Ecstatic Participation as Research

** Due to train and tube strikes on 4 October, this event has been moved to 5 October **

IAS Creative Fellow Carolin Meyer's initial workshop, open to all, is on art that employs and considers ecstatic participation, as well as quotes which suggest knowledge production that reflects the messy realities we live in. There will be a gathering of euphoric and ecstatic sounds, i.e. sounds that transport us in some way, which she plans to make into a soundscape.

By collaboratively creating site-specific soundscapes and DJ sets that are to be collectively experienced, Carolin aims to inspire students to actively employ music as a way of doing research beyond borders, languages and cultures. In particular, her interest in ecstatic participation guides her work as Creative Fellow. She understands ecstatic participation not simply as a process of standing outside of one's body, but as complex reciprocal exchange between bodies and the world. Furthermore, ecstasis can elicit subjective experiences, which are crucially based on participants’ embodied reactions to sounds and music, thereby creating a space for knowledge production that has the human body at its centre.

In a follow-up event, the soundscape will be made accessible to all, so that participants in the soundscape as well as passers-by at the university can experience it. She hopes to gather their reflections by way of feedback sharing online and/or physically. The findings will be collected and again woven into a rich tapestry of recorded sounds and music.