“Downtown is a whimsical, even sentimental, work-in-progress from an artist who surprises us nowadays with subtleties and metaphysical turns but still fixes us as one with a searching eye and vocal rhythms that, although now comforting, still incline to the pulse of poetry...”RealTime 96
Australian artist Rosie Dennis will spend two-weeks walking and talking with people in public spaces; engaging in spontaneous conversations with strangers about what they love and hate about their local neighbourhood and mainstreet. From these conversations she will write and perform Downtown: Kuopio.
Downtown is about belonging, feeling a part of or connected to people as opposed to apart or separate from people.
Each afternoon Rosie will present a performance lecture that captures the essence of her day as well as expose the process of making a live performance. The performance-lecture changes each day as stories accumulate building toward a 30-minute performance-lecture which is presented on the final day.
Downtown will next be presented at ANTI Festival, Kuopio Downtown: Kuopio is part performance-lecture/part working process.
Credit: The structure of this work was commissioned by the Campbelltown Arts Centre as part of its 2009 Contemporary Dance Program. Downtown was presented in February 2010 as part of Performance Space's You Are Here Season. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++