Architecture Competition: Theatrum Mundi
London/ Paris based research centre Theatrum Mundi is looking for aspiring urbanists interested in forming a transdisciplinary, intergenerational cohort focused on knowledge exchange connecting architecture and urbanism with the crafts of the stage.
Starting in 2022, the Theatrum Mundi Displacement cohort will participate in a 6-month curated program of workshops, talks, walks, and activities led by our diverse network of collaborators including Chiara Ambrosio, Gascia Ouzounian, Andrea Luka Zimmerman, Arman Nouri, Adesola Akinleye and Susannah Haslam amongst others.
Applications are open to practitioners at any stage of their career/education, and diversity has been highlighted as a key driver for selection of the cohort. More details on who and how to apply can be found in the Notes to Editors section below.
Participants will develop their thinking and practice through the co-production of knowledge, establishing a platform for sharing cross-disciplinary ideas on city-making. Participants will be supported in co-producing a series of five zines proposing imaginative responses to shared questions about the staging of urban public life and will curate a two-day summer school taking place at the end of the program.
The inaugural cohort will focus on the themes of displacement and identity of the human and nonhuman, and how we can use storytelling to create new narratives and an intersectional perspective on city-making. The cohort will further explore this central theme through four dedicated sessions on choreography, sound, writing and infrastructure.
Artist Andrea Luka Zimmerman “I am looking forward to exploring with TM Cohort 2022 the ethical, formal and critical explorations of what processes of making allow us to open ourselves to see, ‘know’, talk about, listen to, engage in, and incorporate this sense of undoing and reimagining into our work, towards a future worldmaking for all.”
TM Director John Bingham-Hall “The idea of the workshop, a place to make together, has always been at the heart of Theatrum Mundi. Shared production – whether of ideas, performance or objects – generates bonds across diverse backgrounds. Our reason for initiating the Cohort was to create a platform for urbanists, artists, academics, activists and so on, to push forward their own practices collectively, and simultaneously to be the driver of new directions in Theatrum Mundi’s research.”
How to Apply
To apply, please fill in the following form by the 20th January 2022. If you have any questions please email cohort@theatrum-mundi.org.
Statement
Prepare a 500-word statement on the theme of displacement, and how it relates to your own practice. Please include a concise response to how you think being part of the cohort will benefit your practice, how you would like to expand it through the 6-month program, and what you feel you can contribute.
Eligibility
We are interested in hearing from people with a broad range of perspectives on cities and culture. We welcome applicants from all disciplines and at all stages in their careers, from students to established practitioners and those who retired but look to re-engage with the practice of city-making. We want to ensure equitable access to our resources, inclusive and ethical working practices, and regenerative socio-cultural and environmental impact. Diversity, in its broadest definition, is essential to all these aims and will be the driving force behind the selection of applicants. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, some sessions might need to be moved to an online format, however we hope to conduct the programme in person in London.
All applicants must be able to commit to the whole programme. In addition, applicants should be able to commit sufficient time to co-curate the programme for the Summer School and to prepare an activity to share as part of this.
The programme will run March 2022 until July 2022
Fees
£90 – Student/Senior/Concessions (Unwaged / In receipt of Universal Credit / State Pension)
£150 – Professional
£300 – Professional/Organisation + Pay it forward – You will receive a place for yourself plus pay for one Mentee place for someone unable to meet the cost of the programme themselves.
Free – Mentee – We want to ensure equitable access to our resources, so a limited number of subsidised places will be allocated to those in an early stage of their career, who would like to take time to focus on their development but are unable to fund their place. If you are interested in applying, please outline your situation in the email application.
