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Journal ISSUE #1

Issue #1 — Editorial

We are delighted to present the inaugural issue of CePRA Journal. Compiled across the 2021/22 academic year, this selection of practice research showcases the excellent work currently taking place at the University of Leeds. There is no theme to this issue, but rather the publication presents a snapshot of the vibrant community working at Leeds.

To open, Benjamin Jenner’s bewildering RETAINING THE OBJECT IN THE ABSENCE OF VISION [FOREST III] reconstructs ephemeral glimpses of the sounds and sights of a forest that was traversed whilst blindfolded. Oliver Rudland presents an investigation into the use of improvisatory techniques as a methodology for creating community opera, thus presenting an alternative model to the traditional composer/performer hierarchy. A beguiling palimpsest of technologies and communication, Simon Lewandowski’s The Mind is Flat is a performance for two actors, one of whom is voiced through a vinyl player, through the lens of video conferencing software Zoom. Indeed, layering appears in a very different manner in Helen Clarke’s collection of posters, Voices from the Archive, comprised of archival material from the Reclaim the Night movement—a feminist, political campaign that started in Leeds—to form fragmentary and evocative poems.

Thanks to each of the contributors for their thought-provoking work. As editors, we feel fortunate to have been part of this generative, positive process. Thanks also to Ewan Stefani, Scott McLaughlin, and Fiona Bannon, the directors of CePRA, for supporting this project. Final thanks go to our readers: we hope that you enjoy reading this inaugural issue of CePRA Journal as much as we have editing it.

With warmest wishes,

The CePRA Journal Editorial Board

July 2022

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