Esther Mugambi
03/11/23 - 01/12/23
Margrét Sara Guðjónsdóttir's Full Drop practice
06/11, free of entrance, RSVP
Public sharing
01/12, free of entrance, RSVP
Esther Mugambi is a performance artist based in Amsterdam. She completed her Masters in Performance at Dasarts Amsterdam in 2010 and holds a BA Theatre from the University of Western Sydney and Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg (1998). Mugambi has worked both locally and internationally with groups such as Rosa Ensemble, Belarus Free Theatre, Opera Spanga and Het Zuidelijk ToneeI. In early 2022 she performed in and co-wrote the Dutch National Opera production ‘I have missed you forever’. She can be seen in Salvador Miranda’s film installation ‘Life Eternal’ and Alejandro Ramirez’s film essay ‘sans-nam’.
Her work concerns community making and crafting real connections in a world in which technological means have complicated direct communication. In ‘Podcast for Introverts’ she creates a soundscape that captivates on a subliminal level. In recent years, Mugambi has worked in Brussels with Sarah van Lamsweerde on the project ‘Sore Spot Songs’, creating a garden to host workshop performances that connect stories of pain, medicinal plants and song. As well as on the collective research project TRACER, which takes a critical look at the 1956 spectacle 'Changwe Yetu' commissioned by the former Belgian mining company Union Minière.
Where is my body when …?
Esther Mugambi's research focuses on the experience of the mind-body connection, observing how we perceive the body in different contexts and states. Mugambi seeks to expand her awareness of the body by talking to people in her network - artists and professionals in different fields - about their practices in relation to the body. These conversations take place while we are engaged in a somatic experience, such as meditation, walking or spinning wool.
What does it feel like to be 'in the moment' or in a dream state? How do we perceive energetic bodies? Mugambi will write about these conversations and weave them into an audio recording that can be listened to while engaging in somatic activities.
Collaborating artists are: Marloeke van der Vlugt, Margrét Sara GuðjónsdóFr, Lise Brenner and Federico Bonelli.
6 November, 17.00 - 19.00h Margrét Sara Guðjónsdóttir's Full Drop practice
This meditative practice brings together the physiological, psychological and energetic states of the body. It's an opportunity for people to connect with their own bodies and with the shared body in space. The session will include a moment of reflection, where the audience can write about their personal experience and then share if they choose.
Entrance is free, RSVP
1 December 20.00h Public sharing
The closing event of Esther Mugambi's residency takes place in an intimate and comfortable setting. You will listen to an audio composition based on excerpts from the interviews while taking part in somatic exercises (embodied listening). And there will be an opportunity to give feedback on your own experience. This exchange will be broadcast on the open source radio channel Radio Antidoto, to reach a wider audience.
Free of entrance, RSVP