Lisa Alexander bio
Lisa Alexander works at the intersection of performance, text and installation, making and curating performance, writing and documentary poetry that considers the embodied experience of witness, narrativity and the social imaginary. Her work is informed by formative training in dance and a compulsion to write poetry since she was sixteen. Recent projects have touched on how connection and assembly are manifested in critical moments of change and include the TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU (2018) programme of performance gatherings and book in conjunction with LADA and Artsadmin and building on Love Letters to a (Post)Europe at BIOS, Athens (2015) that stemmed from an urge to curate a process of coming together and witness following the referendum on bailout measures in Greece and the growing humanitarian crisis across Europe in 2015. Filoxenia (2018) for Who Are We? at Tate Modern explored notions of hospitality and borders through a site-specific writing action with Mary Paterson, Jungmin Song and Saradha Soobrayen. If/Then was a collectively generated and collaboratively written poetry-play created with Hari Marini just prior to and following the EU referendum of 2016 presented at the National Poetry Library, Royal Festival Hall (2017) and Camden People’s Theatre (2016). Lisa was an Associate Researcher on Performance Matters (2010- 2012), holds a PhD in performance and experimental poetics (Roehampton 2014) and BA honours in Dance Theatre (LABAN 1996, full scholarship). Lisa works internationally in varied cultural, social and political contexts and spaces including museums, theatres, galleries and festivals and within collectives, communities, roving and site-placed.
Performance | Exhibition
sweet spot, writing commission, performed poetry/video for Her Inside: Stepping Outside, curated by Dr Susan Croft, Unfinished Histories, Women’s History Month (2022) 2019
Heretogether weare, Poem Brut, Rich Mix, London
2018
TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU: Love Letters to a (Post)Europe, funded by Arts Council England: Programme and book launch, Live Art Development Agency, London TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU Lisa Alexander and guests, Artsadmin, Toynbee Studios Open Letter Gathering, Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home, Liverpool
TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU The Arts Centre, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk
Assemble at the Border ]performance space[ Folkestone
Filoxenia, Tate Modern Tate Exchange Who Are We? series with Counterpoints Arts, London
2017
If/Then, Special Edition Commission, The National Poetry Library, Royal Festival Hall, SBC, London
2016
If/Then, After the Referendum Festival, Camden Peoples Theatre, London, Commission
Multilogue, V Ideas Performances, Beton7ArtRadio and Performance Biennale: No Future, Athens
2015
Love Letters to a (Post-)Europe, BIOS, Athens: Artist-Curator
Promises of Lovers, BIOS, Athens
2014
parsed utterance, Jubilee Theatre, University of Roehampton, London
2011
Writing the room, whilst driving from Athens to London
Kinski Jesus Christ Saviour 1971, Re-activation of Embros Theatre, Athens
2010
Dubito, Locus Solus, Benaki Museum, Athens
Travelling Ideas: An (In-)complete Manifesto, Performing the Idea: Performance Matters
‘Promote only acts of poetical terrorism,’ University of Athens Philosophy Atrium, Athens
2009
Gratefulness, Performer-Voice: remote text by Matthew Goulish for10 Performances: AHRC Beyond Text, University of Roehampton, London
2008
Thought Marathon, Olympic Dream: Grunts for the Arts, Rational Rec, London
Re-enactment, Writing Encounters, Space between words, York St John University, York
Evidence, Whitstable Biennale: LOCAL, West Beach, Whitstable, sound work on foot
2007-2008
Space of Memory: Intimate Narratives project, funded by Arts Council England, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation:
Story Surgery, Writing Encounters: Space between words, York St John University
Story Surgery, Whitstable Biennale, A beach hut on West beach, Whitstable
Story Surgery, Intimacy across visceral & digital performance at The Albany and Goldsmiths, London
Story Surgery, Toynbee Studios, London during Franko B Group residency
I can’t find you and you’ve got the things I’d often leave unspoken, People Show, London
64c, Ickburgh Road, London, eight channel sound and olfactory installation witnessed alone by appointment
2005
Farewell stairwell, performer, dir Hannah Bruce, supported by Crying Out Loud, Hammersmith
2004
Within, St Augustine’s Tower, Hackney Central, London, durational sound-led installation, funded by Arts Council England, A Space for Learning
2003
Artery, Centro Cultural Pablo de la Torriente Brau, V Arte Digital, Bienal de la Habana, Havana, Cuba, video | sound work
2002
Dance for Radio, V choreographed sound works | recordings: I The Whispering Gallery St Paul’s Cathedral, II Greenwich Foot Tunnel, III Clissold Park, N16 IV The Shakespeare Public House N16 and V mixed live on Resonance FM, Framework Show with Patrick McGuinley,London, supported by a Jerwood Space space bursary 2001
24hrs in Green Lanes, Northern Exposure Dance Festival, The Bull, London, dance film
Untitled i and Untitled ii, Openlook International Dance Festival, St Petersburg, Russia: performances created during residency i. street level intervention ii. interior installation
2000
Cat & Mutton Bridge E5, Dance Film Forum, Chisenhale Dance Space, London, dance film
Dress Shift, performer, dir Jane Munro, Theatre of Memory Theatre of Myth, The Plunge Club 24hrs, Camberwell, London
1999
Automatic Histories, Chats Palace, Hackney, London
Residencies | other PaR
2010 - 2012
Performance Matters, Associate Researcher: Goldsmiths, University of London, University of Roehampton, Live Art Development Agency, London funded by AHRC
2008
An Experiment in Collaboration, Researcher/Writer in residence, Summer exhibition, Jerwood Space Gallery, London
2006 - 2007
Space of memory: intimate narratives: artistic research project in Liverpool, Glasgow, London funded by Arts Council England, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Franko B group residency at Artsadmin Toynbee Studios, London
2005
The Snout Belly Bowel in performance practice, Chisenhale Dance Space, London, artist residency
2004
Expo Enez Vaz, Ile de Batz Festival, Brittany, France, a group residency | performance interventions
2003
Dance, Theatre & Digital Arts in Havana, Cuba: Five week research residency | participation in V International Digital Arts Festival funded by Arts Council England professional development award 2001
Site-generated making and performance, Openlook International Dance Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia: artist residency funded by Pro-Arte Institute, London Arts GO! Award
Print | Textual
‘All is well,’ for the Twelfth Chapter: On Disturbances: Something Other (Dec 2023) ‘unmake mare clausum,’ created by selecting, editing, rearranging and adding to text writtne on windows during Filoxenia (2023). Original text and prompts (2018) by L. Alexander with M. Paterson and J. Song. Found phrases: S. Soobrayen ‘sweet spot’ writing commission, performed poetry/video for Her Inside: Stepping Outside, curated by Dr Susan Croft, Unfinished Histories, Women’s History Month (2022) ‘Heretogether weare ’ poetry/spoken word created for Poem Brut, Rich Mix, London (2019) also: ‘Is your town terrible? - After Your country is great by Ara Shirinyan (2019) ‘I will sing you into being’ (2019) ‘Two Provocations,’ Lisa Alexander - Mary Paterson, The Seventh Chapter: Something Other (Dec 2018) TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU: Love Letters to a (Post)Europe, Book, Live Art Development Agency, London, Editor (2018) ‘Between Us: a correspondence,’ Lisa Alexander and Mary Paterson in TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU: Love Letters to a (Post)Europe, LADA, London (2018) ‘If/Then’ Poetry-play commission - Lisa Alexander and Hari Marini for After the Referendum, Camden People’s Theatre Commissioned by CPT, European Theatre Research Network (University of Kent), Inside/Outside Europe Research Network (University of Winchester) and Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre (2016) ‘In the liminal space of making: the blog as an analogy of process,’ An Experiment in Collaboration, Jerwood Visual Arts Summer Exhibition, Curator Sarah Williams, London (2008) ‘Cuban dance theatre: The Legacy of Ramiro Guerra,’ Dance Theatre Journal, London vol 22:2 (2007) ‘The Cultural and Philosophical Implications of Virtual Reality and Art’, LABAN (1996)
Papers | Conference presentations
‘Performance, assembly and letters of love and dissent,’ Performing Research Lecture at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London 14/02/19 ‘TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU, Love Letters to a (Post)Europe’ Book Launch at Live Art Development Agency, London: Lisa Alexander with Mary Paterson, Claire MacDonald, Season Butler, Maria Sideri, Demosthenes Agrafiotis 04/10/18 ‘If/Then’ for Spaces of Exile: Performing Borders, Tramway, Glasgow, University of Glasgow (2017) ‘Personal address and collective witness: short acts of gifting and poetic agency,’ Invited Paper, Crisis in Excess: Performing Europe Today, University of Winchester (2016) ‘Performing agency beyond global borders: translocal poetics and radical dwelling,’ Paper, Performance Studies International # 20: Avant-Garde Tradition Community, Shanghai (2014) ‘Minimum being: time, labour, value,’ Performance lecture with invited facilitatior Jesse Darling, Potentials of Performance: Performance Matters, The Yard Theatre, London (2012) ‘Night Shift Drifts: Mis-Tours,’ PaR Panel, Performance Studies International #15: Mis-performance, Zagreb, Croatia in collaboration with Simon Bayly, Charlie Fox, Cecilia Wee (2009 ‘Enacting place, walking thoughts, writing rooms,’ Lecture, University of Roehampton, London (2006) ‘Sensing Space - Place and Memory,’ Paper, PaR symposium, University of Chichester ‘Cultural topographies and a poetics of taste, touch and smell,’ PaR paper, Research Lab, University of Chichester (2005) The Way Ahead: Arts and New Technology, Society for Old and New Media, De Waag and Nes Theaters, Amsterdam: Curator-convener of four-day exchange between dance, theatre and digital arts specialists from UK and Netherlands, Funded by Agora Adapt, ESF (2000)
Interviews | Reviews
‘Provocation for TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU’ Performing Borders: conversations on live art, crossings, Europe (Sept 2018) ‘Interview for Performing Borders’: conversations on live art, crossings, Europe, Long-form interview: Alessandra Cianetti, online and LADA study guide, London (Dec 2016) ‘Love Letters to a (Post-)Europe,’ Long-form interview: Diana Damian Martin, Exeunt magazine, London (15 Dec 2015, Feature: Performance) ‘27 artists send love letters to Europe,’ Interview: Marina Petridou, LIFO, Athens (Sept 2015) ‘Love is an essential component of the future,’ Interview: Valia Kanellopoulou, Clickalife, Athens (2015)
Teaching | workshops | facilitation
2019 Curse Bless Me Now - Claire MacDonald, LADA DIY 16, facilitation, Live Art Development Agency, London Journeys as letters, workshop exploration with refugees and immigrants at Zappeio National Gardens, Athens in conjunction with Caritas Social Spot Neos Cosmos and Kipseli NGO 2012 - 2018 Visiting Lecturer in Drama, Theatre & Performance at University of Roehampton, London on modules: Thinking through theatre (2017-18) Stages and staging (2014) Site-specific theatre production (2012-13) and module convener 2014 Reads workshops in writing as encounter and dramaturgical approaches to site, on location in Athens and Syros, Greece 2007 Lecturer in Dance at University of Northampton: undergraduate modules including input on design: Dance as Art, Choreographic Lab, Producing 2006 Emplacement and Memory, workshop series, A SPACE for Creative Learning & Support, Mossbourne School, Hackney 2004 Within workshops, Shacklewell Primary, Hackney with A SPACE: sound stories and performance 2001 Working from Location: Movement, Voice and Text, Ekaterinberg Contemporary Arts Centre, Russia: Performance Lab with undergraduate students Dance Film Residency, Park View Academy, London, funded by Arts Council England: Directed a series of workshops to create a short film An Imaginary Day in the Life 1999 - 2001 Education Officer, IRIE! Dance Theatre, London, Direction of education programme 1999 Youth Live, Workshop leader, Chats Palace Arts Centre, London: Creative dance and drama 1997 - 1999 Dance Animateur and Workshop tutor: Youth Arts Programme, Mole Valley District Council
Arts production
2018 TO YOU TO YOU TO YOU: Love Letters to a (Post)Europe: Curator and Producer: international performance festival, commissions, publication, discursive events in London and across UK at venues including: TATE Modern Who Are We?, Artsadmin Toynbee Studios, Live Art Development Agency, London, ]performance space[, Folkestone and venues in Liverpool and Ormskirk Funded by Arts Council England, LADA, Counterpoints Arts, The Arts Centre 2015 Love Letters to a (Post-)Europe at BIOS, Athens, Curator and Producer: international arts festival Arts and social change: Programme research, AIR/ Athens International Radio 98.4FM 2008 - 2009 A Sense of Place, Programme Curator, commissioning with schools, Chisenhale Gallery, London 2003 Akademi South Asian Dance UK, Audience development officer including Escapade, Royal Festival Hall 1999 - 2000 Performance & new media, UK/The Netherlands, Arts Consultant, Islington Arts & Heritage 1999 Islington Dance Festival, Stage Manager, Islington Council/Sadler’s Wells at Union Chapel International Women’s Day Festival, Stage Manager, Islington Town Hall, Arts & Heritage The Angel Map and Vinyl Dreams, Project Manager and Workshop facilitator, Shape Islington 1998 Storytime, An exhibition of artists living in Israel/Palestine, Curator’s Assistant, Candid Gallery, London
Education
PhD in Performance, embodied witness and experimental poetics, University of Roehampton: ‘Performing agency and the poetic witness’ Supervision: Professor Adrian Heathfield and Dr Fiona Wilkie (2009 - 2014) BA Honours in Dance Theatre (2:1) scholarship Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London (1993 - 1996)
Professional Membership
Equity M00455483 Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200) 52934
