Abstract

The relationship between artistic and activist practice in the UK is a complicated field made more tremulous through navigation of the constraints and expectations of funding bodies, political suppression of activist groups and the social value of artistic practice, and the compounding urgency and frequency of contemporary crises. Despite these impediments, the UK is home to a strong lineage of practitioners who espouse movement practices and performances to promote more sustainable ways of living and dying together. For these artists, dance is not a frivolous response to the climate crisis and instead offers potent opportunities for encountering a sense of enchantment – reframing the familiar and mundane as wondrous or awe-inspiring. This talk outlines an activism of attention to articulate the activistic potential of enchanting experience and other methods used by movement artists to advocate for more environmentally conscious relationships with each other and the planet.