In October 2024, I took part in a residency for cultural critics during the three weeks of the interdisciplinary art and performance festival Kyoto Experiment. I saw daring and challenging dance and theatre, I talked and worked and laughed with wonderful people, and I fell in love with a city.
We left many traces of our activities in Kyoto over the Internet, so I’d rather write here about the warmth of our organizers at Goethe Institute, the Kyoto Art Center, and the Saison Foundation. I won’t name names, because they tend to be modest and private people. I hope I will get to stay in touch with them, as well as with my super smart and fun colleagues in the residency.
Kyoto helped me conquer a demon. It is the first city that made me feel safe to ride a bike again after I got hit by a car while biking in 2018. That accident was brutal. I actually don’t have any memories of that day. All I remember is leaving the house and waking up on a hospital bed, slipping straight into a panic attack because I couldn’t even remember my name. It took about a year to walk properly again, after surgery and physical therapy. Riding a bicycle used to be one of my favorite things in the world. It still is, only I’m so terrified of cars now, that I’m not able to bike in any cities I’ve been since. Until Kyoto. Where cars are slow, roads are welcoming, and people are careful. Cruising home on balmy nights through a tangle of quiet, small streets after seeing a good play with friends filled my heart with happiness.
I mentioned digital traces of my work in Kyoto. Here they are:
- The Critics in Residence @ Kyoto Experiment page presents the participants, shows the schedule of events, and links to interviews and podcasts.
- I wrote a gushing piece praising Kyoto Experiments’ curatorial vision. I meant every word.
- The Theatre Times published four performance reviews in a Special Report: Kyoto Experiment 2024 section.
- Japanese art and culture magazine ART iT published my review of Ocean Cage.
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