- What risks do we face from the militarisation of cyber space and outer space?
- Is increased cyber security undermining the liberties and values we want to protect?
- Are artists the first line of defence?
- Does capitalist society really value the arts?
Choreographer and arts champion Rosie Kay will be joined by artists, academics, journalists and the military to debate whether the mind is now the frontline for conflict.
On 10 and 11 August she will host a series of hybrid, in-person and live streamed, panel discussions entitled The Mind is the Frontline as part of Army@TheFringe.
In 2010 Rosie Kay created the seminal dance work 5 Soldiers – The Body is The Frontline which explored the realities of combat and the impact on those sent into battle.
But now new dangers have emerged with the threat of outright physical combat morphing into a permanent Cold War of fake news, disinformation and deliberately manufactured conspiracy theories being used to sow distrust and undermine democracy.
One of the key issues being examined is the role of the arts and of artists, who have traditionally forewarned societies of the dangers they face and the follies they commit.
Rosie said: “One role of the arts has always been as the ‘canaries in the coalmine’ but they have been devastated by the pandemic and I’m very unsure that our capitalist society has any real commitment to see them rebuild.
“This would be a terrible mistake, as it’s the arts and artists who raise the vital questions about our world, who make people think.
“One of the enormous concerns right now is how we square the rights and freedoms of civilians and artists with surveillance and control by big business and the state and by threats from foreign enemies? Has the new front-line become the human mind?”
Topics for discussion (see below for full details) include:
- Global security versus personal freedoms – a false dichotomy? Exploring the tension between military, state and capitalistic information technologies.
- Army and the new body soldier: Where does the body meet technology?
- Surveillance and Data – who is watching whom?
- Fiction meets Reality – dystopian concern about the breakdown of the old world order.
- Is the mind the new frontline? Propaganda, conspiracy, coercion and ethics.
There will also be an emphasis on the changing nature of conflict, as forces are no longer restricted to land, sea and air but are increasingly facing each other in cyber space and outer space.
The list of speakers features:
- James Arroyo- Director, The Ditchley Foundation
- Roman Baca – former Navy Marine, choreographer, junior research scientist and data architect
- Kenneth Cukier – Senior Editor, The Economist author of Big Data: A Revolution that Will Transform How We Work, Live and Think
- Jonzi D – Founder and Artistic Director of Breakin Convention
- Dr Linda Dubrow-Marshall, Head of Psychology, University of Salford
- Hasah Elahi – Professor and Director School of Art, George Mason University
- Eli Lee author of A Strange and Brilliant Light
- Lt Col Gordon Mackenzie – Head of Engagement, Army in Scotland
- Dr Nicholas Marquez-Grant- Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology, Cranfield Forensic Institute
- Dr Alice Konig – Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of St Andrews
- Harry Parker- former soldier, author of Anatomy of a Soldier
- Professor Frank Pollick – Professor of Psychology, University of Glasgow
- Nicholas Reys – Partner, Control Risk, Head of global cyber and online threat intelligence practice
- Leo Selvaggio – visual /tech artist, Bro
- Sydney Skybetter – choreographer, speaker and consultant
- Professor Sir Hew Strachan FBA, FRSE – Professor of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews
- Susannah Wise, author of This Fragile Earth and actor
In 2017 the Rosie Kay Dance Company, brought 5 Soldiers to Army@TheFringe and achieved huge critical acclaim with a string of ★★★★ and ★★★★★ reviews, before going on to enjoy major national and international success.
- Tickets are available from Edfringe.com or www.armyatthefringe.org.
– Ends –
Notes for editors
The Mind is The Frontline
The Mind is the Frontline – two days of live and hybrid panel discussions curated and hosted by choreographer Rosie Kay exploring if the new frontline is now in our minds, with military leaders, artists, thinkers and journalists.
Dates: Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th August 2021
Events each day: 10.00-11.15, 12.00-13.15, 14.00-15.15 and 18.00-19.15 each day
Live speakers and live distanced audience at East Claremont St Reserve Centre, Edinburgh New Town
Hybrid event with online contributions from speakers and online audience
Rosie Kay Dance Company in Association with Army @ The Fringe
Website: https://www.armyatthefringe.org
Event: https://www.armyatthefringe.org/frontline/
Contacts:
Curator- Rosie Kay: [email protected] 07961434256
Lead Engagement Officer- Lt Col Gordon Mackenzie: [email protected]
Producer – Jordan Blackwood: [email protected]
Programme details
TUESDAY 10TH AUGUST
10.00-11.15 Army + the Arts: An introductory session with Rosie Kay + Lt Col Gordon Mackenzie – making art based on the realities of the soldier’s experience and why this event is taking place chaired by broadcaster Simon Preston.
12.00-13.15 Global security versus personal freedoms – a false dichotomy? Exploring the tension between military, state and capitalistic information technologies with rights and freedoms of artists and civilians. Exploring art as resistance and creating peace and understanding through choreography. With Nicolas Reys of Control Risks and Jonzi D Hip Hop choreographer.
14.00-15.15 Army + the new body soldier: Where does the body meet technology? Are we at the forefront of the blend of body and technologies, or does soft flesh still meet hard metal? Where does the body end and the robot begin? With former soldier/ author and artist Harry Parker + choreographer and robotic researcher Sydney Skybetter.
18.00-19.15 Surveillance and Data – who is watching whom?: Now we understand (although not fully) the benefits and repercussions of massive data mining, where does the individual sit with modern surveillance technologies and data? Can we now find new ways to hide in plain, pixelated sight? With artist Professor Hasan Elahi and Senior Editor of The Economist and author of ‘Big Data: A Revolution that Will Transform How We Work, Live and Think’, Kenn Cukier and James Arroyo, Director of The Ditchley Foundation.
WEDNESDAY 11TH AUGUST
10.00-11.15 Theatre of War: In its widest sense the term ‘theatre of war’ means both the place of war, the representation of war and now also the operating theatre on the battlefield. New approaches to warfare mean that medical sciences need to get closer and closer to the warfare and that requires very specialist training. Former Marine, choreographer and researcher Roman Baca is joined by psychologist + neuroscientist Frank Pollick, and forensic anthropologist Nicholas Marquez-Grant discussing all aspects of warfare, medicine and theatre.
12.00-13.15 Fiction meets Reality – dystopian concern about the breakdown of the old-world order: We’ve now entered a world where real life reality is sitting below layers of digital reality and space wars. This used to be the stuff of sci-fi fiction. What role does fiction making, future imagining and narrative story telling have in both understanding conflict, imagining a better future and planning for future conflicts? Dr Alice Konig Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of St Andrews and Visualising War, Susannah Wise, author of ‘This Fragile Earth’ and actor and military RAF person (tbc).
14.00-15.15 Is the mind the new frontline? Propaganda, conspiracy, coercion and ethics: When information is weaponised and conspiracy theories are having direct results on citizens trust of state governments, with direct democratic consequences, can we unpick the line between information, conspiracy, coercion and truth? And where are the ethical frameworks for this new reality? With Dr Linda Dubrow-Marshall, Head of Psychology, University of Salford and Professor Rod Dubrow-Marshall, University of Salford, Nicholas Reys of Control Risks and Eli Lee author of ‘A Strange and Brilliant Light’.
18.00-19.15 Where are we now?: A summing up and exploration of the relationship between art, the army and modern technologies, with Rosie Kay Professor Sir Hew Strachan and artist Leo Selvaggio + Brigadier Bruce Russell (tbc)
Confirmed Speakers
James Arroyo- Director, The Ditchley Foundation, (https://www.ditchley.com/people/james-arroyo)
Roman Baca- former Navy Marine, choreographer and Junior Research Scientist and Data Architect (https://exit12danceco.org)
Kenneth Cukier- Senior Editor, The Economist author of Big Data: A Revolution that Will Transform How We Work, Live and Think (http://www.cukier.com)
Jonzi D- Founder and Artistic Director of of Breakin Convention, Sadler Wells (https://www.breakinconvention.com/jonzi-d)
Dr Linda Dubrow- Marshall, Head of Psychology, University of Salford
Professor Rod Dubrow- Marshall, University of Salford
Hasah Elahi- Professor and Director School of Art, George Mason University (https://elahi.gmu.edu)
Dr Alice Konig- Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of St Andrews (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_König)
Eli Lee author of ‘A Strange and Brilliant Light’ (http://thenorthlitagency.com/eli-lee/)
Dr Nicholas Marquez-Grant- Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology, Cranfield Forensic Institute (https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/people/dr-nicholas-marquezgrant-498915)
Lt Col Gordon MacKenzie- Head of Engagement, Army in Scotland
Harry Parker- former soldier, author of Anatomy of a Soldier and soon to be published
Hybrid Humans: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Man and Machine and artist
and artist (https://www.foyles.co.uk/Harry-Parker)
Professor Frank Pollick- Professor of Psychology, University of Glasgow (https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/psychology/staff/frankpollick/)
Simon Preston, writer and presenter, BBC Radio 4 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1PZXRhdrHfCtcmpPpL7p3jr/biography-simon-preston)
Nicholas Reys- Partner, Control Risk, Head of global cyber and online threat intelligence
practice (https://www.controlrisks.com/who-we-are/our-experts/expert-bio/nicolas-reys)
Sydney Skybetter- choreographer, speaker and consultant, Brown University (https://www.skybetter.org )
Leo Selvaggio- visual /tech artist, Brown University (http://leoselvaggio.com)
Professor Sir Hew Strachan FBA, FRSE- Professor of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hew_Strachan)
Susannah Wise, author of ‘This Fragile Earth’ and actor (https://www.susannahwise.com)
More speakers to be confirmed including military guests.
About Army@TheFringe
- Army@TheFringe was established to present a diverse programme of performances that tell stories of life in and out of uniform.
- It normally takes place at Hepburn House, an historic Army drill hall in Edinburgh’s New Town, which offers a variety of performance spaces.
- See www.armyatthefringe.org.
Facebook @Armyatthefringe
Twitter @ArmyatTheFringe
Website: www.Armyatthefringe.org
For media information about Army@TheFringe contact Matthew Shelley at SFPR on 07786704299 or [email protected].