Re-searching relevance

At this final conference, the hosts wanted to focus once again on the tension between canonisation and marginalisation. At the core of this problematic lies the concept of relevance. Different notions of ‘relevance’ have played a crucial part in the canonisation processes. The canon is sometimes called upon for its ‘timeless’ traits, always promising social and political relevance. At other times, the canon is claimed to be a stable reference for artistic development, or an expression of intrinsic aesthetic values. Form, style, and genre characteristics have always played a role in the establishment of canons, as well as in marginalisation of the inferior.

An international host of speakers exemplified the problematic at the conference, discussing comparable phenomena and issues, such as marginalized plays, musical repertories designed for private use, exotic ballet genres, female artists, trivial dramatic repertory, hybridity and exclusion – all of which fall within non-canonic practices. Among the contributors were Penelope Cave, Meike Wagner, Astrid von Rosen, Mats Krouthén, and Jørgen Langdalen.

This last conference was summarized in the 2020 edition Relevance and Marginalisation in Scandinavian and European Performing Arts 1770–1860. Questioning Canons