Attend free events as part of the Decay without mourning: Future-thinking heritage practices conference
Contact information
An international conference, Decay without mourning: Future-thinking heritage practices, will take place in Stellenbosch from 15–17 April. It is the culmination of a five-year research project at Stellenbosch University, KTH Royal University (Sweden) and the University of São Paulo.
Alongside the academic programme, a curated series of artistic works that form part of the conference’s thematic arc will be presented. These events are free and open to the public. Please note booking is essential.
Exhibition: Deaccessioned is an exhibition of works developed in response to decayed photographic negatives from the Hidden Years Music Archive. Artists and writers engaged with these materials not as stable records, but as sites of change shaped by time, damage and handling. The exhibition shifts the focus from historical information to aesthetic and material transformation, inviting new ways of seeing and interpreting the archive.
Album launch: Hypha is a series of seven new compositions by Cara Stacey. This work draws inspiration from decayed archival material in the Hidden Years Music Archive. Working with multispecies provocation, time travel and code, Stacey explores how improvising and creating with tape, de-composition, images and mould could shape our listening; opening it up to dissonance, unpredictability and change. She is joined by Keenan Ahrends and Matthijs van Dijk for the performance.
Date: 15 April
18:00–20:00
Booking: https://forms.gle/XRARLLWPt9E4q5EZ9
Show: Nelisiwe Xaba is one of South Africa’s most acclaimed choreographers and performance artists. In vRot, Nelisiwe Xaba uses the concept of decay to interrogate corruption in South Africa. Combining dance, video, sound and textile, the piece offers a microscopic exploration of social decay, where processes of moulding mirror the conditions of contemporary society.
Venue: Adam Small Lab Theatre
Date: 16 & 17 April
Time: 19:00–20:00
Booking: https://forms.gle/BWkEpQ4r55qZ5Nry7