Workshop on the alchemical power between oral history and art, a space for reflection and collective experimentation.
About this event
Workshop by Antígona González and Melina Alzogaray
This is the second workshop in a two-part series. We highly recommend registering for both. You can find Part 2 here.
On one hand, we will share experiences working with Latin American communities in situations of oppression: we will deeply examine the work of oral sources, archives, memory and artistic languages. On the other hand, we propose a laboratory space with exercises in which to reflect on the role of the interviewer; as well as on the works the participants have in the development process. We want to generate a space of learning and collective creation.
At the end of this workshop, participants will have the following experiences:
References and tools for the interdisciplinary work between the oral history and art.
Artistic and poetic exercises that will allow them to develop their ability to be fully present in the interview practice.
Coordinates, maps and work scores to integrate the alchemy in their personal projects between oral history and art.
Antígona González holds a BA in journalism and studies in Performing Arts (UANL). Besides working as a creator and performer in mostly documentary theatrical pieces, she has also been engaged in production for performing arts pieces and festivals, as well as in areas like lighting design, technical direction for theater; feature and documentary films, oral history community-based projects, and community organizing. Co-founder of Aguaardiente Colectivo that develops community art projects based on the oral history interview process. Member of Teatro Línea de Sombra since 2007. She has collaborated with El Rinoceronte Enamorado, la Rubia Co, La Percha Teatro (México), Cie Carabosse (France), The Commons Choir, FABnyc, Downtown Art, IATI Theater, Superhero Clubhouse (NYC), among others. Artist-in-residence at Downtown Art, 2016 (NYC). In 2020 with FABnyc, developed the exhibition/performance On being home while feeding the lungs, a memory project based on oral history interviews by phone with elderly residents of the LES (NYC) during the first 5 months of isolation due to the pandemic.
Melina Alzogaray has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the National University of Cordoba. She defines herself as a creative investigator on oral history. She put forward “Memoria Migrante: Un proyecto de memoria, arte y encuentro cultural ambulante” [“Migrant Memory: A project of memory, art and itinerant cultural encounter”], which is currently part of the Aguardiente artistic collective. In Spain, Mexico, New York and Argentina, she was part of more than 30 collective memory projects to reconstruct the history of different Latin American communities based on theoretical and practical reflection on oral history, in its intersection with different artistic languages.
She has worked as a professor responsible for the training of artists and researchers in the social sciences in the delivery of courses and seminars on the use of memory and oral history as useful tools to develop artistic projects. Melina lives in Cordoba since 2014. She currently coordinates Vivero Cultural: Fábrica de Plantas en las Sierras Chicas de Córdoba, Argentina.
Image Description: 11 people standing backwards with their arms locked facing a wall made of wooden crates.
We are excited to offer this round of workshops fully bilingually, in English and Spanish. We will also be providing ASL interpretation on demand, and offering live captioning on all sessions. We are hopeful that this will broaden access, allow for conversations that would not otherwise be possible, and deepen all of our learning.
We are committed to making these workshops as broadly accessible as possible, so we are offering an option of free registration for those who could not otherwise attend, with a sliding scale suggested donation of $20-$100 per workshop. We encourage you to pay what you can to support fair pay for our instructors as well as free registration for those who need it.
These events are open to all. You can use this quick survey to let us know how we could make these events more accessible for you. Note that we are able to provide ASL interpretation for any event, but need two weeks' notice. Please contact Rebecca McGilveray at rlm2203@columbia.edu with specific access requests or questions.