ACCA is pleased to present Writing in the Expanded Field IV: Touching Feeling Writing, the fourth edition of ACCA’s experimental digital writing program, presented in partnership with RMIT University non/fictionLab. Convened by program leader Lucinda Strahan, Touching Feeling Writing will respond to the exhibition Paul Yore: WORD MADE FLESH, to be presented at ACCA from 23 September to 20 November. Ten writers were selected to participate in a workshop series, public reading event and digital publishing project exploring new compositional modes and publics for art writing.
Selected writers: Michaela Bear, Ange Crawford, Mig Dann, Rachel Keir-Smith, Carmen-Sibha Keiso, Shari Kocher, Josephine Mead, Nasim Patel, Sofia Stavrou, Denise Thwaites.
Key dates
Monday 15 August: Applications open
Friday 2 September, 5pm: Applications close
Monday 12 September: Applicants notified of selection outcomes
Friday 23 September: Exhibition open to the public. Artist talks and public programs dates to be confirmed. Please check ACCA website
Saturday 1 October, 12–1.30pm: First meeting and introduction to the program
Sunday 2 October, 12–3pm: Guided writing exercises in the gallery
Monday 3 October, 1pm–2pm: Curatorial tour of exhibition
Monday 3 October, 5pm–7pm: Writing workshop
Monday 10 October, 5–7pm: Online meeting sharing of work in progress, discussion of ideas for Public Readings event
Monday 17 October, 5–7pm: Online meeting sharing of work in progress, design concept discussion with publication designer
Monday 24 October, 1–2pm: Walk-though rehearsal at ACCA
Wednesday 26 October, 6–8pm: Public Readings at ACCA
Friday 11 November: Deadline for all work created in the program
Monday 14 November, 5–7pm: Online meeting, design concept presentation
Monday 28 November, 5–8pm: Proofreading workshop at RMIT
Watch: Writing in the Expanded Field IV: Touching Feeling Writing video
This video was commissioned for Writing in the Expanded Field IV: Touching Feeling Writing developed in conjunction with ACCA’s exhibition Paul Yore: WORD MADE FLESH (23 September – 20 November 2022). The digital publishing project exploring new compositional modes and publics for art writing will be released in early 2023.
Credits:
Sound Editor: Rebecca Bracewell
Videographer: Sofie McClure
Editor and Program Leader: Lucinda Strahan
Editorial Coordinator: Loni Jeffs
Participants: Michaela Bear, Ange Crawford, Mig Dann, Rachel Keir-Smith, Carmen-Sibha Keiso, Shari Kocher, Josephine Mead, Nasim Patel, Sofia Stavrou, Denise Thwaites
Listen to the audio-only version of Writing in the Expanded Field IV: Touching Feeling Writing video
Call for Applications
ACCA is pleased to open our call for applications for Writing in the Expanded Field IV: Touching Feeling Writing, the fourth edition of ACCA’s experimental digital writing program, presented in partnership with RMIT University non/fictionLab. Convened by program leader Lucinda Strahan, Touching Feeling Writing will respond to the exhibition Paul Yore: WORD MADE FLESH, to be presented at ACCA from 23 September to 20 November. Ten writers will be selected to participate in a workshop series, public reading event and digital publishing project exploring new compositional modes and publics for art writing.
Covering the scope of Paul Yore’s work, WORD MADE FLESH engages with the histories of religious art and ritual, queer identity, pop-culture and neo-liberal capitalism, recasting a vast array of found images, materials and texts into sexually and politically loaded tableaux and assemblages which celebrate hybrid and fluid identities, unstable and contradictory meanings, and the glowing horizon of queer worldmaking.
Writing in the Expanded Field brings together outstanding writers of diverse age, gender, ability, cultural and disciplinary background to expand the ways art may be encountered, felt, known and communicated. Paul Yore’s particular interest in language, culture, identity, meaning and the sign provide rich material for this edition’s writers. Writing workshops and exercises in the gallery will bring a focus to embodied attention, surface details and textures as places that might shift the emphasis of critical questions and open new perceptual entry-points for an encounter with the work.
Who Can Apply?
Writing in the Expanded Field encourages discussion, collaboration and professional development through collective work and interdisciplinary exchange. Applications are invited from critical and creative writers of all types and any creative practitioners with an interest in writing contemporary art. Previous editions have included poets, academics, novelists, digital artists, musicians-and-dancers-who-write among others. The selection process will prioritise access and inclusion and the program will cater to writers of all abilities. Unsuccessful applicants to previous editions of the program are welcome to apply again. Please note that the exhibition contains sensitive content – sexual, political and graphic in nature – which is recommended for mature adults.
Please direct all enquiries to Lucinda Strahan, Lecturer and Researcher, non/fiction Lab, RMIT University: lucinda.strahan@rmit.edu.au
Required commitment
Writing in the Expanded Field provides a significant creative and professional development opportunity for participants and requires a significant time commitment. The collective workshop methodology requires ongoing collaboration and participation through all parts of the program. Participants will need to be able to attend all sessions. Successful applicants will also be asked to contribute a $100 registration fee (Healthcare card holders exempt) toward labour and production costs associated with the program’s outcomes. Writers will be paid $300 for their contribution to the program publication.
