This monthly reading group digs into the elements of the collective, enthusiastic and hedonistic cultures that congregate around the practice of raving. Inspired by McKenzie Wark’s proposition that raving is an art and technique employed as a response to an ‘era of diminishing futures'. 

Extending beyond the rave itself, the reading group considers how the sensations and materials of raving - the fog, the lights, the dissociation and music - have started taking shape in artists’ practices, in writing and in discourse. Over six sessions this reading group reflects on what it means to rave in the contemporary moment. Why can raving feel like a conducive place for living, and how does it give us co-ordinates to defy time through sweat and heat? 

The reading group includes close readings and discussions centred on key texts, works, footage and music in contemporary culture. It’s advisable, but not mandatory to have looked at the material prior to the session. Discussion is encouraged!

This session considers the use of monsters and ghosts as symbols for desire, aggression, intimacy and selfhood. 

Reading and watching materials: 

Blade (1998) Opening Scene 

Dykegeist by Eve Stainton (Trailer) 

Ask Before You Bite by Elvia Wilk