Following a residency and research period at the new art initiative and exhibition space Beirut, in Cairo, Snejanka Mihaylova will be leading a seminar, Inner Stage, on 2, 3 and 4 December. The seminar focuses on working closely with a group of participants over three intensive days, and is developed on the basis of research into the Nag Hammadi library that Mihaylova is conducting while staying in Egypt. The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of Gnostic texts discovered in 1945, that give an account of the ideas circulating among early Christians.

The main ambition of the seminar group will be to experiment with the notion of exegesis, or the reading and commenting on sacred texts. It will focus on the Gospel of Thomas, a text that has been guiding Mihaylova's ongoing research. The Gospel of Thomas is composed entirely of sayings of Jesus and is believed to be related to earlier oral gospel traditions. Mihaylova's interest in this text pertains to both its content and its form as a collection of spoken utterances.

The seminar takes place in the context of Beirut's current inquiry into alternative educational models and its Imaginary School programme. It is part of Mihaylova's research into the aural dimension of thinking, listening and being receptive to material, which will converge in the making of a song and a publication. She is commissioned to develop this work within If I Can't Dance's Edition V – Appropriation and Dedication.

A presentation of Mihaylova's practice on 28 November will preceed the seminar at Beirut, where she is joined by If I Can't Dance curator Tanja Baudoin to discuss the project in the context of If I Can't Dance's commission.

Write to office@beirutbeirut.org if you have an interest to join the seminar.
For more information about Beirut and their programme, visit their website.