My desire to go to Hamburg was sparked initially through my interest in the performance collective Geheimagentur (Secret Agents) in particular their recent work PORTS.
This summer they were staging this performance event for a second time as well as hosting Rights to the Sea /Access Points, a two day symposium and week of workshops with many invited participants. The events were hosted aboard the MS Stubnitz, a former GDR fishing vessel, moored in the new Hafencity area of Hamburg.
There research lead approach is shaped by Geheimagenturs critical knowledge of their city, its historic role as Europes main port over many centuries, and how this links it to an international conversation around the movement of goods and people. I wrote in detail about the performance and symposium in a Letter from Hamburgarticle for Art Monthly magazine( AM409:September2017) as there was so much resonance and connection to broader themes.
I am motivated to produce writing from these experiences as a way of deepening my understanding of art practice and ideas brought out by visiting a new place, as much as from a desire to share this experience and give exposure to artists who’s practice I great admire.
The whole culmination of events was deeply engaging and I was introduced to some fantastic theorists such as Keller Easterling and Historian Marcus Redecker, as well as meeting people from social and artistic projects on water elsewhere, like the resistance to the cruse ship industry in Venice and collectively owned and built raft projects from Berlin, Anarche.
There was a agreement to try to establish a network to continue the conversation, and build international collaboration for those who felt great affinity with the ideas and practices. More can be found out about the beginning of this on the Hydrarchy International blog.
As these event were part of the Theater de Welt festival, I was also able to see some other works such as Five short Blasts by Australian artists Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey, which consisted of early morning tours on the Elbe river with accompanying audio art work. This allowed me another way in to engaging with the water that surrounds the city, this time through the lens of newcomers to the city.
Artistically this was one of the most engaging parts of the trip for me and some of the theory and ways of working which I was introduced to here are opening up many avenues for my continued research and project development.
