Events

Do we need to become fluent in sign language before we can begin to understand art created by our Deaf communities, or is there another way to appreciate their creative work? Kyra Pollitt will offer a glimpse into the world of sign language arts, and explain why translation may be preventing you from getting it.

Kyra Pollitt is a translator, poet, and artist, with a PhD on the properties of poetry in natural sign languages. Her practice takes art as translation and translation as art.

She is interested in radical forms of translation that seek to capture such unspoken properties as the colour, sound and haptic qualities of movement.

She is an experienced translator, winning the Inside Arts Poetry Translation Prize in 2012, and delivering the Closing Plenary at International Translation Day, British Library, in 2016.

In seeking to explore the poetic intermodal affordances of combining words, signs, marks and movement, Kyra has staged installations involving Signart (BSL poetry) at the Royal West of England Academy (2013), and at Spike Island (2015).

Note: There will be a BSL interpreter present at this talk.

This Lunchtime Talk is part of Open Studio Friday, which takes place at the Studio every week.

Do you want to find out what is going on at the Pervasive Media Studio? Are you interested in meeting our residents, talking about a specific project or curious about pervasive media? Why not pack a sandwich and join us for one of our Lunchtime Talks and Open Studio Friday.

Lunchtime Talks are informal presentations by Studio residents and associates. They normally take place at 1pm on Friday, are free and open to everybody who’s interested in what we do.

After the Talk, we also invite you to stay with us for the afternoon to continue the conversation or work on your own projects. We provide chairs, tables, wireless and a great space. You bring what you need to work with (laptop/mobile). Our open afternoons close at 5pm.

Let us know if you’d like a tour of the space and we'll be happy to show you around just before the talk. Send an email to studio@watershed.co.uk to book your place on a tour.