Research Residencies

UNVEILINGS // Mudrāsā মুদ্রাসা

Dance, at the intersection of visual art, installation and performance art.


FROM THE ARTIST

“MUDRASA is my own merging of two words mudra (gesture) and rasa (essence),that is the title of a three-day intensive dance residency at Critical Path. I will expand upon an earlier masterclass in 2023 at Critical Path that included dancers Azzam Mohammed, Vishnu Arunasalam and Amy Flannery.

In this upcoming residency at The Drill Hall in October, dancers Amy and Vishnu undertake the continuation of the exploration to develop a dance vocabulary that is at the intersection of visual art, installation and performance art.

Choreography/Visual art: Rakini Devi
Dancers: Vishnu Arunasalam and Amy Flannery

Residency: 24-26 October 2024
Public Sharing: Saturday 26 October 2024
TIME: 5.30-6.30 pm.
Followed by an informal discussion.

This project is funded by Critical Path & Woollahra Municipal Council.
Rakini’s visual art component of this project was funded by an IWC art grant.”


DATE
SATURDAY 26 OCTOBER 2024
5:30PM – 6:30PM

LOCATION
THE DRILL HALL, CRITICAL PATH,
1C NEW BEACH ROAD
DARLING POINT, NSW, 2027
GADIGAL & BIRRABIRRAGAL COUNTRY

RSVP HERE
https://events.humanitix.com/unveilings-rakini


DR. RAKINI DEVI

Born in Kolkata and based in Sydney, Dr. Rakini Devi is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes painting, installation, writing, live art and dance. Her practice-led research centres on hybrid female religious iconography that protests global misogynist atrocities.

Her iconic dance and live art works on the Goddess Kali and ongoing performance installation The Female Pope have been presented in theatres, galleries, and site-specific venues nationally and internationally. She completed a DCA (Doctor of Creative Arts, UOW) in 2018, titled Urban Kali, From Sacred Dance to Secular Performance.

In August 2024, Devi presented a new site- specific performance installation, Kali Shrine, in Ubud Bali, for Indonesia Bertutur Festival.

@devirakini

Frontpage

VISHNU ARUNASALAM

Vishnu Arunasalam (he/ they) is an emerging artmaker born in Sri Lanka (Eelam) and raised in Australia. Based in Sydney, he explores the traditional dance medium of Bharatanatyam with a developing contemporary dance and multidisciplinary practice. His work explores his Queer South Asian diaspora identity within the contemporary Australian landscape.

He is a current practitioner of Bharatanatyam, Carnatic Music, and Nattuvangam (South Indian Vocal Percussion). Vishnu is a Clinical Nurse Specialist working in the field of End of Life and Palliative Care that informs his investigations into the intersection of dance, health, and wellbeing, creating work that draws on the experiences of life, death, and loss, using dance as a vehicle.

@vishnu.arunasalam

AMY FLANNERY

Amy Flannery (she/her) is a First Nations Australian creator and performer. Amy completed her training in dance at the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA Dance College).
After graduating from NAISDA, she has performed, choreographed, and composed for several companies and independent productions, including Lost All Sorts Collective, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Jannawi Dance Clan, Dance Makers Collective, Erth Visual and Physical, Wagana Aboriginal Dancers, and PACT Centre for emerging artists. Amy is currently the recipient of the David Page Music Fellowship at Bangarra Dance Theatre and has previously been with the Australian Ballet Education Team.

@yrennalfyma


GETTING HERE

A day image of The Drill Hall in Darling Point, Sydney. It is a two-storey, mustard heritage building. People are gathered outside The Drill Hall

CAR:
Limited street parking is available along: New Beach Road, Loftus Road, Yarranabbe Road, Neild Avenue and Glenmore Road. There is also a paid carpark near Edgecliff Station.

TRAIN:
The closest station is Edgecliff Station. It is a 15-minute walk from Critical Path. Walk down New Beach Road past the marina and yacht club at Rushcutters Bay. The Drill Hall will be on your left.

BUS: 
The #324 and #325 buses departs from Circular Quay Station. It passes Wynyard, Town Hall, Darlinghurst, Kings Cross and Rushcutters Bay. Get off at the stop ‘Baywater Rd before New Beach Rd’ and walk down New Beach Road past the marina and yacht club at Rushcutters Bay. The Drill Hall will be on your left.

The #328 bus departs from Edgecliff Station. It will stop right outside The Drill Hall. It runs every 30 minutes.


ENQUIRIES

If you have any questions, please email Critical Path at [email protected]


Image: Rakini Devi, Bundanon artist residency, 2023. Image by Derek Kreckler.

Image: Experimental Choreographic Showing, 2024, The Drill Hall; photo: Liz Ham for Performance Space.

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Critical Path

The Drill, 1C New Beach Rd,
Darling Point (Rushcutters Bay), Sydney