“I don’t do talks, I do performances. I want to resonate at a non-cognitive level”

What happens if Petervan tells a story and only uses his own artwork as visuals, his own compositions as soundscapes, and his own poetry to touch you, plays live music, uses a lightning script, is dressed as Magritte, and wears Venetian or Hannibal Masks?

You get a very personal and corporate transmedia narrative and an ephemeral live experience.

“The sequencing, the artistry of how you unfold an experience is jarring enough that it short circuits my expectations. And I open up to entertain ambiguity in a way that I do not normally do during my day. And of course, the way that you engage sound and visual. And have it dance with words, concepts, reason, memories, evocative archetypes. Something opens up in me and hears or fields in a new way. “

Petervan’s performance lectures are artistic blends of content, storytelling, and live on-stage performance. 

Every performance lecture is unique and never delivered twice.

My performance lecture “Claim Your Cybernetic Word” was delivered 100% remotely during the 60th anniversary of the American Society for Cybernetics on 17 June 2024.

Below is the official abstract of that session:

An engaging conversational workshop crafted to elicit compelling language that embodies the human elements within cybernetics. Attendees will be encouraged to participate actively by offering cybernetic terminology, which will be visually depicted in an immersive cloud-like interactive video installation accompanied by a bespoke soundscape. The session opens with an artistic cinematic cybernetic dream sequence. Through facilitated brainstorming sessions with the audience, participants will have the ability to fine-tune word generation. They will discuss the Paskian Knobs required to steer randomness and the style of the outcome. The session closes with a cinematic cybernetic song outro. The total duration is between 45-60 minutes. This session will be delivered remotely with remote interactions with the audience. An experience room is available for on-site participants, allowing them to engage collectively in this conversational setting.  Please access the session 10 minutes before the starting hour, as the performance already starts during the virtual walk-in of the audience when visual and auditory segments set the stage for the experience.

Some friends who have seen an early dry-run version describe it as an “immersion” or “a trip”.

My latest performance was on 28 August 2024: an online Performance Lecture/Immersion “What Makes Us Human?” for Josie Gibson’s Catalyst Group in Australia. Below is the trailer for that performance:

A brand new performance “The New New Babylon” is generally available for online and in-situ delivery. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out!

The New New Babylon performance is an immersive experience, divided into six chapters—Awakening, Stepping, Flying, Gliding, Folding, and Vertigo. Each chapter explores different facets of the New New Babylon concept, blending art and interaction. Audience members are invited to actively participate, engaging with interactive elements that promote a sense of community and shared creativity. To create a multisensory journey, the performance integrates rich soundscapes, video projections, visual art, poetry, masks, VR, and stage props. It’s a brand new format to deliver content, quite different from more traditional keynotes and talks. The VR-Unity scenes are developed in co-production with NUMENA, the renowned interdisciplinary creative studio from Germany, specializing in award-winning spatial design and programming.

Designed for corporate and institutional clients, art galleries, and museums, the performance’s content, materials, and timing can be adapted to suit specific needs. The performance can also be organized as an online or in-situ workshop format.

More info here.