Have you ever collaborated with a non-human animal? Listened to a plant? Been in dialogue with the weather? Join artist Anna Frijstein for an extraordinary event exploring collaborations between artists, non-artists, animals, plants, natural elements, AI and those we can not think of yet. Anna has invited Dr Sue Anne Zollinger, senior lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Physiology to share her examples of collaboration in unusual ways. There will be room for conversation and to conclude the event we will come together to make a simple collaborative act (e.g. soundscape) that will be sent to you shortly after the event. No pressure —it’s nothing more than an exercise in listening which is a key skill for collaboration.
If you are curious about interdisciplinary practice and intrigued by collaboration then this event is for you. Sign up to get a peek behind the scenes of multiple ways of working, many of which you may not have thought about yet!
Booking: Click here to book. This event will take place on Zoom, auto-captioning will be available.
This event has been organised by Eastside Projects (EOP) for the Kaleidoscope Network, a collaboration between Eastside Projects (Birmingham), Primary (Nottingham), Spike Island (Bristol), and The NewBridge Project (Newcastle). Primary residents and members are automatically part of the Kaleidoscope Network and can attend selected events programmed by each partner for free!
Dr Sue Anne Zollinger. After starting her academic life as an art student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Dr Sue Anne Zollinger started to develop an intense interest in animal communication and behaviour, eventually going on to complete a PhD in biology/ neuroscience at Indiana University, studying how birds produce their varied and complex songs. She moved from there to Scotland and then on to Germany, investigating the impacts of human activities related to urbanization on the animals we share the planet with. Focusing primarily on birds, she has worked over the last 20 years to better understand how noise pollution and other human disturbances affect communication in exposed animals, alters their behaviour, and impacts their health and fitness. Herresearch has regularly been covered in the popular media, with appearances on BBC Radio4, National Public Radio (USA), and various other broadcast and print outlets. She currently lectures on animal behaviour and physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University, and continues her research on how and why animals make the sounds that they do, and how our human behaviours shape and influence the behaviour and evolution of species around us.
Anna Frijstein’sanimated practice involves performance, painting, drawing, video, and sculptural installations executed in a playful manner. Beneath a playful naivety lies a more unsettling layer of dark humour provoked by thoughts and feelings around socio-psychological and ecological issues. Anna often embodies non-human creatures in her performances. She recently performed as “EMOPIG91! who is longing to be seen and loved whilst vlogging from behind her screen during a live performance at the UK Mexican Arts Society in London (2021); and as “Mother Salmon! whilst hosting a workshop teaching the audience how to become successful co-parents for her vulnerable eggs in “So orange that it hurts!! at Lighthouse Poole in Dorset (2021). Alongside her studio practice, she works on interdisciplinary projects alongside scientists, ecologists and local communities to learn from, share ideas and collaborate with. In 2021 Frijstein has been awarded the Young Talent Grant from the Mondriaan Fund in Amsterdam.