Following an online conversation, I decided that I would spend some time writing a full proposal for a performance work that I have been thinking about for some time. I spent a morning hidden away in a back room of a gallery writing my proposal for a piece of work for the Converge event at Norwich Arts Centre. A proposal that when I had completed it, I felt excited as it reflected exactly what I had in mind and I believed that it would communicate my idea fully to those on the Converge selection panel.
While I would have been excited to have attended Converge as a paying audience member, I was performing for the duration and so unable to see each of the other artists works, however, ahead of the event I did have time to speak to the other performers and learn a little of the work they were going to share. I felt humbled and hugely privileged to be able to present my own work alongside artists who I have huge respect for.
With numerous performances happening throughout Norwich Arts Center, Converge allowed the audience to make their way through the various spaces and look at these spaces in a different way. The spaces were transformed from what they are traditionally understand as, into auditoriums and worlds, where what was witnessed presented challenges and questions, but also offered a unique experience of performance art , something that I have often thought is lacking in the region.
With the nature of each work being distinct from the next, the curated works offered a diverse showcase of how performance art can manifest. Each work was, however, intrinsically linked by the Converge Manifesto and allowed audience members the opportunity to familiarise themselves with this lesser presented creative practice.
Feedback has been incredibly positive from this well subscribed event, which brings hope that more performance arts events may be seen as regular listings at Norwich Arts Centre and similar regional venues.
I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to the curators of Converge and to Norwich Arts Centre for providing this unique opportunity to showcase my work.
