New Methodologies for Public Conversation
Introduction
Using activist, theatrical, and domestic methodologies, protocols were developed to facilitate non-hierarchical methods of conversation. Each form of public address takes seriously the ways in which different seating arrangements, participant roles, and levels of publicness affect both what conversations are possible and what types of knowledge are welcome. New protocols were developed after the widespread uptake of Weaver’s Long Table format, which has been used at international arts, culture and municipal organisations and universities including in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
These four new protocols are: Porch Sitting, Situation Room, Public Studio, and Care Café, in addition to digital adaptations for Care Café and Porch Sitting created in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
RESEARCH IMPERATIVES
- To understand how marginalised voices can be made more audible by applying performance modalities to formats of public address.
- To explore performance models for public problem solving that integrate lived experience with professional expertise.
- To discover how performance can challenge hierarchies in institutional spaces.