If I Can’t Dance’s Reading Group started in 2006 and has been taking place on a monthly basis ever since. The Reading Group is a gathering of artists, critical thinkers, writers, and various other readers from in and outside the field of contemporary art, who come together to discuss new topics and directions in performance, contemporary art practice, and their relation to social and political issues. The current reading material has been accruing through an investigation of the research field for Edition VI – Event and Duration.

During the Edition’s finale, an Open Reading Group will be held, with any interested participants from the public welcome to join. The session will be lead by the commissioned artist Joke Robaard, who will provide the reading materials from her archive of photographs and related texts drawn from fashion magazines and other media sources.

In preparation for the Open Reading Group, participants will be asked to read sections of Plato’s book The Statesman and Vilém Flusser’s essay Our Images, which were central to Robaard’s new work commission, Small Things That Can Be Lined Up (2016), and address the magic of images, text, and textiles.

The Open Reading Group is presented as part of If I Can’t Dance’s Finale for Edition VI – Event and Duration (2015 – 2016).