I will be there...

University of Manchester


Events - Performance, Learning and Heritage conference

International Conference: 3rd -5th April 2008

PERFORMING HERITAGE: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

We are pleased to announce that the Performance, Learning and Heritage project will be hosting an international conference in April 2008. The conference will take place at the University of Manchester , and will provide a forum for discussing how research and practice in the field of museum performance/live interpretation can inform one another.

The Performance, Learning and Heritage project is an AHRC funded investigation into the uses and impact of performance as a medium for learning in museums and at heritage sites. The scope of the project is international, and since 2005, the team have been researching case study sites and carrying out a detailed mapping of practice (For further details click here). 2008 marks the final year of the project, and presents a timely opportunity for debate and knowledge exchange in this fast developing are of performance and interpretive practice.

Areas to be covered by the conference:

• Making connections : the intersection of performance/performativity, site specific practice and notions of heritage;

• Gauging impact : audience response and longer-term impact, the place of interactivity, and community outreach;

• Reports from the field : accounts and findings from research and evaluation projects in the UK and abroad. Some sessions at the conference will be devoted to the emerging findings of the PL&H research and the implications for future practice and policy making; but we are keen to hear about, and compare notes with, other research projects across the globe;

• Developing practice : examples of practice – live and recorded – to illustrate the range of performance practice and provide opportuni tie s to interrogate that practice; workshops from practitioners and academics are invited as a means of exploring how research and practice interconnect;

• ‘research at the heart of practice' – the focus will be on research as it informs practice, practice as it informs research and (not least) practice as a means of research in the museum/heritage sector.

The conference will consist of a variety of presentations: keynote addresses; academic papers (20 minutes + discussion); performances (e.g. short performances that illustrate innovative or experimental performance styles, or different approaches to interaction); workshops by practitioners or academics (e.g. exploring ways of translating research into practice, or of using performance as a research tool); panel discussions (3-4 linked papers); and round table discussions (involving short prepared ‘provocations' on an agreed theme with maximum time for debate). Most sessions will be 90 minutes duration (3-4 papers per session) unless otherwise arranged.


Source : http://www.plh.manchester.ac.uk/conference.htm