this is a group performance after all…
This week’s Mind Control Victims Anonymous (MCVA) meeting will be led by Samiir Saunders, a mixed-media poet based in Birmingham.
MCVA – Are you worried about mind control? Do you often feel that the choices you make are not wholly your own? In MCVA, individuals who want to retain their free will meet to support each other. Meetings are democratic, friendly, and discreet. Your anonymity will be respected.
Meeting Guide:
- This is an open MCVA meeting which welcomes ALL who may or may not have wondered about mind control.
- The meeting will last for up to 90 minutes, with the second half centering on discussion.
- Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available.
- Arrive for a 7pm start.
- Book your place now.
About MCVA
MCVA is an evolving performance work taking the form of a support group, that uses scripted and improvisational actions as a starting point to explore mental health, free will, coercion and the relationship between an audience and a performer. Due to its interactive nature, each performance is unique.
A performed poem follows a surreal narrative, a dreamlike first-person account of a speaker attempting to understand their place in the world. Various junctions in the poem offer the opportunity for the audience to vote between two narrative paths. After mentally tallying the votes, the performer continues along the route chosen by the majority.
MCVA was first produced for the Supernormal Festival Artists Residency (2019) and has been further developed as part of the Vivid Projects Artist Residency (2022). The performance has since been performed in various venues across the UK.
About Samiir Saunders
Samiir Saunders is a mixed-media poet based in Birmingham. Their work consists of spoken word poetry, performance art, experimental hip-hop, browser-based artworks, and poetry films. Samiir’s work examines the tension between a desire to communicate authentically and the limitations of digital technology (and of language itself).
Their work has featured at galleries, festivals, and online spaces, including: Tramlines Festival, New Art Exchange, Vivid Projects, The Joyous Thing II, SHOUT Festival, Fat Out Fest, no barking aRt Gallery, Channel 4 Random Acts, Eastside Projects, Supernormal Festival, Artefact Gallery, and Birmingham Open Media.
Format
This interactive performance will last up to 90 minutes.
The audience will be invited to vote to determine the route of the performed narrative, and to join a group discussion facilitated by the artist.
Access
We want to make sure that our events programme is welcoming and accessible.
The audience will be seated throughout this event.
Please contact us if you would like to discuss how we can support you to attend and enjoy this event or if you have any feedback on the accessibility of our work.
You can contact us via email at gallery@jerwoodarts.org or telephone +44(0)7944 903 991.
