ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE DISCARD:
INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT
THE LISTENING LAB (AN INTERVIEW
WITH DR. KATHRYN RICKETTS)
What is the Listening Lab and why is it so called?
The Listening Lab is an artist/research/teacher residency
committed to bold explorations of experimental arts
with the purpose of developing user-friendly language
and resources that can be shared within and beyond the
university
Who is it for? The Listening Lab is directed by myself
and interfaces with artist, teachers, and researchers from
the University of Regina and beyond to colleagues within
Saskatchewan and further to our national community.
What is your goal/vision in developing the Liste ning Lab?
I wanted to create a kind of laboratory that combined
this concept and experimental play with the purpose
of generating not only a stronger appreciation of
experimental arts but also more approachable methods
for practicing art making within the broadest range of
contexts. Coming from a professional dance background,
I have participated in countless creative labs and have
experienced the great value of these experiments for both
artists and audience members. I wanted to extend this
idea to an educative context.
What were some positive results you saw from last year's
Lab? So far I am working with serendipitous connections
to the lab and inviting participants that I continue to work
with from across the country. I have been able to broker
many connections and foster meaningful relationships
with these residents within our Faculty and beyond
to other Faculties including within the First Nations
University. I have also been able to bridge these research
projects with key players in the community including
arts programmers, studio directors, professional artists,
and teachers in the field. The residency has been able to
further inquiries and deepen methods of practice for each
individual resident. A few examples are listed below:
• Daya Madhur (Ethnomusicologist, Arts Education
Specialist): Socially engaged arts-based practices.
• Loft Lift Off: A studio celebration of two exhibitions, live
music, dance, video and storytelling with Ned Bartlett,
Johanna Bundon, Ian Campbell, Patrick Lewis, Kathryn
Ricketts & Gale Russell.
• Vicki Kelly (Associate Professor, Arts Education, SFU):
Indigenous arts-based practices as knowledge practices.
• Susan Gerofsky (Assistant Professor, Curriculum &
Pedagogy, UBC): Embodied methods of understanding
math.
• Performance and Difference: Developing new accessible
and inclusive languages/methods for experimental art
making. Kathryn Ricketts with Dr. Randy Johner & Dr.
Kathleen Irwin.
Where did the idea come from? One key component in
my thesis work around the method Embodied Poetic
Narrative was the notion of "deep listening." It strikes me
that this is the nexus of all of our work as effective artists,
teachers, and researchers.
• Anthropology of the Discard, 5th Parallel Gallery: An
interactive exhibition based on bags of objects bulging
with stories. (see photos above)
I have been able to support arts of these activities with the
generous support of the Ruth Dafoe Fund from the Faculty
of Social work as well as support from this Faculty.
What are your plans for this year regarding the Listening
Lab? I have a very exciting season filled with artists,
teachers, and researchers from Vancouver, Victoria,
Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Montreal, Toronto,
Windsor, Winnipeg, North Battleford, and Saskatoon.
The work will focus more on explorations of cultural
displacement with creative place-based experiments. I will
also be working with a variety of artists from a range of
disciplines as performative contributors to the National
tour of Anthropology of the Discard for 2016/18. I will be
continuing to work with teachers in the field and within
the lab furthering the creative capital of pedagogues
in the classroom. And finally I will be working with Dr.
Kathleen Irwin (Faculty of MAP) and Dr. Randy Johner
(Faculty of Social Work), exploring and expanding
language, methods, and resources in the realm of mixed
abilities and performance. These last two projects are
fuelled by grants from SSHRC Insight, SSHRC Seed and
Humanities Research Fellowship, Ruth Dafoe Fund as well
as the support from the Faculty of Education. I am hoping
that in the future, I can welcome artists, researchers, and
teachers by a call for proposals. I am excited by the notion
of connecting inquiries with local resources and to watch
how this exciting alchemy can further our research and
deepen our own inquiries in our Faculty.
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