“Uncloseting Byron” – A Public Arts Initiative

An exciting new public art project is underway, alongside a series of Byron events in celebration of his bicentenary! Here is a message from the key organizers—Kaila Rose (The Byron Society of America), Elizabeth Effinger (University of New Brunswick) and Robin Hammerman, Stevens Institute of Technology:

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Uncloseting Byron, a public art initiative that takes a creative, experimental approach to closet drama, using Lord Byron as its starting point.

Each participant will take a line from Byron—ideally anything from his 8 dramas—as the inspiration for their closet drama. The new dramas will be mixed media: drawings, painting photographs, short films, any artistic expression the participants prefer. These productions will be presented in 3 to 6 images or "slides" alongside text for the closet drama's narrative or dialogue. These slides will be then shared on Instagram by "tagging" our official account @unclosetingbyron or by emailing to submit@unclosetingbyron.com.

The rules are: each participant has 36 hours (one hour for each year of Byron's life) to write their closet drama and share with us. Then, they will nominate 3 more people to write one! Participants will do this by uploading their closet drama to Instagram, tagging @unclosetingbyron and the next 3 people. If someone does not have Instagram, they can email their work to us with the names and emails of their 3 people and we will post their work for them on our account and website and contact their list of nominees.

This creative, playful response enables us to think about how art and creative possibilities can emerge under pressure (whether it be the 36hr timeline or the political or cultural pressures of the day).

Please visit our website—www.unclosetingbyron.com—to see more information, a detailed writing prompt, resources, and links for submission.

A partnership between the Keats-Shelley Association of America and the Byron Society of America, Uncloseting Byron launches Tuesday March 5th 2024 and runs until Thursday May 1st 2025. The beginning is a key date in American politics, known as "Super Tuesday," when many U.S. states and territories hold their primary elections. Making this Tuesday even more "super," Uncloseting Byron hopes the challenge of creating fast and furious closet dramas—an homage to the fervor and direct engagement of Byron himself in the politics of his day—will afford participants a means of responding to what many political analysts anticipate will be a year of "dread" in American politics. The initiative's ending, "May Day" or "Workers Day," holds many historically significant ties throughout the world, which we hope will mark a less dreadful time. Not only are there links to Floralia during the Roman Republic—celebrating Bacchus, no less,—Beltane—or "luck fire"—in Gaelic culture, Walpurgisnacht in Germany, and many others, this time usually marks a start to the summer season, love, and community festivities. Nevertheless, the day continues the political associations through its alteration as a declaration of a "national workers day" in Nazi Germany in 1933 to celebrate workers—while ironically abolishing free unions the day after they established the holiday. It was also "Worker's Day" in the Soviet Union to encourage workers to unite against capitalism in Europe and the United States, as well as its ties to Labour Day to commemorate the labor movement in the U.S. and Canada.

While the closet dramas are not required to be political, nor do they need to be a direct response to Byron, we know the timing of these productions will have ample amounts of inspiration to respond to. Most importantly, we want participants to feel freedom through their productions, as these "uncloseting" works will exist in a mixed-media virtual space, leaving behind the traditional enclosures of drama: the stage and the page.

We strongly encourage and welcome diverse participants: students and teachers of all ages, playwrights, artists, actors, directors, dancers, publicly engaged scholars, theater buffs, social justice organizations, arts and humanities organizations, journalism and law students, everyone! And we hope, that even if the participants entered into this project not being a fan of Byron (or previously knowing much of his work), they will leave with a new excited appreciation for him and his relevance in our world today.

At the Stuart Curran Symposium in New York City on October 25th 2024, we will showcase the submissions we have received and celebrate the ongoing project at our bacchanalian reception, which not only wraps up the day's events, but also the previous day's production of Byron's Sardanapalus at the Red Bull Theater!

We know that marking and sharing the ongoing influence and reinterpretations of Lord Byron's work will be a wonderful way to keep the bicentennial festivities going. Please reach out to us with any questions, and we look forward to your participation and circulation of the project!

Questions can be directed to info@unclosetingbyron.com.