Virgin Territory & Shut Down Film Installation & Workshops for Universities
About the offer
Are you a university looking to offer your students a creative means to delve deeper into critical conversations around gender equality, sexism, identity and sexual harassment as part of your values based teaching activities? If so, please get in touch today.
VDT has two multi-screen film installations, Shut Down and Virgin Territory, available for universities to book as part of their community values programmes. The installations can be physically staged in a Student Union context for students to engage with alongside taking part in facilitated workshops that explore key topics in the productions.
Both Shut Down and Virgin Territory open up important discussions and can help students explore live issues around sexualisation and consent in a university context.
‘ [The Films] were all really complex and prompted thought and discussion around issues of masculinity and sexuality which otherwise would not always have come together explicitly for discussion. In particular I found the first clip of Shut Down and the spoken word section, raised all sorts of issues of male expectations, practices, cultures and barriers and it was useful to consider the implications for the university context’ Warwick University Student
‘ It has brought to life and literally into my visual field, so clearly, so many issues, behaviours, attitudes that are in our daily lives, but we don’t stop to think about them deeply enough’ Warwick University Student
Vincent Dance Theatre (VDT) produces powerful socially engaged dance theatre work on stage, on film and online, accompanied by extensive programmes of participation activities.
We apply our productions in a variety of contexts and settings to raise debate and foster understanding of the issues explored in the work, and seek to engage new audiences through the wider distribution of our films and participation programme.
Who is this offer for?
This offer is for UK based universities who offer a core Community Values Programme or similar. The film work and accompanying workshops are suitable for all undergraduate and postgraduate students to open up a dialogue around crucial topics such as consent, gender equality, sexism, identity and sexual harassment.
We can work with each university on a case by case basis to fit around your timetable and needs.
When can we book?
VDT is open to bookings from May 2023 onwards however universities may want to link the activity to a particular week for example: Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Week, 5th February – 11th February 2024.
What is the fee?
The fee for a full staged installation and accompanying workshops over 2 – 4 x days is £1500 + VAT.
VDT can discuss bookings on a case by case basis with universities and can offer facilitated screenings at a lower cost if needed.
How to book or find out more?
To find out more or to make a booking, please email VDT’s Participation & Digital Development Director, Sian Williams: sian@vincentdt.com or call 01273 911616
Case Study: VDT Project with Warwick University Community Values Programme
VDT and Dr Cath Lambert, Associate Professor of Sociology at Warwick University have been collaborating on a project to pilot the use of VDT’s works Virgin Territory & Shut Down in a university context.
The project was first delivered in November 2020, as a series of two-hour long workshops, with participants from across the university as well as screening the work to these groups. These workshops provided space to discuss wide-spread social concerns about gendered and sexualised inequities and misconducts, manifesting in movements such as #metoo and engaged with raised awareness and calls for action around sexual harassment and misconduct cross the University sector and localised issues raised at Warwick.
To continue these conversations in the university classrooms, VDT & Warwick University developed the following online resource used by all students across the university: WARWICK COMMUNITY VALUES RESOURCE
Following the success of the project, the following paper entitled ‘Sexual cultures in university: an arts-based intervention’ was published in Gender and Education, the paper provides a detailed overview of the project and argues that such creative interventions are a vital form of feminist pedagogy offering a powerful resource for future work in this increasingly urgent field of study.