Lamenting the future. Mourning as a source of activism. A lecture by Guy Cools
On the occasion of his new book, Performing Mourning, Laments in Contemporary Art, the Vienna based dance dramaturg Guy Cools discussed (on 3 November 2021) contemporary art practices in literature, visual and performing arts that use mourning as a source for activism. Using the tradition of the Greek moiroloi (laments) as a template, Cools discussed how many artistic expressions can be considered contemporary laments. Referencing Judith Butler’s notion of ‘equal grievability’, Cools focused on a younger generation of artist who dealing with ‘climate grief’ or forms of state violence, lament their future.
Guy Cools is a is a Belgian dance dramaturge, currently living in Vienna. He has worked as a dance critic and curator. He now dedicates himself to production dramaturgy and research/writing. He regularly lectures and publishes internationally (In-between Dance Cultures, Valiz 2015; Imaginative Bodies, Valiz 2016; The Ethics of Art (co-ed.), Valiz, 2014, The Choreopolitics of Alain Platel’s les ballets C de la B, Bloomsbury 2019 (co-ed.).