val smith (Pākehā, they/them) is a choreographic artist residing and working on the lands of Ngāti Whātua in Aotearoa NZ. Their work explores socio-political dimensions of queerness and transness through performance, critical somatics, and friendship-based collaboration. Recent projects address Indigenous/settler-colonial collaboration and queer*trans experiences of place, belonging and togetherness: Songs with Birds (2022) with Forest V Kapo (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Raukawa) is a zoom-performance with birds about what it means to be transgender and migrating between lands, places, and cultural spaces; ill grow back (2020) with Forest V Kapo for Experimental Dance Week Aotearoa explored trans divining as an approach to communicating with more-than/human beings and forces in performance; Bttm Methodology (2019) was a 3-day event in Artspace Aotearoa carpark with Richard Orjis (Pākehā) developing queer art making approaches through the hosting, walks, spongy lunches, naps, discussions and workshops. val is an Arts Foundation Laureate (2019), and was a Caroline Plummer Fellow at Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou University of Otago (2016). They recently completed a PhD through Auckland University of Technology in Tāmaki Makaurau entitled Promiscuous Emplacements, an investigation of more-than/human relationality through a series of performances with marginal urban places across Tāmaki Makaurau.
Other projects include:
Scat Hunt for Queer Pavilion, Auckland Pride Festival (2020);
queer walk-nap with collaborative input from Lusi Faiva for Walking About project with Te Uru Gallery (2020);
Sex on Site with Air and Light, Enjoy Gallery, Te Whanganui-a-Tara (2020);
Queer Napping workshops, Auckland (2019-2020);
Offline Onsite Hookups, ImpulstRanz, Vienna (2019);
Offline Onsite Hookups, Experimental Dance Week Aotearoa (2019);
Queer Dating Sites, Auckland Fringe Festival (2018);
Sex on Site, Basement Cruise Club, Auckland Pride Festival (2018).
val's creative work also involves education, community and social practices, valuing relationship building and sharing knowledge/resources. They have taught choreography, performance skills, postmodern dance techniques, critical dance histories, interdisciplinary studies, creative practice, contact improvisation, yoga and somatic movement studies in tertiary and community settings since 2000. As well as participating as a guest lecturer/artist at institutions and festivals internationally, val has fulfilled roles as Contract Dance Lecturer at UNITEC Institute of Technology (2014-2018) and Professional Teaching Fellow (2014) and Tutor and Graduate Teaching Assistant (2006-2013), Dance Studies, University of Auckland.
