International Forum on Artistic Research
17th Conference of the Society for Artistic Research (SAR)
Submission Number: 30
Submission ID: 62
Submission UUID: bd6ccc4a-0cba-4739-9245-e3fca020157a

Created: Wed, 28 Jan 2026 - 12:32
Completed: Wed, 28 Jan 2026 - 12:40
Changed: Wed, 13 May 2026 - 08:12

Remote IP address: 109.145.43.34
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Current page: webform_confirmation
Given name Maria
Surname Fusco
Email Mfusco001@dundee.ac.uk
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
I agree to the terms of service. Yes
Title History of the Present
Format Other format
Main language English
Abstract The contribution is a screening of the experimental opera-film, History of the Present (45 minutes duration). The practice-led research output is made collaboratively by Maria Fusco and Margaret Salmon, featuring new compositions by Annea Lockwood, libretto by Maria Fusco and improvisational vocal work by soprano Héloïse Werner. This intersectional, intergenerational feminist work forefronts working-class women’s voices to ask: who has the right to speak, and in what way? Layering sociological, cultural, and political themes from the recent history of Northern Ireland, the work exercises voice, breath and field-recording composition through a range of film techniques and operatic articulations, to amplify marginalised stories. Made on 35mm and video in the streets of Belfast, the Ulster Museum and the Royal Opera House in London, History of the Present observes how defensive architecture defines movement to enforce intersectional histories and identities within daily experiences in conflict and post-conflict zones on an international level. Early stages of the work were developed during Fusco’s fellowship at the Royal Opera House, London and supported by the Abbey Theatre/ Amharclann na Mainistreach, Dublin.
Image HOP_press_image.png
Short biographies of the presenter(s)
  • Professor Maria Fusco is an award-winning working-class writer, born and brought up in Ardoyne, North Belfast, now living in Scotland. Her interdisciplinary work spans the registers of critical, fiction and performance writing; she has authored six books, and written and directed four major performance works. She is Professor of Interdisciplinary Writing at the University of Dundee.

    Margaret Salmon is a New York born multidisciplinary artist living and working in Glasgow and a Lecturer at Glasgow School of Art. Solo exhibitions of her work have been held at institutions includingStaatsgalerie Stuttgart (2015); Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, USA (2011); Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam (2007).
Previous presentations or iterations of the research The work has so far received the following awards from: O. Festival for Opera. Music. Theatre (Rotterdam, NL) global opera work award; European Media Art Festival International Competition (Osnabruck, DE); Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival New Cinema Award (Berwick, UK) and has received a four-star review in The Observer newspaper, as well as press coverage in a range of international publications.
Additional information The proposed contribution is a digital film.
Spatial and technical requirements A screening space, with adequate sound.
Potential risks or ethical concerns N/A
Create a user account for SAR 2026 No