Rehearsing Retreat

<p><em>Trilingual in English, French and German</em></p> <p>Rehearsing is a tool to test, self-reflect, and render conventions, roles, and behaviors visible. In rehearsal, we test ways to address things; we experiment with positions, try out parts, and play with rules, all the while insidiously subverting them. Putting forward the concept of rehearsal means posing the question of the changeability of our patterns of attitude and perception and creating conditions of possibility for things not yet tried.</p> <p>When we rehearse retreat, we’re interested in the multilayered meaning of the word “retreat” as an act of withdrawing from what is dangerous and a place of refuge. Such a refuge is not a place of escapism, but rather a temporary place of shelter often needed at a point of breakage to extract oneself from the constraints of a system and be able to think and act towards change. It is a place for inner and collective reparative reflection.</p> <p><em>Rehearsing Retreat</em> came about through various discussions about our curating, writing, research, and teaching practices and the associated restraints, canons, and frameworks. In different contexts, we work towards creating cracks or glitches, provoking a crisis, even just a hesitation around one’s “feeling at home” in language, institutions, or disciplines. We seek ways of retreating from following specific rules, letting go of the need to score points, limiting ourselves to the status quo and instead rehearsing retreat…</p>