an investigation of ways we can activate a shared action from disparate groups.
about the agency for collective action
the agency for collective action was a collaboration between pvi collective and panther, a melbourne live art duo.
the project investigated ways in which we can activate disparate groups of people to undertake a shared action through performance and public intervention.
the highly aspirational intentions of the agency for collective action appealed to both pvi and panther; the aim of seeking out a commitment by all involved to take a stand and act upon it together. this commitment, whilst inherently absurd and largely doomed to failure, served to poetically highlight an innate desire to change and affect the landscape. it was largely this impossibility in all its magnitude that appeals and for us gave the work its currency, integrity and ability to have impact on an audience.
we at the agency for collective action were interested in the decisions we make as individuals and the way in which individual interests can inform and empower events. we were interested in the way individuals come together, make decisions, and unite to make affirmative decisions for a collective future. we take action to make decisions. we find common cause among strangers; we create small communities out of larger ones and in doing so highlight the many tensions and triumphs of individualism in a global collective.
creative team
- devised & performed by
- pvi collective & panther
- production manager
- the south project
- research provocatuer
- wimo bayang
thanks to
performance history
the grounds of the sultans palace, jogyakarta, indonesia, nov 2009.
south project, ‘why gather?’ international symposium, jul 2008.
originally commissioned by the south project international gathering in santiago, chile in 2006. the state of western australia has made an investment in this project through the department of culture and the arts in association with the lotteries commission.
links
http://www.facebook.com/thesouthproject
artitudes – indonesian contemporary art. oct 2009
http://www.arttitudes.org/exhibition/perjumpaan-selatan-selatanthe-south-project-yogyakarta-gathering-2009.html
artlink: the south issue – new horizons
http://www.artlink.com.au/issues/2720/the-south-issue-new-horizons/
southern perspectives: the south project. 2009
http://www.southernperspectives.net/tag/south-project
everybody’s working for the weekend, partyofone – artlink: work
http://www.artlink.com.au/articles/3033/everybodys-working-for-the-weekend/