DNK Days Presents: Simon Labbé with the DNK Ensemble

The first event in this new collaboration between DNK Days and Rozenstraat presents the work of Canadian composer Simon Labbé.

‘What are the most important active elements in the production of social spaces in the city today?

Where do we meet, how and why?

Over the course of a few days, while ideas about social spaces are being considered, especially in relation to a rose is a rose, the Canadian composer Simon Labbé will develop a performance together with members of the DNK Ensemble.

This performance / workshop will entail a collective reflection on the fundamental notions of habitation and appreciation, with a special focus on space. The first proposition is that different forms of speculation (usually financial speculation on housing) are the most determining factors in creating the spaces in which we live. These factors not only affect the circulation of money, but also the potential of our radical imagination to think (something) differently.

With that in mind, what forms of speculation could we potentially invest in as tools to deconstruct what is strange about the things we want to share?

How can we open an imaginary space for a new form of value and its circulation through a composition and a short stay in a rose is a rose is a rose?

How can our thinking and actions, within the conceptual space of music, help us think about sustainable engagements with autonomous spaces?

This is an attempt to tackle the current depletion of space through collectivized compositional thinking.’

Simon Labbé develops a hybrid practice around the act of listening articulated by composition for performance, installation, writing, recording and intervention in public space contexts. He’s particularly interested in the situated character of listening and to the spaces it deploys. His most recent works deals with issues of circulation, intimacy, ex/interiority and the production of spaces.