panel 6
MAYBE | Co-creative Collaborations with Palliative Cancer Patients: A Transdisciplinary Tale from the Artist’s Perspective
(hybrid form: panel discussion & artistic presentation & book launch)
Moderation: The three editors of the book MAYBE
Panellists/artists-researchers: Three artist-researchers of the project In Search of Stories
"I want to make a rock, a monument that can be placed in our garden when I am gone." This was the beginning of a co-creative collaboration between a palliative cancer patient and a theatre-maker. Reflecting on this process, the artist said: “Knowing that the person across from me was going to die affected me and the process-choices I made. I thought: I have never made a rock in my life. She only has one more chance to make something. It’s now or never. So we made the rock. Together."
This anecdote is a part of the book MAYBE, which is one of the outcomes of the research project In Search of Stories in which artists and patients were matched to enter into a co-creative collaboration (Weeseman et al, 2023a, 2023b). The book MAYBE explores how artists can support patients in oncology care in their search for meaning and significance, and in rewriting their life stories after having the contingent experience of getting a fatal diagnosis.
During this panel, we will launch this book (published by International Theatre & Film Books Publishers & HKU Press) through a hybrid form of artistic presentation and panel-discussion, advocating for the inclusion of artist voices in addressing ethical dilemmas from a specific approach to aesthetics, namely, that of co-creation in an experiential rather than academic context.
For our “artistic presentation/panel discussion,” we will focus on how artists deal with the tensions that arise from the (presumed) equality in a co-creative process while taking care of the patient, of themselves, and of the creative process. Questions that arise were: How dominant can the voice of the artist be? Are you allowed to leave a collaboration prematurely? The artists/researchers in the panel will share firsthand experiences, insights and reflections in the book on what it means to care in such a complex and vulnerable context.
References
Weeseman, Y., Scherer‐Rath, M., Christophe, N., Dörr, H., Helmich, E., Sprangers, M. A. G., Poecke, N. van & Laarhoven, H. W. M. van (2023a). Co‐creative art processes with cancer patients from the artists’ perspective: A qualitative study exploring resonance theory. Supportive Care in Cancer, 31, 287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-07744-0
Weeseman, Y. Scherer‐Rath, M., Christophe, N., Dörr, H., Helmich, E., Sprangers, M. A. G., Poecke, N. van & Laarhoven, H. W. M. van (2023b). The expression of ultimate life goals in co-creative art processes with palliative cancer patients. BMC Palliative Care. 22, 169. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-023-01294-2
Nirav Christophe is Professor Expanding Artistic Practices at HKU Utrecht University of the Arts. He is an expert on transdisciplinary artistic processes, especially between and care. Nirav is a writer for theatre and radio and his radio plays have been broadcast in twelve countries. For nine years he was artistic leader of the first four-year theatre writing BA-course in the Netherlands.
Henny Dörr is Senior Researcher at the research centre Expanding Artistic Practices at HKU Utrecht University of the Arts, working in transdisciplinary teams that develop co-creative processes between art and (health)-care. Being a theatre scholar and a dramaturg, their focus has also always been on creative processes and practices that transgress the boundaries of disciplines. They’ve developed a range of bachelor and master courses on theatre design, (interactive) performance design and scenography.
Marjolijn van den Berg is researcher at the research centre Expanding Artistic Practices at HKU Utrecht University of the Arts. Marjolijn is a writer and an editor. Set took a BA in Writing for Performance and a Master in Education in Arts, and a Post-bachelor Management.
Daniela Moosmann is lecturer/researcher at the research centre Expanding Artistic Practices at HKU Utrecht University of the Arts. Her research focus is the use of writing strategies as research methodology in Higher Art Education. Daniela is a playwright and a dramaturg for the stage. She took a Master in Theatre Studies, and a BA in Writing for Performance and in New Dance.
Nieke Koek is an interdisciplinary artist. She is fascinated by the experience of the body as instrument. Her works are poetic translations of bodily experiences, and she elevates everyday, body-specific gestures to art. Nieke works with the (in)capacity of the human body. Therefore, she collaborates with healthcare institutions and individuals that have to deal with illness, death, and rehabilitation
Marcel Dolman is course leader of the BA Image and Media Technology at HKU Utrecht University of the Arts. Marcel is a scenographer and a sound and light designer in theatre and in multimedia productions.
Location
23-25 January 2025
Kontakt der Kontinenten, Amersfoortsestraat 20
3769 AS Soesterberg
Online
23-25 January 2025
Kontakt der Kontinenten, Amersfoortsestraat 20
3769 AS Soesterberg
Online
Contact info Louis van den Hengel
Images homepage: Merel Visse, Christine Leroy
design website: Johanne de Heus and Marielle Schuurman