What Am I Looking At?
Art Matters Now (AMN) supported the documentation of ‘What Am I Looking At?’, a DYCP research project by artist and aerial dancer Jane Park. This page serves as an image archive for the project, which has been shaped by a series of participatory activities taking place in Dance City, Newcastle.
‘What Am I Looking At?’ is a research project devised by artist and aerial dancer Jane Park, with the intention of merging Jane’s Art and aerial dance practices.
Jane made props, aerial kit and almost impossible costumes using found/recycled and salvaged materials. She became fascinated in the reasons why some objects are kept and valued whilst others are discarded. She invited colleagues and participants to bring their objects of significance, to share their stories and then to take them on an aerial dance journey exploring her creations.
The project engaged with many participants throughout the research period but culminated in two days in Dance City Theatre which involved professional aerial dancers in Dance City, students from the 55+ aerial class and ‘Boundless’ (the 55+ dance company in Dance City).
Jane Park is a fine artist working with community and an aerial dancer based in Newcastle. She teaches aerial dance at Dance City and at Circus Central.
Activity Day 1
The first activity day took place on the 23rd of March,2022. Participants were invited to dance with various found objects and pieces of aerial kit. Each of them also brought along a treasured possession, sharing the stories about the objects through words and dance.
Activity Day 2
The second activity day took place on the 24th of March, 2022. Professional aerialists and aerial students shared objects and experimented with the elaborate costumes made by Jane using recycled materials saved from the skip or acquired from charity shops.
