MRelay—Part 2: Ritual • 30 Jan 2016

The second leg of MRelay is Ritual. It’s all about the origin of form, and its connection to the invention and interpretation of rituals. Do we offer a means of communication when we conduct a set of routine actions in the same manner, or perform a set of actions in a fixed sequence? Can these symbolic sets of actions create community? How do they persist in and affect our everyday lives? How important is architecture to rituals? Do buildings express rules that go on to influence formal actions and even cultural movements? Do buildings lose their original functions and become monuments? The birth of contemporary rituals also enables our ideas of ‘design’ to evolve in ways whose shapes and languages are yet to be invented. Ritual was hosted by Robyn Archer AO, singer, writer and artistic director. Speakers included artist and director in the performing, visual and media arts David Pledger; jewellery designer Susan Cohn; researcher, writer and poet Oscar Schwartz; journalist and writer Gabriella Coslovich; Indigenous contemporary artist Reko Rennie; Australian Centre for the Moving Image curator Sarah Tutton; and theatre designer Richard Roberts.