“Action ~ scores: Returns to the future” #7
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Presentation
JJ, ©DR
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Image
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JJ, ©DR
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Presentation
Event
Tuesday 10 March 2026
From 3pm to 6pm
“Action ~ scores: Returns to the future” #7
“Get carried away” Lecture by Stella Cani & Aminata
As part of the lecture series Action ~ Partitions: Returns to Futures, curated by Clélia Barbut, in partnership with Université Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis.
In her book Perverse Spectators, film theorist Janet Staiger reflects on the ways in which trans, non-binary, queer and lesbian viewers appropriate films when they go to see straight cinema. This reference has been central to how we situate ourselves in relation to a hegemonic art history—one that forgets, sidelines, or actively erases certain (counter-)narratives.
Since 2020, we have been developing a body of work centred on queer and lesbian archives within the field of art. Our point of departure was the figure of Jill Johnston (1929–2010): a critical and feminist icon celebrated during her lifetime, yet later rendered invisible in accounts of the American artistic avant-gardes of the 1970s. Over the course of four years, we conducted a multifaceted investigation—JJ—which successively took the form of a choreographic piece, a collectively translated book, an exhibition, and a self-produced feature film. Through this process, we have developed critical tactics and performative strategies that we will share with you. These tools have fuelled our desire to keep telling ourselves stories and making films within the art world, at the intersection of artistic practice and activism. This will also be an opportunity to articulate hypotheses and sketch out possible directions for the next chapters of our artistic journey.
Biography
Aminata Labor & Stella Cani
Aminata Labor and Stella Cani met in 2016 at the Dance Department of Paris 8 University, in the midst of a powerful social movement opposing the French labour law reform and the world it sought to impose. At the time, Aminata was conducting research on the experiences of women within the cortèges de tête of Parisian demonstrations (published by Atelier Téméraire), while Stella was developing a practice-based research project on performed reception and affective criticism (published by PUV).
Since then, they have cultivated a wide range of forms of complicity and relationship. From activist collectives to radio shows, from performances to text-based writing, from painting sessions to interspecies walks, they turn art and life into spaces for questioning, singing, making trouble, sharing, watching—and much more besides. Their artistic activities are largely supported by public institutions and unfold within the framework of France’s intermittent labour system.
