On December 4th 2007, LISA organised a discussion evening: Performativity of the research on performativity, in Gasthuis Theater. The subject of this discussion was the phenomenon of artistic research, seen from a political point of view as well as from the artist’s perspective. LISA had invited colleagues from the field of theatre, scholars and producers (among others) to participate.
In the artistic practice of many theatre makers ‘research’ has become an increasingly used term. This development and the many questions it rises formed the cause and starting point for the discussion. The presentation of Jefta van Dinther’s research project The Power of Movement functioned as a concrete point of departure.
Under discussion were questions such as: What exactly is research? What happens to a research when it is presented to an audience? What is the status of a research when publicly presented? Who is the audience? What are the expectations of a spectator when watching the presentation of a research? How does artistic research and academic research - both producing knowledge - differ from eachother?