Participant Invitation: What is already here?

An Invitation to Join the Conversation with Joseph K. Kasau Wa Mambwe, Majula Drammeh, and Thabiaso Kubheka Persson.

Project Title: What is already here?
Artists: Joseph K. Kasau Wa Mambwe (Democratic Republic of Congo), Majula Drammeh (Sweden), Thabiaso Kubheka Persson (Sweden)
Date: January 28, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Location: VIVO Media Arts Centre (2625 Kaslo St., Vancouver)
FREE! Limited Space. Registration Required.
Co-presentation: The PuSh Festival and VIVO Media Arts

About the Residency:

What is already here? is an interdisciplinary, interactive theatre installation exploring themes of technological dependency, environmental degradation, and human connection. Joseph K. Kasau Wa Mambwe (Democratic Republic of Congo), Majula Drammeh (Sweden), and Thabiaso Kubheka Persson (Sweden) will be in residency at VIVO Media Arts Centre from January 24 to February 7, 2025, as part of the ongoing development of the installation. The residency will feature moments of laboratory research, individual and group discussions, and public events including a studio showing, a dance workshop, and a panel discussion.

As part of the residency, the artists are inviting local artists from all disciplines—including theatre, dance, music, video, writing, performance, installation, set design, and even non-artistic fields such as psychology, technology, software development and AI—to engage in a conversation around sustainability, collective belonging, and interdisciplinary collaboration. We are looking for local artists to join the conversation on Tuesday, January 28, 4:00 – 6:00 PM to shape the development of the project through meaningful dialogue.

FREE! Limited Space. Registration Required.

About the project:

In a world fixated on the unyielding acceleration of technological progress, this interactive theatre installation in-development urges audiences to reconnect with the tangible through a resounding affirmation of collective belonging. Deep within a dystopian assemblage of electronic waste—discarded cables, defunct screens and obsolete motherboards—audiences enter a subterranean laboratory, both relic of the present and forewarning of the environmental degradation shaping our future.

The piece draws on ancestral wisdom and Afrofuturist visions to question the virtual megastructures that define our age. The performers invite participants to become co-creators of the unfolding narrative and resist digital dependencies that erode freedoms and fuel disconnection. Together, they trace new trajectories for unlearning the automations of modern existence in an immersive experience that challenges audiences to 'hack the code' and rediscover what it means to be fully human in a time of digital alienation.

This residency is part of the 20th PuSh Festival (January 23 – February 9, 2025).