Building Conversation / Lotte van den Berg - Conversation without words

How do we communicate when we stop using words? The collective Building Conversation, founded by Dutch theatre-maker Lotte van den Berg and artist Daan ’t Sas, develops and facilitates conversations. In each session of Conversation without words, fifteen people walk together to a place and sit down, with the only rule being that they spend time together engaging in a silent conversation. Starting from the fact that almost eighty percent of our communication is nonverbal, this performative interaction offers an encounter outside the format of given language. Conversation without words is an original meeting, a shared moment beyond the words, to bring together people who don’t know one another; where the possibility of showing empathy, making agreements, arguing and taking opposing positions, all without using words, is surprising. Conversation without words finishes with a communal dinner and an opportunity to conclude with a conversation, this time with words.

Credits
Conversation without words is part of Building Conversation, an ongoing project developed and executed by a growing collective of artists, activists and philosophers. Current members include: Peter Aers, Andreas Bachmair, Lotte van den Berg, Katja Dreyer, Angelika Fink, Floor van Leeuwen, Sodja Lotker, Dennis Molendijk, Jonathan Offereins, Zdravko Popovic, Daan ’t Sas, Ligia Soares, Iwona Soczewka, Marija Sujica and Justina Wielgus.