Ear Whispered Works by Tania El Khoury
September
6–23, 2018
Presented by the Bryn Mawr College Performing Arts Series in partnership with FringeArts as part of the 2018 Fringe Festival
Video Explores Tell Me What I Can Do
About ear-whispered: works by Tania El Khoury
This survey of artist Tania El Khoury’s work features her internationally acclaimed Gardens Speak—an immersive sound installation that invites audience members to dig in the dirt in order to listen to oral histories collected from the early period of the Syrian uprising. Working between Lebanon and the United Kingdom, El Khoury crafts innovative performances and installations that engage the audience in multi-sensory interaction. The five works of ear-whispered also include the one-on-one performance As Far As My Fingertips Take Me; two immersive video installations, Stories of Refuge and Camp Pause, both produced as a collaboration through Beirut-based Dictaphone Group; and the world premiere of Tell Me What I Can Do, commissioned by Bryn Mawr College.
ear-whispered is presented as part of the 2018 Fringe Festival, which runs from September 6 to 23. It features five major works, four of which are at Bryn Mawr College (including Gardens Speak), and two are in Old City (As Far As My Fingertips Take Me is in both locations). All locations are open to the public. (See our directions page for how to get there.)There will be three performances of Gardens Speak in Arabic (September 15 at 2pm, 3pm, and 4pm—the rest are in English). Two of the works will be running past the festival: Stories of Refuge runs through September 28 at Twelve Gates Arts in Old City and Camp Pause runs through December 14 in the Rare Book Room in Canaday Library at Bryn Mawr College. Additionally there are a number of special events—conversations, lectures, events with music and food—that deepen the audience’s appreciation of ear-whispered and further explore the artistic, political, and cultural world that El Khoury’s work inhabits.
Group reservations: contact Bryn Mawr College Arts Office at reservations@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-5300.
Tania El Khoury’s work focuses on audience interactivity and is concerned with the ethical and political potential of such encounters. She creates installations and performances in which the audience is an active collaborator. She holds a PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London (UK). Her research and publications focus on the political potential of interactive live art. El Khoury is associated with Forest Fringe collective of artists in the UK and is a co-founder of Dictaphone Group in Lebanon.
View this introductory video for ear-whispered: works by Tania El Khoury.
The latest from Writings
Conversation with Pepón Osorio, Naya Salamé, Lisa Kraus
As part of ear-whispered, Lisa Kraus, project director, and Pepon Osorio, project consultant, were slated to visit Beirut in January 2018 to meet area artists and better understand the context out of which Tania El Khoury’s work arises. Unfortunately this trip was prevented because Bryn Mawr College’s insurers don’t provide coverage in Lebanon. Instead, a… Read more »
Read MoreEvents
Gardens Speak
When
September 12–16, 19–23
Where
Bryn Mawr College
Hepburn Teaching Theater in Goodhart Hall
150 N Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
About
Gardens Speak is an immersive sound installation in which audience members are invited to lie down to listen to the oral histories of people who were killed in the early days of the Syrian uprising and buried in private and public gardens. Purchase Tickets
Tickets & Info
Tell Me What I Can Do
When
September 12-16, 19-23
Where
Bryn Mawr College
Common Room in Goodhart Hall
150 N Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
About
In this new work commissioned for ear-whispered, El Khoury has created an installation from the archive of letters written by audiences during the international touring of Gardens Speak, also featured at Bryn Mawr College.
Free Event
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Camp Pause
When
September 12–16, 19–23 (extends September 24–December 14)
Where
Bryn Mawr College
Rare Book Room in Canaday Library, 1st Floor
101 N Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
About
The Dictaphone Group filmed four residents of the Rashidieh Refugee Camp on the coast of Lebanon—a camp that has existed for generations. Residents weave narratives about the history of the land, their arrival, the struggle to build, and their relationship to the sea.
Free Event
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As Far As My Fingertips Take Me
When
September 6–9, 12–14 (PII Gallery) and September 15, 16, 19–23 (Bryn Mawr College)
Where
PII Gallery
242 Race St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Bryn Mawr College
Taft Garden, between Goodhart Hall and Canaday Library
101 N Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
About
This one-on-one installation performance is an encounter through a gallery wall between a single audience member and a refugee. The refugee marks the audience member’s arm with the story of a refugee family’s journey from Syria to Sweden.
Stories of Refuge
When
September 6–28
Where
Twelve Gates Arts
106 N 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
About
Three Syrian asylum seekers were given discreet cameras and asked to film a day in their lives in their temporary accommodations in Munich—as well as their favorite spots in the city.
Free Event
More Info
Special Events
Event Locations
At Bryn Mawr College
Gardens Speak
Camp Pause
As Far As My Fingertips Take Me
Tell Me What I Can Do
In Old City Philadelphia
As Far As My Fingertips Take Me
(PII Gallery, 242 Race Street)
Stories of Refuge
(Twelve Gates Arts, 106 N 3nd St)