About performing arts study
Through organisational ethnography, of course! Ethnography stems from anthropology, and anthropologists study cultures that are not theirs. I am an anthropologist of circus and street performances. So I study people who create and collaborate with cultural organisations.
Ethnography requires the ability to get to know the people being studied by spending time with them to understand their perspective. Ethnography does not focus on facts, but rather on how people experience and create their image of reality. To this end, I conduct interviews, make observations, and analyse visual and written materials. Ethnographic projects usually last several years. This time is necessary to notice how the organisations being studied change, to identify the connections between them, and to compare different perspectives.
human stories, successes, failures, dreams and struggles. Ethnography is much more than just learning the stories of people who are often very different from us – it is also a way of finding ourselves in these stories.
The performing arts are the ephemeral result of a long process of creation and organisation. By learning about this process through ethnography, we can understand and empathise with the work of artists. Understanding and empathy make us more conscious recipients of art.
Kostera, M., Krzyworzeka, P. i Połeć, M. (2023). Antropologia organizacji: Jak prowadzić badania terenowe? Warszawa: PWN.
Połeć, M. (2020). From Ethnography to Critical Management Studies: Facing the Street Performers’ Dilemmas [w:] Pullen, A., Helin, J. and Harding, N. (red.) Writing Differently (Dialogues in Critical Management Studies, Vol. 4), Emerald Publishing Limited, str. 145-157.
Połeć, M. (2017). Kontrolowana (?) kultura: Etnografia krakowskich występów ulicznych. Kraków, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.
RESEARCH PROJECTS:
Today’s circus is completely different from the ones we enjoyed as children or the ones that our parents and grandparents remember. For the most part, the cotton candy, sequined outfits and trained elephants are gone. Although circus art can be spectacular, it is much less popular than…
A street festival, with its parades, performances and concerts, is a celebration for city residents and visitors. Festivals are also showcases and meeting places for artistic communities. These events can last a day, a week or a month. They can focus on the circus, open-air theatres, or...
We’ve all seen a street performer in the old town, on the seaside promenade or in the underground. Street performers are assumed to be amateurs who are trying to make money. However, we also see street performers on talent shows, or...
