The Sensing Salon is an ongoing research and studio practice by Valentina Desideri and Denise Ferreira da Silva. The practice of the Sensing Salon expands the image of art beyond objects, events, and discourse to include the healing arts. Through formats that facilitate collaborative studying and experimenting with different practices and tools for reading (tarot and astrology) and healing (reiki and political therapy), the Sensing Salon enables thinking about political and social issues in a way that attends to the emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of existence. The Sensing Salon has been shown at Kunstverein
Hamburg, Kadist (Paris), The Showroom (London), Arika (Glasgow), Centre
Pompidou (Paris), Hangar (Lisbon), and Artspeaks (Vancouver) among
others.
This full-day workshop session reflects on the role of citation within the sensory practice making of the Sensing Salon. Places for the event are limited as an atmosphere of intimacy is necessary for the workshop. We therefore ask that everyone who signs up be willing to actively engage in the discussion and workshop.
Valentina Desideri explores artmaking as a form of study and study as a form of making art. She trained in contemporary dance, fine arts and is currently a PhD candidate at the Social Justice Institute at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She provides fake therapy and political therapy, and she co-organizes Performing Arts Forum (PAF) in France, and is a member of the online platform ehcho.org. Denise Ferreira da Silva is a philosopher, writer, and filmmaker. Her academic and artistic works address the ethical and political challenges of the global present. She is the author of Toward a Global Idea of Race (2007), A Dívida Impagável (2019), Unpayable Debt (2022) and co-editor (with Paula Chakravartty) of Race, Empire, and the Crisis of the Subprime (2013). Her artistic work includes the films Serpent Rain (2016) and 4Waters-Deep Implicancy (2018), in collaboration with Arjuna Neuman. She is a member of the online platform ehcho.org.
