LISTENING AND LIMINALITY. Berlin

a rabbit. unprotected from our intentions
balancing on the border line between private and public
walking someone’s steps
stealing identity?
loosing self
embodying the other
steps
fast. fast. slow. fast. stop. stop
who are you? why are you here?

…western tradition has become exhausted in its overwhelming production of talking that is not sufficiently interested in listening…
Gemma Corradi Fiumara

Listening and Liminality is an artistic research process, a methodology-in-training for an upcoming international performance-journey series. The core of the methodology stems from radical listening, following the steps and active presence in the public spaces. It is a tool for story-gathering and connecting with someone next to you and the environment in the present moment. It involves extensive walking in unexpected trajectories. It starts with simple tasks conducted solo or in pairs in the cityscapes, liminal spaces where many paths are crossing (stations, busy streets, shopping malls) and moves on to creating the texts, filtering the verbal expressions, and embodying the words. And recording soundscapes. It is a work-in-progress.

As for April 2025, the methodology consists of 5 core tasks and collaborative reflection sessions; there is a draft for a workshop and outlines for the script. The tasks were refined, tested and documented in collaboration with Misia Żurek, a dancer, performance maker, and experimental anthropologist, during my artistic research stay in Berlin, supported by Culture Moves Europe, a project funded by the European Union and the Goethe Institut.

To be continued >>>

Academic and artistic inspiration of the project

Gemma Corradi Fiumara, an Italian philosopher and psychology scholar, and her seminal book "The Other Side of Language: A Philosophy of Listening" (1990), which examines the philosophical underpinnings of listening.

Rajni Shah and their "Experiments in Listening" (2021), which offers contemporary perspectives on listening practices.

La Pocha Nostra, transdisciplinary arts organization known for their exploration of the theme of border-crossing and La Pocha pedagogy, and the core members of the group - Guillermo Gomez-Peña, Balitronica Gomez and La Saula.

Juan Dominguez, an artist, maker, and organizer within the fields of choreography and performing arts.

DV8 Physical Theatre Company and their verbatim technique, with a particular focus on the work of Hannes Langolf, a dancer and choreographer.

Pauline Oliveros, a composer, and researcher who coined Deep Listening practices, which emphasises the importance of expanded auditory awareness.

Stacie Makishi, whose work integrates various forms of artistic expression through empathy.