Open-air Performance and Environment Network

O.P.E.N.

A space for discussing and researching open air performance.

OPEN to all forms and genres of performance taking place under the sky.

OPEN to multiple disciplines, including performance studies, earth sciences, cultural studies, tourism studies, history and more.

OPEN to artists, researchers, programmers, curators, audiences.

OPEN to questioning the category, the practices, the boundaries, the politics of outdoor work.

OPEN to the blurring of boundaries and opening of access offered by digital communication.

 

OPEN has been established in summer 2021 in response to the upsurge in outdoor arts following the covid-19 pandemic. Researchers in the Drama Department at Exeter have long had an interest in open air performance, including walking practices, open air Shakespeare, site-specific performance, street performance, performance in gardens, safari tourism performances, histories of popular performance, socially-engaged work and more. What unites these disparate practices is that they are open to the sky and weather, something that has felt more significant during and after lockdown. We are working across disciplines and internationally, and are joined in this discussion by colleagues from diverse contexts and perspectives, as well as by artists with multiple approaches.

 

For information on current research projects and on those involved, please click here: https://openairperformance.com/open-air-performance-and-environment-network-o-p-e-n/