Image by Becky Snodgrass
In April, artist collective My Barbarian will be in residence at the Visual Arts Center at UT Austin as part of the VAC’s ongoing experimental sound, video, and performance series, Sound + Vision.
During the residency the collective will employ the pedagogical model and self-consciously codified technique they developed in 2008: Post-Living Ante-Action Theater (PoLAAT). Ten Austin residents will have the opportunity to work with My Barbarian and participate in a week-long workshop, culminating in two performances at the Fusebox Festival Hub. This five-stage technique—consisting of Estrangement, Indistinction, Suspension of Beliefs, Mandate to Participate, Inspirational Critique—incorporates song, dance, levitation, trust circles, masks, signs and other elements to playfully reenact serious artistic, political, social, and historical situations.
My Barbarian’s residency at the Visual Arts Center in the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Austin is presented in collaboration with Church of the Friendly Ghost and Pastelegram. Support comes from the Ford Foundation, the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies, Texas Performing Arts, through the O’Donnell Fund, and the Fine Arts Diversity Committee.