Tantehorse: Strachy - performative lecture at KUMST

Space for engaged architecture, under the Faculty of Architecture of the Brno University of Technology, and the collective Tantehorse invite you to the presentation of Fears. The performative lecture maps power social relations, the fears that arise from them, and possibilities for overcoming these fears in ways other than total lethargy and learned helplessness. It draws inspiration from contemporary cultural reality and specifically examines strategies of resistance, escape, shaping, and subtle forms of courage. The presentation will take place on Monday, January 16, 2023, at 7:00 PM at KUMST in Brno, as part of the accompanying program of the exhibition Dear Architects… — Architecture as Work.

Admission >

Philosopher Alice Koubová and performer Miřenka Čechová meet in sharing general ideas and specific experiences of stepping out of learned patterns of power relations. How to avoid falling into indifference or obedience conditioned by fear? Making a relatively invisible but unexpected step against power can be as challenging as standing in front of the majority and speaking. Why is such an act demanding and life-giving at the same time? Where can one find inner resources for such steps? What are the chances of success? Will it interest anyone? What strength does culture and artistic experience offer in this matter? A performative-musical-visual experience that invites the audience to adopt an active stance and creates the opportunity to physically experience the moment of overcoming personal discomfort within the safe space of art.

Alice Koubová is a research worker at the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences, where she focuses primarily on themes of performance, bodilyness, identity, ethics, and artistic research. She is a board member of the international platform Performance Philosophy and the coordinator of the AV21 Strategy program Resilient Society for the 21st Century. She has also been teaching at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague for a long time, where she currently serves as vice-dean for science and research.

Miřenka Čechová is a performer, director, and choreographer, creating authorial projects in the field of docu-dance, multimedia, and cross-over. She has long been experimenting with genre overlaps, engaged topics, and autobiographically oriented material, both in directorial and performative roles. With the Tantehorse collective, she supports emerging performers through a curated series of Emergency Dances and long-term laboratories called Tantelab. She is also a co-founder of the Spitfire Company and a dramaturg at Laterna Magika.

Concept, performance: Miřenka Čechová, Alice Koubová
Music: Martin Tvrdý
Visual design: Eva Chudomelová
Light design: Daniel Kozlík
Production: Jakub Urban

The project “Dear Architects… — Architecture as Work” was created in collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture of the Brno University of Technology and with the financial support of the statutory city of Brno, the Ministry of Culture, and the Czech Architecture Foundation. The project “Fears” was created with the support of the capital city of Prague, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the State Fund for Culture of the Czech Republic, the Palace Akropolis, and with the support of the AV21 Strategy program "Resilient Society for the 21st Century." The premiere of the presentation was part of the Beuys will be Beuys project of the Goethe Institute in Bratislava.