Summary: I am expanding my company outside of myself in the coming months and will open a small community space in Charlois as Stichting CORPO. This will be the place for artists and public to explore and get to know their bodies. It will also offer artist support and run free public activities, workshops, and showings. For more background, see the full blog below the photo...
Recently I have been in a very exciting process of redefining what I want the future of my work to be. Since creating Corpomorphologistics, I’ve had the wish to explore this research of the body in a way that uses its potential to represent more diverse bodies and experiences than my own. Also (like many others in the circus community) I had a hard time reaching an audience outside of art and circus which made me want to focus more on connecting to communities.
With these wishes I realized that I was looking for a longer term space than residencies alone could provide, so that I could stay in one community and get to know and connect with them longer. I also needed a space where I could learn how to include others, both artists and public, in a way that provided inclusivity, flexibility, and privacy when needed. It was in looking for a place to fulfill these new needs that I came across the organization Wolphaert1555.
Wolphaert1555 is a housing association which originated with some artists squatting a building in Charlois. Now it is a community of artists supporting each other and working to have a positive impact on the communities of Charlois. At the end of 2021, they made an open call to initiatives that might fill some spaces on the street which they called the DIT Spaces. They wanted them to become public and inclusive places that served locals in some way. With this open call I realized that I had the opportunity to go in a direction now that I had assumed wouldn’t be possible for at least a few more years. This convinced me to apply, I was invited to present, and CORPO has now been selected as one of the two initiatives to join this community.
To read more about this fantastic community and organization visit: https://www.w1555.org
Now, what is it that will be happening at CORPO? Under the umbrella of exploring the body with artistic research, the goals of the space will be to serve and connect to communities in Charlois and to serve as a project space for Rotterdam artists with an emphasis on the circus community. There will be regular activities which light heartedly introduce methods for using art to get to know your own body, workshops to explore in more depth, and small performances and exhibitions. The space will be given to an artist or company one week per month to explore their bodies or bodies in general and present what they wish. There will also be group research events where artists can come together and experiment with different topics and materials, as well as a monthly opportunity to test projects with an audience. Additionally, I will being using the space to work with artists to make work inspired by the other activities happening and presenting this work as well.
It is important to know that this space is for the community of Charlois and Rotterdam artists. I have my ideas and project plans, but the program of the space will also be built with the feedback and needs that are communicated by participants. I have a lot to learn but am so grateful to soon have the chance to try out my plans and learn with whoever wishes to join.
Although I have been selected, the space is not yet ready. I will receive the keys once the last construction has been completed, although I have visited the space to give my presentation. It is 50m squared, so for projects which center around rigging or need a lot of space for technique it is not so suitable. Rather than a full creation space CORPO will function more as a gathering and research space, which I believe it will serve very well. I am looking forward to meeting you there and seeing what it becomes!