Reading together: BEK sessions with Carol Stampone and Samuel Brzeski
Published
NB! Due to illness the session with Carol Stampone is moved to a new date, Tuesday 14 November.
Join us for two evenings of inquiry led by the artists Carol Stampone and Samuel Brzeski. During a meal and through conversations we will dive into questions relating to the ideas of two distinguished thinkers, who will participate in the BEK symposium The Only Lasting Truth is Change later in the Fall.
Tuesday 31 October: With Samuel Brzeski, the group will talk around N. Kathrine Hayles’ concept of cognitive assemblages, in which human and non-human entities come together to define new ways of thinking and co-existing in hybrid forms of cognition.
Tuesday 14 November: Ways of enduring the broken world. – a writing lab hosted by Carol Stampone, inspired by Tung-Hui Hu´s book Digital Lethargy – Dispatches from an Age of Disconnection.
Digital Lethargy describes the atmospheres of exhaustion that result from digital capitalism. Whether it manifests as depersonalization, busy idleness, or burnout, this condition permeates our lives under digital capitalism, though it is felt particularly keenly by racialized “servers” in Asia and the Global South.
Today’s digital supply chain relies heavily on logistical technologies that coordinate bodies alongside their algorithms or warehouse robots. The true objects of logistics are human, and those are disproportionately persons of colour. When one’s job is to be a robotic “server” for others, what forms of collectivity and political agency are left?
Some reading materials will be sent out before the sessions, but it isn’t obligatory to read it in advance. It is also not necessary to have any previous knowledge of the subject matter.
Time: 31 October and 14 November, 18.00-20.00.
Participation: The sessions will take place at BEK, and be held in English.
Registration: The sessions are free, but registration is needed. You can register for both sessions, or a selected one. To sign up, please send an email to ase@bek.no minimum two days before the event.
The scholars Tung-Hui Hu and N. Katherine Hayles will participate in the BEK symposium The Only Lasting Change is Truth during the core days 16-19 November. The “Reading Together” sessions, is a part of the symposium programme offering a chance to learn about the ideas and research areas of some of the participants. Focusing on collective learning experiences, we will try to develop new understandings through discussions and exchanges.
SAMUEL BRZESKI
Samuel Brzeski is an artist and writer working with language as raw material — through text, voice or otherwise performed. In his work he explores how digital culture has reprogrammed our relationship to language, and the emotional impacts of this ongoing process.
CAROL STAMPONE
Carol Stampone is a writer, storyteller, performance artist, philosopher, and mediator based in Bergen. Her current practice and research aim at creating temporary liminal spaces where the participants can acknowledge and transcend their marks and situatedness. Through writing labs, conversations, and performances she creates experiences to invite the participants to be astonished, think and care. Among the themes she deals with are belonging, motherhood, sustainability, gender issues, site of speech, race, exile, and liminal spaces.
THE ONLY LASTING TRUTH IS CHANGE
The Reading Together Sessions is part of The Only Lasting Truth is Change, an expanded symposium investigating current and future configurations of art, technology, nature and power. The symposium takes place in Bergen and online 16-19 November, with satellite events throughout the autumn. See the detailed symposium programme here.
The symposium is organised by BEK with support from Norsk kulturråd, Fritt Ord, Bergen kommune, KORO, Bergesenstiftelsen, and in cooperation with Ekko, Østre, Tenthaus, Bergen Assembly and the County Governor of Vestland. It is part of New Perspectives for Action – a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union.
Accessibility
BEK’s space unfortunately is not wheelchair accessible. Please send us an email at bek@bek.no if you’re using a wheelchair, and we’ll do our best to facilitate your needs. Our space has all gender toilet facilities. Service dogs are welcome. We also provide the option of a quiet room.