16.12.24, 16:00, Doctoral defense David Weber-Krebs
On December 16, David Weber-Krebs, artistic researcher at KASK & Conservatorium, will defend his doctorate to obtain the title Doctor of Arts. On behalf of the candidate and his promotors, Dr. An Van Dienderen (HOGENT - KASK & Conservatorium), prof. dr. Christel Stalpaert (UGent) and Prof. Dr. Em. Bart Verschaffel (UGent), we would like to invite you to this occasion.
The public defense will start at 16:00 in auditorium Cirque in the Cloquet building on Campus Bijloke. Afterwards, you are welcome to attend the reception. Please confirm your attendance by sending an e-mail to david.weberkrebs@hogent.be.
Exercising Fragility in Theatres and Beyond
The place of this research project is the enclosed space of the theatre in relation to the great outdoors of the world outside of it. Traditionally the theatre provides a space where audiences implicitly agree to a temporary separation from their everyday lives, from what is happening outside. However, in the Anthropocene—the era of ecological interconnectedness and blurred boundaries between nature and culture—this isolation is challenged. The sublime, historically a one-way experience of awe and fear evoked by overwhelming forces, must be rethought in this context. Rather than seeing audiences as passive recipients of grandiose effects, the Anthropocene emphasizes reciprocal relationships, where spectators actively or by their mere co-presence in a space shape the theatrical experience. This shift invites a reconceptualization of the sublime as a 'fragile sublime,' where the artwork becomes vulnerable and co-agency defines the interaction between audience and performance.
This research project was carried out on different levels and using various means: within the theatrical space by creating performances and curating projects; and outside the theatrical space by developing a writing practice and inviting others to write. Meanwhile, the sudden spread of an invisible airborne element made people around the world both dangerous to each other and vulnerable to one another, disrupting not only human relationships but also cultural institutions. Theatre doors were closed indefinitely, and this research project that had taken place within the four walls of the theater suddenly unfolded outside of them.
David Weber-Krebs
David Weber-Krebs is an artist, researcher and curator based in Brussels. He studied at the University of Fribourg (CH) and the Amsterdam School of the Arts (NL). Recent works are the performances The Silencing and The Death of Ivan Ilyich. He is curator of the series performance-conferences On Enclosed Spaces and the Great Outdoors and the editor of the book And Then the Doors Opened Again. David collaborates on a regular basis with different artists and theorists and he teaches at different visual arts and performance academies.
The research project Exercising Fragility in Theatres and Beyond was financed by the HOGENT Arts Research Fund.
