Notes from Atopia

A series of intimate explorative encounters that aim to uncover insights on the existential, corporeal and philosophical disjunctures created by COVID-19.

Credits: Nithya Iyer

Unfolding over three days at Appleton Box, Alvalade, Notes from Atopia invites participants into solo and small group encounters that aim to dissect, explore and dialogue with the particularities of the pre-, during and post-COVID-19 world.

'What is Notes from Atopia?' by Nithya Iyer

Inspired by the term ‘Atopia’ - to mean placelessness, or a society without borders and no national identity - Notes from Atopia queries the altered landscape of awareness that emerged in the aftermath of COVID-19 when many populations across the world were united in a suspended digital terrain of self-isolation.

Participants will be asked to bring in a personal object, image, text, or memory that holds significance in relation to their experience of the COVID-19 phenomena. Using a set of procedures grounded in phenomenological theory and adapted through interdisciplinary practices, Nithya Iyer will guide participants through a series of experiential and responsive interactions that aim to engage alternative modes of sense-making. The resulting insights will be digitally archived (with the permission of the participant) and act as a global cultural resource that articulates insights from this particular period in time.

Presentation video and interview with the artist Nithya Iyer by Julia Flamingo.

Produced by Bigorna - Julia Flamingo and Sofia Saleme

DAY ONE:
Solo interactions. 2 hour slots commencing at 10am and concluding at 8pm (10-12; 12:30-2:30; 3:30-5:30; 6-8).

DAY TWO:
Small group interactions (maximum 3 participants per group). 2.5 hour slots commencing at 10am and concluding at 8pm (10-12:30; 2-4:30; 6-8)

DAY THREE:
Solo and small group interactions (maximum 3 participants per group). 2.5 hour slots commencing at 10am and concluding at 8pm. (10-12:30; 2-4:30; 6-8)

DIGITAL PARTICIPATION:

Notes from Atopia is open to digital submissions from participants anywhere in the world. Digital participation will involve an audio experience via a web portal that guides participants through a set of exercises in relation to the object, memory, text or image they choose. Participants will be provided with the link to the portal on October 7th to coincide with the workshop, and outcomes created through the digital experience can be included in the digital archive. The experience will involve a form of art-making, either via drawing, writing, or photography.   

Notes from Atopia specifically aims to engage artists, academics, community leaders, and cultural actors from both the local and international community living in Lisbon to participate in this project.

All sessions require pre-registration (we only have some places available for digital participation). Registrants are asked to send an email to maria.duarte@4cs-conflict-conviviality.eu specifying:

• Name
• Preferred date of participation/Digital participation
• Accessibility needs (if in person)
• Contact email

The digital archive of the workshop is now available here.

The booklet of the workshop is available here.

Photos of the workshop at Appleton. Credits: Alfredo Brant

Photos of the artist's studio at Hangar. Credits: Alfredo Brant

A note on the amendment of the workshop:

This workshop has been changed from Undefined Dialogues upon the request of Nithya Iyer. It is a reflexive response to the urgent questions posed by COVID19 and the nature of its impacts upon the daily lives of people in Lisbon and across the world, both in the present and to the foreseeable future.
Notes from Atopia is an acknowledgement of the immensity - existentially, corporeally, societally and philosophically - of the changes brought on by COVID19. It acts as one part of a larger body of research undertaken by Nithya Iyer.