Dear reader, I apologise for the erratic blog-keeping; that is all I have managed lately. I started 2013 by half-leaving Berlin and coming back to Melbourne, mainly to complete my Master of Urban Design. I had an incredible, life-changing trip to Jordan, and a short stop-over in Thailand, on my way back. I arrived to Melbourne, and have since been bogged down in bureaucracy, university, and various small commitments, as small as possible.
One great thing I learned last year was the value of living slowly. I cannot quite live slowly right now – my thesis is due in a month’s time – but I am trying to stay in a low gear. The MUD is due to end in June 2013 – until then, I am in my study&research den.
But, things have been going on, despite how jealously I have been protecting my time.
After much deliberation, I have started another blog, (urban) GS, where I have moved all my spatial writing. This was a momentous decision, because I hardly have time for one blog. However, I have been feeling acutely that I need space to think, think freely, about my actual, paid profession: urbanism. And this blog, however broadly it is defined by its title, guerrilla semiotics, is a theatre blog. It has worked wonders for me, on a totally personal level, being able to ramble about urban planning and design without feeling like I was harassing my readers with a marginal interest.
I am participating in Experiments in site-writing, this year’s program for Architecture + Philosophy, run by the talented and indefatigable Esther Anatolitis and Dr Hélène Frichot, together with Lauren Brown. Very talented company, and I am looking forward to this nice distraction from my more serious work. I am a huge, huge fan of Architecture + Philosophy, and being a part of it is a great honour.
And finally, a disclosure I absolutely need to make: I have been asked to be a member of Malthouse Theatre’s Artistic Counsel in 2013 – which means I will be providing feedback to the theatre on their general programming and so. I don’t generally review Malthouse performances, certainly not in paid capacity, and never for an external publication, so I would say the conflict of interest is minimal, and certainly no bigger than as is inevitable in the Melbourne theatre. However, I have since realised I am likely to write MORE about Malthouse productions now, simply because I will have to see them all. Considering how Cameron Woodhead has been wiping the floor with Alison Croggon for her having the same role in 2005 and 2006, this seems like a situation worth clarifying in advance.
Meanwhile, for my minor thesis I am researching temporary use of space; things like Gap Filler, Renew Newcastle, and other such combinations of place-making, architecture, and what oftens amounts to a kind of site-specific performance. I might be increasingly posting bits here: video clips, thoughts, interviews. I think this is theatre-related enough that everyone will enjoy it.
Thank you for sticking around!
