International Forum on Artistic Research
17th Conference of the Society for Artistic Research (SAR)
Submission Number: 297
Submission ID: 362
Submission UUID: ce51f03c-6df2-42d8-be53-bcbd0e8561f8

Created: Sun, 1 Mar 2026 - 09:41
Completed: Sun, 1 Mar 2026 - 10:00
Changed: Wed, 13 May 2026 - 09:03

Remote IP address: 90.129.203.21
Submitted by: Gwen Rakotovao
Language: English

Is draft: No
Current page: webform_confirmation

Flagged: Yes
Given name Gwen
Surname Rakotovao
Email gwen.rakotovao@uniarts.se
I understand that by submitting this form, I consent to the use of my data for the purposes of the 2026 Forum on Artistic Research'. Yes
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Title Let the text speak for the Methods: Embodied archives, Diasporic epistemologies, and Performative methodologies
Format Other format
Main language English
Abstract Let the text speak for the Methods is a performative paper presentation emerging from an ongoing artistic research project at Stockholm University of the Arts. Grounded in embodied knowledge and diasporic epistemologies that honour ancestors, the presentation explores method as something inherited, relational, and continuously in the making.
Through first-person narration and performative reading, the paper moves across geographies between Stockholm, Mayotte, Paris and New York; and across time, where past, present, and future co-exist within the body. Unfolding through thematic constellations such as Methods, Geographies, Black/Human, Time, and In-visible Love, the presentation resists linear knowledge production and foregrounds embodiment, care, and fugitivity as methodological forces.
Blending poetic writing with artistic research, this contribution invites the audience to listen differently — to methods that are felt before they are named, and to knowledge carried, transmitted, and transformed through bodies.
Image Gwen Rakotovao 30% image2.jpg
Short biographies of the presenter(s)
  • Gwen Rakotovao is a choreographer, dancer, and artist-researcher working at the intersection of performance and cultural inquiry. She received her MA in Performance Studies from New York University Tisch School of the Arts and is currently a PhD candidate at Stockholm University of the Arts.

    Her work unfolds internationally across stage and research contexts. Bridging choreographic practice and academic inquiry, her research engages cultural memory and diaspora, with a particular focus on a Malagasy funeral ritual as site of embodied knowledge and choreographic thinking.
Previous presentations or iterations of the research A preliminary version of this research was presented in an internal seminar presentation at Stockholm University of the Arts in the autumn 2025.
Additional information The presentation will take the form of a paper reading. The text is written through choreographic approaches, shaping its structure, pacing, and use of language. The performative aspect is embedded in the composition and oral delivery of the paper.
Spatial and technical requirements No special technical requirements are needed. A microphone and space to stand will be sufficient.
Potential risks or ethical concerns No potential risks or ethical concerns.
Create a user account for SAR 2026 Yes
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