The Art of Conversation (2018)
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University and SUP
From classrooms to parliament why does discussion centre on using the voice?
The Art of Discussion is a project about communication that questions why language and speech is often the main form used in discussion.
I worked with second year Painting students at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University in India to create unique methods of discussion. Students created works that were presented in an exhibition. Some works were very participatory and invited the audience to be part of the work whilst other works propose or demonstrate a different method.
The works developed from one week of workshops in which we explored instruction based Fluxus artworks from the 1970s, as well as theatre practitioners such as Augusto Boal who use different
exercises to explore ideas around power imbalance and social justice.
Through experimenting with the fundamental act of discussion the project believes that art can be weaved into everyday life and transform the gestures and activities in society that may be taken
for granted.
I designed a publication (translated to Gujarati) that documented the workshops and student’s work. It is also an instructional guide, so that the activities can be reproduced.