Exercises in Happiness

To be presented at Melbourne International Arts Festival 2008 supported by Tape Projects and Crawl.net.au

We ask you "what you would do if you lost everything?" you say "Start again."

In increasingly uncertain times Exercises in Happiness explores our restless need for a good feeling.

Panther investigated happiness, in two residencies and a lot of research for over a year. We worked across two cities, we interviewed people in shopping centres, on the streets and in art spaces. For one week we walked for two hours a day, thinking and talking about happiness. We read histories, articles and economic reports. We made maps of the worlds happiest places, we thought about the romans, the christians and the greeks, all striving for happiness from the beginning of time and then after contemplating the subject for some time we invited you in to make up your own minds.

In the gallery we built a series of small intimate activities for you. Sleeping, reading, eating, drinking, talking, pornography and party games.

In the gallery, you participate in these tasks and in conversations, in reading to each other, in pouring milk and smashing a pinata and a little crisis happiness happens.

But still, after its all over, we wonder what do we do now, now that we are happy?

Researched and Created by:  Madeleine Hodge and Sarah Rodigari

Dramaturgical Support:  Deborah Pollard

Systems Video Design:  David Wolf

Data Visualisation Design:  Nicholas Hudson- Ellis

Supported by:  Performane Space, Sydney, Culture Lab at Meat Market, North Melbourne and Marrickville City Council through the Petersam Artist Flat

Presented at:  Fresh Fest, Hastings, September 2007 and Singapore Fringe Festival, January 2008

Thanks to:  Caitlin Newton-Broad, Sally Breen, Tai Kim Pok, Fiona Winning, Richard Manner, Steven Richardson, Adrian Eidehold, Kate Ben-Tovim, Alice HuiSheng Chang, Michaela Pegum, Tom Burless, Nicholas Hudson Ellis, Michael Prior and all of Tape Projects