The proposal is structured around three dimensions: the memory of the body and the territory; the knowledge, voices, and experiences that remain outside of official narratives; and artistic creation as a means to forge connections, challenge existing structures, and transform everyday life. We will explore these dimensions concurrently over the course of our two-day gathering.

How does the space we inhabit influence the way we create, relate to one another, and understand the world? What can art achieve within territories shaped by power dynamics? How can we create not merely to display something, but to open up new possibilities for encounter, coexistence, and the construction of the “common”?

A city, a neighbourhood, a street corner, a park, a river, a social club, a café, a theatre, or a museum—these are far more than physical locations; they hold histories, conflicts, affections, and forms of belonging. Their architecture, regulations, and uses have historically shaped our bodies, conditioning our movements, our interactions, and the ways in which we can occupy a place in the world. Some of these rules are visible; others are silently absorbed into our habits and behaviours, eventually becoming part of what we perceive as “natural.”

What memories remain inscribed within a territory? Which bodies are free to inhabit it, and which encounter obstacles? Which experiences take centre stage, and which are relegated to the margins? What kinds of relationships do we—perhaps unwittingly—reproduce as we move through these spaces?

Our starting point is the premise that all artistic practice is shaped by historical, cultural, economic, and political conditions. Recognising these relationships will allow us to shift our perspective, discover other forms of knowledge, and find new possibilities for creative research within everyday experiences.

From an interdisciplinary and collective standpoint, we will bring the body, architecture, memory, language, and shared experience into dialogue through conversations, observation exercises, walks, and experimental practices.

The workshop will explore:

Centre and periphery: investigating how territorial, cultural, and symbolic hierarchies are constructed—which experiences gain legitimacy, and which remain rendered invisible.

Body and space: exploring how architecture, norms, and everyday practices shape our movements, our relationships, and our sense of belonging.

Memory and territory: recognising the traces of personal and collective histories within the places we inhabit, while attending to inherited knowledge and memories that resist being forgotten.

Colonialism, neocolonialism, and decoloniality: questioning how historical power relations permeate bodies, territories, forms of knowledge, and cultural institutions.

Art and activism: examining the potential for artistic practices to disrupt established logics, pose new questions, and experiment with alternative forms of social organisation.

Creation and community: exploring processes that go beyond merely representing a community—instead building relationships rooted in listening, participation, and exchange—and viewing creation as a means of forging connections and shared experiences.

There are three free places for Latinx artists, available on a first come, first served basis. Please email [email protected] to request a place.

On Friday 27 November Tiziano will present a new performance lecture as part of Future Ritual’s CEREMONY Festival. Find more details here.