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UP - Performance in Perspective

UP – Performance in Perspective examines both the perspective of, and perspectives on, the performing artist (performer) within the broad domain of the performing arts: music, drama, dance, performance art, and related (inter/trans-) disciplines. For the policy period 2024-26, we are formulating two new research lines, each with several priorities. These research lines build upon what we have achieved over the past three years, while also identifying new trends and research areas. We deliberately keep our research lines broad to remain open to new and unexpected ideas. However, within these lines, we define certain priorities that we wish to explore more deeply.

The first research line, “Re-sourcing,” addresses gaps in conventional Western art practices and repertoires, as well as omissions in mainstream historical narratives. We investigate historical performance practices, non-Western art forms, non-classical traditions, and non-dominant perspectives within the performing arts. The second line, “Catalysts for Innovation,” focuses on change and innovation in the performing arts, in the present, future, and past. We examine the relationship between the performer and performance contexts and conditions, particularly in curatorial and technological developments.

Multivocality and diversity—central themes during the 2021-23 policy period—remain core foundational principles, now complemented by a new focus on "care," as we seek a balance between artistic flexibility and freedom on one hand, and mental, economic, and social stability on the other.

In the 2025–26 academic year, we launch the project Early Music: A contemporary perspective on repertoire and interpretation which starts from the idea of the musical hyper-archive of “musical works as highly flexible, mobile multiplicities with potentially infinite constitutive parts that can be exposed in different modes (…).” (de Assis, 2018, p. 67). We activate this archive through concepts and methods such as assemblage (Deleuze, de Assis), experimental systems (Rheinberger), social mediation (Born), and insights from ethnomusicology. By connecting the research lines "Re-sourcing" and "Catalysts for Innovation", we aim to sustain Early Music as a radical and living concept. Our interdisciplinary and reflective approach combines aesthetic innovation with social engagement, and we invite new researchers to contribute to this vision from diverse perspectives.

Team: Liselotte Sels (coordinator), Kobe Van Cauwenberghe (chair), Frank Agsteribbe (driving force)

Researchers: Arturo Moscoso, Alastair Mathews, Miriana Faieta, Emil Gryesten, Ewald Demeyere, Marta Keil, Kobe Van Cauwenberghe, Chiara Percivati, Nicolas Kummert, Lauranne Paulissen, Edith Cassiers, Jan Van den Borre, Jeroen Malaise, Frank Agsteribbe and Liselotte Sels  

Contact
Liselotte Sels - liselotte.sels@ap.be

(c) Annick Guffens

Update: June 2025

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