Avenir Institute, Queering Mythography for Alternative Futures

About

In this lecture-performance, Avenir Institute will discuss Hesiod’s Theogony, a profoundly political poem that introduced deities to embody concepts such as justice, good governance, social peace, strife and war. These deities and the hierarchal relations between them, such as structuring the world around patriach-Zeus, left a fundamental mark on our contemporary socio-political imaginary. Special attention will be paid to Zeus, Athena and Dionysos, as representations of past, present and alternative futures. 

This will be followed by a creative writing exercise structured around developing the stories of the protagonists with high potential to form alternative futures, such as Styx, Medea, and Prometheus. 

We recommend to read Theogony (in short translated, and adapted to prose version) in advance: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-BxGLTnzVetveSA58IclT0EJG7WlpkuG. However those unfamiliar with the text will receive a basic introduction to it during the lecture.

Avenir Institute is a think tank and creative studio at the intersection of epistemology, politics, technology and aesthetics with a focus on critical analysis of potentiality in futures. It is co-directed by Denis Maksimov and Timo Tuominen.

Part of our Queer Futures public programme and exhibition exploring narratives for queer resistance, from mythology and folklore to speculative science fiction. The programme will include performances, screenings, discussions and workshops and each event will leave a contribution in the space to form a gradually expanding archive.