Études–Nikola Knežević hosted by unsettling Rietveld/Sandberg
Nikola Knežević, unsettling Rietveld/Sandberg

Études is a set of basic exercises borrowed from the practices of embodiment that emphasize the interconnection between the body and its surrounding. Surrendering to the pneumatic, optical and sonic sensations of the space, we will focus on the experience and precognitive knowledge that emerges within the body. Rather than relating to the space in units of measurements and as essentially quantitative, these basic exercises might allow us to experience the space as purely qualitative and shaped by bodily experience. Nikola Knežević is a guest of unsettling Rietveld Sandberg: an intra-curricular initiative begins working actively between and beyond the structures and discourses of the academy to unsettle the Rietveld and Sandberg from the roots up. In 2019, unsettling Rietveld Sandberg will be working towards a policy on inclusion and diversity in the academy. Every Thursday the Unsettling Station is open for conversations in person; for newsletters, questions and updates please email: unsettling@rietveldacademie.nl.

Nikola Knežević is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher formerly trained as an architect and working at the intersection of architecture and embodied practices. Knežević is closely and regularly collaborating with choreographers. Investigating the politics of space. He focuses on the body, the fundamental site of feeling, thinking, perceiving the world, and taking action. His research explores both how the environment (physical, social, political, and cultural) choreographs and acts upon bodies from the outside, while simultaneously considering how the immaterial spaces of memories, dreams and the unconscious (in)form the bodies from the inside. His practice includes independent research and artistic work and applied practice in scenography for contemporary dance and performance.