Eco-Performance:
Connecting Performance Art and Environmentalism

                                                                                                                                                             with Ayça Ceylan


Course Description

Eco-performance art has emerged as a valuable tool for negotiating humankind's relationship to nature as we experience the devastating effects of the climate crisis more intensely every day.  Also, creating artworks connecting the body with natural elements is in inspiration for humanity to slow down, learn sustainability and creativity in the anthropocene period. This course offers to its participants both practical approaches and theoretical knowledge about the relationship between performance art and environmentalism. Participants will acquire an experience that focuses on the history and concerns of eco-performance art, the relationship between the body and nature, examples of eco-performance art, sustainable archival methods for performance art, and gather practical tools for creating performance art. Participants are encouraged to develop individual and group projects about climate issues in in-class exercises and assignments. Moreover, they will be guided to explore balancing exercises with the elements, whose methodology combines spiritual approaches from Eastern and Western ancient cultures. 

Syllabus



About Ayça Ceylan

Performance artist and environmentalist Ayça Ceylan creates site-specific performances about perception processes through employing disciplines such as comparative mythology, dance, spiritualism, herbalism and technology together. In her performances, she focuses on how the body and space construct each other, the concept of healing, body politics, and multispecies. For her performances, she prefers galleries, museums, public spaces, nature, and ancient sites that affect our archetypical memory. Rituals, symbolism, goddess cults and synchronization with nature are among her biggest inspirations. She uses photography, video, installation, artists books, AR and live art to present her concept. Ceylan is the founder and creative director of Body in Perform (2018). She has carried out performance workshops and residencies in numerous venues across Turkey,  Japan, India, and the UK. She also writes about climate issues for Cumhuriyet Daily Newspaper. Her performance documentations are in private art collections. https://aycaceylan.wordpress.com/ 

 

 

AVAILABILITY: Places still available
DURATION: October 7-28, 2024; Mondays 6-8PM CET
LOCATION: Online course
LANGUAGE: English
TUITION FEE: 175 €  (no equipment required)
APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 2, 2024

                                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                                
 

 
 

Course Image Caption:  Ayça Ceylan, "Nymph",  +30 month durational performance , ongoing since 2018, image: Bilsart 2020