This link will introduce a few core members involved in this project. It will also share some written audience feedback from our previous UK tour and includes a letter of recommendation from Sadler’s Wells and a quote from Southbank Centre.
audience Feedback
I have been looking for something like this for ages . and have never found it! I want to see more of things like this around town! (Sheffield)
Hello! I discovered you on Saturday night at the Compass at Shambala. I have been struggling with mental health and anxiety for many years. On Friday, I had a panic attack and on Saturday I still wasn't present... until I saw you! You, the music and dancers transported me back to the present and gave me a much needed break from my own mind (I'd been in it all day). I took a character card in the dark. The next morning, anxiety had returned so I went into my tent to gather some things...I reached for my bag and found the card. It was magic fish! At the end of reading it, I felt very calm. I saw the healing power on the bottom afterwards and wow!! It definitely did its job! Sunday was a glorious day of freedom after that. I participated in workshops and the freedom, self-love and playfulness snowballed. I now know what I need to do moving forward. Both your music and your energy will stay with me and I will always keep the card. Thank you for your healing powers x (Shambala Festival)
I had no idea what to expect; just saw the poster and thought might be interesting and it ended up being the best show I’ve seen this year. Probably even seen ever! (Newcastle)
An experimental, existential phantasmagoria of sound, costume and movement. I’ve never really understood or appreciated the term ‘multi-media artist’ until ow. Many thanks for an amazingly textured and emotional show. (London)
Just wrote my journal reflexing from your inspired performance last night. Thought I would share it with you. ‘My mind has been left wanting, a need for resolve and understanding of all these new unknown questions that have literally sparked through my eyes and now dazzle my brain. I must step back and view these questions as a pathway to an answer. An answer one day I will find and unite with the others who have found it, there is a great change stirring, finding a place will always be hard, at least I am not alone in trying to find it’ (Newcastle)
Hey 😃 I came and watched your Brighton show yesterday and just have to tell you how magical and emotional an experience it was. I didn’t get a chance to speak to you before we left but my friend and I had a wonderful talk after about how it empowered us to leave behind insecurities that no longer serve us and not let self doubt prevent us from taking action for the things we believe in. In particular for me the part with the rope all tangled around one of the performers really triggered something inside of me that resonated so hard with the filing of restriction that society imprints in us from such a young age. The sooner we become aware of the infinite potential we behold the sooner we can act to make positive change for our beautiful planet. We were in awe of your magic and hope you continue to spread these important messages! Sending love & light (Brighton)
Quote from Southbank Centre
Livia Rita's work is an impressive fusion of disciplines: music, contemporary dance, fashion, nightlife. Their performances produce a queer eco-pop that brings the audience in to ask playful questions about community, nature and bodies in the anthropocene. Engaging local creatives with their Avantgardeners collective while on tour is another notable element of Livia's practice. Having seen a high quality and boundary-pushing demonstration of their work at Sadlers Wells in 2022, we are delighted to host production this production for our Planet Summer series this year.
Alexander Solo - Event Manager - www.southbankcentre.co.uk - 07969 902248 - alexander.solo@southbankcentre.co.uk
Recommendation letter Sadler’s Wells
This letter was written during the pandemic, when we had to postpone our Wild Card nights. It demonstrates Sadler's Wells' support of the development of our multi-disciplinary practice, through our collaborative approaches and efforts at connecting with international artists.
core team & Avantgardeners Collective
Tom McLuckie & Livia Rita are the founding members of the Avantgardeners Collective and collaborators on this project. Tom McLuckie focuses on the music and logistics, while Livia Rita focuses on singing, visual identity and choreography.
Below, we will introduce you to the members of Avantgardeners Productions who are responsible for producing the international tour, as well as some creative collaborators within the Avantgardeners Collective who will contribute to this project.
AVANTGARDENERS PRODUCTIONS
OUR INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION GROUP IS EMERGING AND GROWING ALONGSIDE THE WORK OF LIVIA RITA. EMBODYING THE CONCEPT OF A ‘SWAMP’, WE ARE AMORPHOUS, FLUID, AND SOFT.
OUR AIMS:
To explore and experiment with new and progressive ways of thinking and creating in the ways that we work
To find sustainable ways of working in an ecology-focused approached
To realise ambitious art projects that are as transformative to the audience as they are to the performers
To build community around that work that we do
To organise and build on participatory formats, such as workshops
To find new ways to exhibit and perform transdisciplinary work, including practices in dance, pop, music, fashion, and visuals
To thoughtfully craft and build a sustained network both nationally and internationally of venues, curators, festivals and artists
To thoughtfully craft new and expanding relationships with press outlets, magazines, radio stations etc. in order to continuously reach new audiences
To commit to the creation of a supportive and inclusive environments wherever make or perform work
To become a sustainable and independent production group based around principles of skill-sharing and flexibility
JACK EDWARDS
Jack is our main Producer and manages the finances, building on his vast experience of the UK performance scene - having been a producer in the Rich Mix production team as well as with Elevate East - a collective that focuses on producing, facilitating and curating events and performance-based work. Jack Edward collaborates with other (all female) members of the Avantgardeners Productions, as well as local Avantgardeners.
The band: Tom McLuckie, Dave, Livia Rita
THE touring dancers
Charlotte McLean, Yu-Chien Cheng, Rosalie Pearce Bell, Sunniva Moen Rorvik, Dorna Ashory, Stephanie Burrell
The creative team
Eve Stainton (choreography outside eye): https://www.evestainton.com
Orrow Bell (dramaturgy support): http://amy-bell.com
Demian Jakob (light)
Tamara Hart (workshop facilitator): https://tamarahart.com
Sarah Louise Renwick (costume)
Erin Tse (set design): http://www.erintse.com
Ella Porter (set assistant): https://www.ellaporterstudio.com
Lea Anderson (choreography support): http://www.leaanderson.com
Avantgardeners Communty
Find below some members of the bigger community who the vlogs are aimed at. We continue to grow our community and following through collaboration, including; workshops, shows, local Avantgardeners & artists as well as a national & international exchange of knowledge.
rosie
Rosie Terry Toogood @rosietaz and words from @bufomakmalcollective planted the seed of fluidity. We consider the cyclical notions in nature and how this relates to the body. The fludity of which is often lost due to preconcieved ideas in our society. We dream of flowing within our bodies and within the world around us, are these seperate things or the same?
ellora
Finding the magic in our environment.Influenced by the history of sustainability Ellora Prior @ellora.comm used her artistic practice a to re-instil supernatural senses of awe in our daily surroundings. “I’d love to see people relishing the powers of the space around them and seeing the magic in it! Maybe we would treat our world differently.”
claudia
We spent a day with creative producer Claudia who talked to us about her projects that “focus on queer narratives and women and non binary voices, telling the stories that don’t always get to be told”
noa
ANTI CAPATALIST SELF CARE- How would the future look like if we’d all be well rested? If we’d be free from the endless loop of self-optimization? If our self worth wouldn’t based on our productivity and succes? Art gives us the tools to imagine a different future. What I personally hope for, is a future in which we could relax. In which care and maintenance are valued. In which we thereby value ourselves, others and the planet.
Self care can be a very powerful tool to resist capitalism. Taking care of yourself is like saying: hey, I am here. I matter. My life is worthy. So instead of a capitalist view on self care, in which we pamper ourselves just to look better or work better the next day, let’s take a rest. Instead of fueling the system, let’s disrupt it for a moment. Take that break. You deserve it! (You always do, by the way. Rest is not something you have to earn.)
Art is one lovely way to connect to and take care of ourselves and our community. That’s also why I feel very grateful to have gotten this platform from a wonderful collective of artists. I loved sharing my thoughts about self care with all of you! Let’s keep on inspiring each other ✨
Artwork by Billie Zangewa, “The Dreamer,” 2016. From @spelmanmuseum reposted through @thenapministry Thougts and words from @noavantichel
sarah
Avantgardener Sarah,
_suuunny invited us to take a glimpse of her day reading and writing with the theme of spacial politics, specifically in London and around urban modernity. Using her typewriter to set a pace for her writing and a break from our fast paced digital lives. We consider how does literature illustrate life now, in the past, and will it in the future too?
FAMA
Hey, I'm Fama! Growing up between Swiss and Senegalese culture, I'm currently comfortably floating between the two. This state of comfort wasn't easy to find & still isn't easy to maintain at all times. But I love this space I have created for myself with all the beautiful souls surrounding me. Transcending any kind of internal & external limitations & the experience of interculturality has become very central in what I do and how I live. Travelling & meeting people, places & stories is the how I connect most with these topics. Absolute immersion - instant confrontation. I think a big part of why I feel an innate need for travel is about nurturing exchange, love and joy - three things I try to focus on daily.
Anne
Room is filled by people, feelings and experiences - the connection and exploration of this is passion of mine.
To connect the dots and bring together different layers and points of views fascinates me.
I think it‘s important to sometimes look at the world upside down and try to see the hidden treasures in daily life.
An open mind and open heart helps to create new enclosing experiences that connect space and people
And a touch of fairy dust never hurt no one
amira
Always exploring and creating visual worlds, that transport you to into a fresh perspective; where you can walk through endless portals of imagination. But escapism is all well and good, as long as you find a way to keep yourself tethered to home. By challenging perspectives in both art and nature, I hope we can all begin to stretch the boundaries of our empathy, and ability to affect change.
hebe
My main objective is to create something that induces an emotive response within in the viewer. I hope that future works will have more accomplished digital animations and to continue exploring music composition. - @punky.dory- Website
diana
Diana’s first collaboration as part of the Avantgardeners was 2 years ago. She shared soem of her thoughts on sustainability on our takeover, as well as her artwork and photography, you can see more here
“Those past few months gave us the opportunity to understand ourselves more deeply, to be closer to our soul as never before. A big part of my artistic process is linked with this discovery of the self and this need of feeling a safe place to be, and here to bring peoples around me. I want to offer the ability to escape somehow, somewhere outside of this crazy system and nature always sounds like a nice fantasy world to explore.”
emma
“I’m a game designer and digital creator with a huge fixation on how nature culture pervades into digital media and how digital media and games can be used for sustainability” Check her out here
“I’m really happy that VR is more accessible (technical wise and price wise). Eventually allowing people to share this kind of project to a larger public”
Hi I’m Georgie! I'm from Brixton, South London and I am a photographer.Recently I completed a photography course with @Magnumphotos and I have previously had my work published in @DJMAG and @Clash. I hope I can continue to travel and connect with nature.I also hope to continue to collaborate with creatives around me and have my work published in more magazines.
Currently, my work revolves around notions of public space and contemporary ideas of commoning. How do we engage with the world around us on a daily basis? How can we find new methods to share resources, skills and knowledge without exploiting others? And how can we use art as a means to combat ongoing processes of public enclosure?
My hope for the future is that we will find more sustainable ways of being and creating, in togetherness.
This pandemic has been a great misfortune and it has caused a lot of pain and devastation but I hope everyone would start to appreciate the smaller things, welcome changes and to learn how to simply live.
I grew up in Bolivia and am now living in London. I write about memory, history and joy and I have been thinking about new ways to connect to my identity in the diaspora and my ancestors through performance.
Irodriel
Dancer, tattoo artist, queer witch based in London & Berlin.
Ellen
Guerilla gardener, activist fighting for nature.
Guerrilla gardening is growing plants in public places, without permission.
I started guerrilla gardening because I wanted to have a visible, tangible positive impact on my neighbourhood. Often, the best thing we can do for our area or the environment is to "do no harm" or "leave no trace" – basically, not doing anything bad. But what about doing something good?
To qualify as a “guerrilla gardener”, you need do nothing more than take action into your own hands: transforming a lifeless, neglected patch of land into a vibrant pocket of plant life.
Prairie
I'm Prairie Fleurie, drag princess who escaped her castle contaminated by patriarchy & capitalism.
I heal within my surroundings, I float in harmony with fantasy, folklore, ecology and queerness. My art practice is deeply connected with my own personal development/healing journey and I wish to inspire anyone to embrace their spirituality / connection to nature.
Meret
I’m a performer, musician and visual artist. I’m exploring water for my current project. While drawing I’m following the structure of the ground on the paper as water does. Water takes its own ways. Flowing bound or free. What does it tell us about our future? What is its story? What is its language? How does it move? How is its sound?
Jasmin
I'm a pretty spiritual person, thus I work with the divine as an inspiration a lot, but maybe not the way you would expect. I want to project divinity onto each of my works, the people I meet, the stories that inspire me. Each of us has that divine spark, that confidence. I'd love to see a future where we share that without bigotry, discrimination and inhumane actions.
Another thing that's very important to me, since I work as a make up artist: sustainability in make up. I try my best to always have sustainable tools with me.
IlJANA
When you do something with only half the expected effort, you create the possibility for something unexpected to happen! And you might be pleasantly surprised that also means you put effort in 2 not putting effort in 2 something.
Jana
I'm chronically indecisive, so sometimes my practice feels like a little bit of everything. But ideas about sustainability and home are always at the center.