To engage with confidence or awkwardness; verboseness or silence.To speak between, between speak/Zwischengespräch. To interrupt, to rebel but not only. To intertwine, to embrace, to think and be with. Ambicultural. To be. To be interlocutory, to have agency.

(The Interlocutory Agency)

The title of Prof. Kyambi’s class Interlocutory Agency originates from themedieval Latin word interlocutorius, which comes from Latin interloqui, meaning to ‘interrupt’. In this case, the interrupting agent is not a rebel without a cause but a necessary element that is embedded inside the artistic process embodying a space of speaking in between. 

Our class sessions take advantage of the transformative power of dialogue within the context of one’s artistic practice. It aims to establish an environment that encourages organic collaboration, engagement, active participation, personalised research/practice and overall interdisciplinary approaches. Interlocutory Agency stands in contrast; interrupting and at the same time discussing the current established norms in artistic education. Instead of goal-oriented, perfectionist procedures the class explores the creative process as a dynamic and dialectic action. This involves forming relationships on multiple levels: with one’s own self and art practice, with others and their artistic practice, and within the context of our educational setting. Students have the opportunity to unpack how they want to position themselves in their practice, gain practical skills on how to achieve this and make sense of the world/worlds we are living within. 


Delving into themes of identity, memory, and history, employing nature, nurture, animism, and mythology as influential methodologies. We transverse the implementation and synthesis of interlocutory explorations, emphasising experiential engagement, methodologies of mischief, and transformative processes. Collaborative reframing through both Western education and intuitive knowledge sources are integral to the pedagogical process. Furthermore Prof. Kyambi’s class invites external curators, artists, critical thinkers to engage with student practice and facilitate workshops, exploring alternatives to facilitation and a variety of experiences related to how your practice is interpreted by an audience and its contexts. 


Students are collaborating in situ; interacting physically in the studio. As well as examining and collectively addressing responses to the syllabus readings. Consequently, each and every one, either as individuals or as subgroups, along with Prof. Kyambi, are part of a network in which they can decide beforehand or impromptu what their roles should be. Students are encouraged to conscientiously activate the three C's - to be Critical, to embody the grace of Care and to ground yourself in being Constructive. 
 

Prof Syowia Kyambi has been a visiting professor at the AdBK Nuremberg since 1 November 2023. The visiting professorship is funded by the Top Professorship Programme (SPP) of the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts.