performingborders | LIVE 2019 film: Nima Séne + Tuna Erdem

An afternoon of conversation between Glasgow/Berlin-based live artist Nima Séne and curator Tuna Erdem from the Istanbul Queer Arts Collective. Part of Queer Contact Festival 2019, Contact’s annual festival celebrating LGBTQ+ arts & culture in Greater Manchester.

For Queer Contact 2019, performingborders | LIVE brought together two amazing artists to discuss how experiences of otherness related to their queer, migrant and PoC identities shape their work.

Nima Séne grew up mainly between Berlin (Germany) and Wellington (New Zealand) they are Afro (Senegalese Fula)- German. Nima’s artistic practice is rooted in uncovering complexity and parody within stereotypes and mainstream media portrayals of cultural identity. Their practice is rooted in embracing a sense of belonging with the unknown and the unseen. A sense of serenity for them is within academic research into European African Diasporic Black identity in connection with Black US American identity and Afrofuturism. Nima identifies as a queer black womxn. Their experience lies in performing, in a devising making process as well as having worked as a facilitator. Currently they are one of six artists commissioned to work on the National Theatre of Scotland’s “Dear Europe” (29th of March 2019) project and they are in the second development of their solo collaborative show “Beige B*tch” with main collaborator Daniel Hughes (filmmaker) and Laura Fisher (creative producer) originally commissioned by Contact Theatre Manchester, Live Art UK & Diverse Actions. Previously they completed a foundation degree in Theatre Studies at Goldsmiths University of London in 2012, a BA(Hons) in Contemporary Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2016, proceeding to receive the BANNER Award scheme from Arts Admin & Live Art Development Agency London 2016-17 and leading into the Starter Artist residency with NTS’s Engine Room 2017-18.

Tuna Erdem is a London based artist, curator and producer. She is the founding member of Istanbul Queer Art Collective, which is predominantly engaged in live art and Queer Art Projects, which produces art events like exhibitions, performances, screenings and parties. She holds an MA in Film and Art Theory from the University of Kent and a PhD in Film, TV and Theater from Reading University.

performingborders | LIVE is a programme of events and new commissions focusing on the exploration of artistic practices happening within the UK live art sector around notions of cultural, juridical, racial, gendered, class, physical and everyday borders. Curated by Alessandra Cianetti and Xavier de Sousa.

Presented by performingborders and Foreign Actions Productions in collaboration with Live Art Development Agency (London, UK), Contact Theatre (Manchester, UK), Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (Brighton, UK), Artsadmin (London, UK), Deptford Lounge (London, UK), Beyond the Wall/Más Allá del Mur Festival(Nogales, US/Mexico), and the Centre for The Study of Sexual Dissidence(University of Sussex, UK). Supported by the Arts Council England.

For more information on the programme and the artists involved visit https://performingborders.live/performingborders-live-2019-programme/

Featured image credits: Nima Séne (left) and Tuna Erdem (right)

video Information

video Length: 45m 55s