Project Overview

Launched in July 2004, this phase of the In Place of War project will research and create performance in sites of armed conflict as well as support and document performance work by artists and communities displaced by war. The project aims to generate information and resources about how performance is responding to war and this will be used to create dialogue with practitioners and researchers internationally.

The project has 4 overriding research questions:

1. How do performance practitioners respond to war?
2. How do war-affected communities use performance during and immediately after war?
3. What ethical dilemmas arise from these practices?
4. What theoretical models can be developed for performance in place of war?

The international war against terrorism, the war in Iraq and the refugee debate in the UK all provide contexts in which performance is seeking to find a place. Responding to war and crisis has been a major concern for practitioners and theorists and there are documented examples of performance during wars in Northern Ireland, Colombia, Israel / Palestine, former Yugoslavia and Sri Lanka. IN PLACE OF WAR seeks to document these disparate examples of practice and develop dialogue between practitioners, academics and members of the public.
As part of the project, the team is keen to build on the work already documented and to learn from projects in other conflict areas. This web site is open to all interested parties. Please contribute ideas, submit information or develop discussions through the forum. Also, as one of the In Place of War's main aims is to disseminate information and develop networks, please feel free to contact the team about any aspect of the project.