Performing the life and death of Scotland’s church buildings in the bodies of their people
HEI: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of Glasgow
School: Theology and Religious Studies
Supervisors:Prof Heather Walton (University of Glasgow) and Dr Laura Bissell (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
Keywords: Performance, church buildings, community, loss, place, memory
About Ishbel’s Research:
This interdisciplinary, practice research project will generate theological insight, using performance as method and medium. Over the next five years the Church of Scotland will close around 700 church buildings across the nation. What does this devastating loss mean to the people who worship in these buildings week-on-week? How do congregants’ bodies and minds react to their building’s journey from life to death?
This project aims to gather worshipper experiences through observation, participation, recording and interviews, and will collaborate with worshippers to translate theses findings into performances. The project asks: can performance express and record the relationships between worshippers and their church buildings, and can it respond to and mitigate the trauma of their loss?
CONNECT WITH ISHBEL
E-mail: 2002188M@student.gla.ac.uk
X: @ishbelmcf
Website: ishbelmcfarlane.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ishbel-mcfarlane/