30/12/17 – 3AM. “How can an event bring books into life?”

In June 2017, we made an open call inviting people send an idea for a book that could be applied and practiced in the frame of 3AM Festival. In other words, we wanted to challenge artists and writers to struggle with the following question “How can an event bring books into life?”. In August, 8 ideas by 8 different artists were selected: Zmeu Pleroma, Lilach Livne, Noam Assayag, Paul Wiersbinski, Agata Siniarska, Richard Aslan, Anna-Kirstine Linke and Nik Kosmas. On the 30th of December 2017 the 3AM Event provided a frame for books to make effective the world they carry within.

The main idea was that the book communicates a certain practice, which then comes alive during the event. Every publication will have their specific strategies to call the reader to action, this way the event functions as a frame to bring into play the abstract and imaginary worlds contained within the books, so the ideas of the book can be temporarily activated and made alive through an experience with an audience. All different formats will be presented: performances, set of exercises, practices, trainings, discussions, choreographies, instructions, games…

Criteria we applied to select proposals:

• we only accept proposals of books that don´t exist yet.
• the book must call the reader to action and must communicate the specific way how this should happen.
• the book must be concerned with proposing ways of stimulating embodiment and bridging the content of the book into the reader’s experience.
• the book must be able to unfold itself during the event in any possible way (preferably in a way that be be practiced or exercised together with other people).
• every author collaborating with us will decide their own particular way of bringing ideas into action. For example, daily rituals, set of exercises, daily practices, training methods, methodologies, scores, instructions, directives, handbooks, guide books, protocols, manuals, games, experiments, and performances…
• the practice can be presented as a lecture, as a performance, as a music show, as a dinner, as a tour – basically any format that suits the idea.