Act Out: Performative Video by Nordic Women Artists

Abstract

Act Out: Performative Video by Nordic Women Artists was a project of the Centre of Art History and Artistic Investigation (CHAIA) of the University of Évora (UE). CHAIA researchers and teachers at the UE Department of Visual Arts and Design (DAVD) Manuela Cristóvão, Artist and Auxiliar Professor, and Teresa Furtado, Artist and Assistant Professor, were responsible for conceptualizing and organizing this event which was part of the DAVD investigation line ‘Art and Society at CHAIA. This research aims to study the production of video art by women video artists, its reception by the audience and its contribution to art history. The project key associate was the curator and artist Anna Linder from Filmform, an institution dedicated to the promotion, distribution and preservation of experimental film and video in Sweden.Nordic video art, and specifically high quality video art made by Nordic women artists, is scarcely known in the Portuguese cultural domain. This was one of the main reasons that drove us to conceive ACT OUT as a discussion, interaction and presentation forum to inquire into today's women's performative video art in Nordic countries, exploring such issues as racial and gender identity, politics, and oppression.