Behind Shelves

For SAVVYZΛΛR, Jasmina Al-Qaisi takes you BEHIND SHELVES: The feature format aims at reordering memories and different moments in the activities of SAVVY Contemporary recalled by members, audiences and objects, books into various themes and alongside personal stories.

BEHIND SHELVES is one possible response to how moments can be catalogued, how performativity, as the constant friction of time and of memories can be reminded and made accessible. It stars the invisible, the unnoticed, and remnants of the act, the practice, the event, and works towards changing meanings given to things reinvesting them back. These objects are anchors to memory, as much as mnemonic tools, and are part of various earthly methods of documentation. The title is inspired by a practice of collecting little objects after performances and saving them behind shelves, a non-normative archival process developed by Jasmina Al-Qaisi, archivist of the  SAVVY.doc and host of the format. 


Next Sunday, 01.11.2020 we will talk about IMAGINATION:

This episode deals with queering various notions that converge into what we often name identity, it is jumping from reordering beliefs to reflections on genealogies of sensorial knowledge where we read possible futures into. Sourced by flipping stones to listen to the movements of the earth in the company of chants and songs as mnemonic hooks its intention is to remind us of our dreams and our struggles and their interdependence. 

Accounts on imagination with:
Anna Jäger reading in memories and from Wilson Harris, Raisa Galofre reading Bertolt Brecht from a contribution in Terremoto; Abhishek Nilamber on political imagination, MZL “wax carpet”, Kelly Krugman reading Marisol de la Cadena;  imagination memory of Cornelia Knoll, Anton Kats from the source, imagination necessity from Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung about Souths, Jacques Coursil and Marque Gilmore: Hostipitality Suite;

Literature: “Tes derniers instants”, a poem by Billy Carl Kuatche Fowo, Marisol de la Cadena: “Uncommoning Nature”, a text in the Agropoetics reader 

Archival material by: Leda Martins at “We Who Are Not The Same at Exercise #3: ​​​Screening, Lectures and Talk” with Nevline Nnaji  and Bahia Shehab; Ivan “Ivy” Monteiro performing “Mother The Verb” , Ida Bencke reading “Soft Openings and Transcorporeality: Caring for Encounters II”, Latedjou’s Língua Livre  – from a concert at The Long Term You Cannot Afford. On The Distribution Of The Toxic; Jihan El-Tahri Do They Feel My Shadow and Raisa Galofre with Rueda de Cumbia Music performance by Canoafolk Rueda De Cumbia at the INVOCATIONS of  Whose Land Have I Lit On Now? Contemplations On The Notion Of Hostipitality

Sound piece: "Castles in the air" by Jasmina

Featured objects in Behind Shelves archive of performance:  a bunch of ropes from “Pressure on Boys” by Markues 

Bird: the master of mimicry Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae)