Sustaining the Otherwise presents Imagining Otherwise, a three-day interdisciplinary program taking place at and around Nordic Black Theatre, Oslo. The program brings together contemporary art practice, sound-based art, music, and archival research into a live exhibition format.
Imagining Otherwise actively engages with the topic of restitution by centralising performance-based artistic practices that question and confront the tensions of colonial terror and the (im)possibility of reparations, rematriation, and freedom. Inspired by the overriding concept of The Earth as a Wayfinder, the interdisciplinary program aims to highlight the importance of ancestral knowledge to the proposition of rethinking restitution.
The featured performances serve as a compelling reminder that restitution is not only about returning cultural heritage objects, but also about reconfiguring, rehabilitating and complicating the discourse around decoloniality, restitution, and reparations, and sitting with the discomfort of those propositions.
Performances that engage the public and spark critical thinking about place, history, memory, and belonging are integral to the program. Also highlighting artistic practices that engage directly with public spaces, Imagining Otherwise extends into the streets, gardens, parks and historical sites surrounding Nordic Black Theatre.
Overall, the program conveys the importance of memory work and practices of freedom and refusal, and drive home the significance of remembering, sharing knowledge and learning (as well as unlearning) as intrinsic to rethinking restitution. Here, the power of performance as a method to negotiate the space between history, place, and self, and the choreography of sound and movement, can be seen as acts of resistance that effectively transform the topic of restitution from conversation to action.
Curated by Amal Alhaag & Selene Wendt and hosted in collaboration with Nordic Black Theatre.With generous support from Nordic Culture Fund (Globus); Arts and Culture Norway, and The Agency for Cultural Affairs, City of Oslo.
About Sustaining the OtherwiseSustaining the Otherwise is a transnational research and curatorial initiative led by Amal Alhaag and Selene Wendt, unfolding through interconnected residencies, exhibitions, performances and public programs across Amsterdam, Lusaka, Kampala, Oslo, Nairobi, Lagos, Benin City, Port of Spain and Paris/Dakar, with an accompanying publication developed with Archive Books.
Find more information HERE
