International Conference Decoration of Performance Space: Meaning and Ideology

Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
plus May, 1720 2016

Detail of the ceiling in the Teatro La Fenice, Venice, before the fire of 1996

The Study Centre for Documentary Research into European Theatre and Opera  has organised, in collaboration with the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) and Research Centre for Music Iconography at the City University of New York, the 13th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Iconography of the Performing Arts.

The conference will address issues related to the study of theatrical and musical iconography with special reference to the documentation concerning the Decoration of Performance Space. Thinking of performances, we usually consider the action happening on the theatre or concert stage, in front of spectators. However, performance space surrounding the spectators, its interior and exterior architectural decoration, as well as fashion of spectators and their habits are also constituent elements of a performance, supplementing the experience of a live event.

The conference will focus on visual aspects and decorations of spaces in which theatrical and musical performances occur, the self-representation of audiences attending performances and the political and ideological context.