For the Routledge published journal, Performance Research, Volume 27, Issue 5 (2022), “On Solidarity”, edited by Noyale Colin and Stefanie Gabrielle Sachsenmaier, Cian Dayrit, Youngsook Choi, Cui Yin Mok and I co-wrote a text, “Conversations and Convergences for Solidarity,” regarding our different experiences and strategies of “performing solidarity”. The writing and editing took a long time (alongside the whole journal), which began back in 2020 and unfolded across all the ups and downs of the pandemic and our personal lives.
For me, being able to write this together was comforting and healing, as I could not only write about an instance of trying to intervene systemically regarding making contracts more equitable for me and my invited contributors (all that tedious behind-the-scenes stuff), which was received unexpectedly well, the experience of writing together also made the struggle less lonely. It poured salve on other times when it has gone horribly wrong, which is always the risk when you challenge institutions and organisations regarding fair/non payment for artists, onerous contracts and what not.
Image above (cropped) from venues of counter-mapping workshops with communities, where they are encouraged to author representations of lived spaces in relation to politico-economic conditions and shared struggles. Photos by Cian Dayrit.
Annie Jael Kwan 