In the midst of her first tour to Australia and following on from her experiences as artist-in-residence at the Perth International Arts Festival, Glasgow-based multi-disciplinary performer and choreographer Claire Cunningham will be joining SAMAG to discuss her work and what it’s like to tour Australia as a visiting artist.

Originally a classically trained singer, Claire began to work in dance in 2005 after working with US choreographer Jess Curtis, who nurtured her curiosity in movement, which led instinctively into the desire to make her own work. Now in high demand both in the UK and internationally, her body of work has been critically acclaimed for its humorous and intelligent challenges to issues of aesthetics and dance.

Claire will be joined by interviewer Claire Hicks, Director at Critical Path, and together they will chat about all sorts of topics, including Claire’s current and past work, what it’s like tour and navigate Australia for the first time and the work she’s been undertaking with Australian artists during her visit.

A self-identifying disabled artist, Cunningham’s work is often rooted in the study and use/misuse of her crutches, and the exploration of the potentiality of her own specific physicality, with a conscious rejection of traditional dance techniques (developed for non-disabled bodies) or the attempt to move with the pretense of a body or aesthetic other than her own. Conversation will also flow to themes of disability and body image, as well as religion and faith.