Solo, collective, and multilingual recitations from memory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a performance series in 60 acts.
On the 14 June 2013, the day of the sixtieth and concluding act of Anniversary—an act of memory at the 23rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Monica Ross died of cancer. acts 1–60
The sixty performances reached their conclusion as a series but it is a sincere hope that others may be encouraged and inspired to continue the endeavour to promote human rights throughout the world and if using Anniversary—an act of memory as a model or template, Monica Ross would be only too delighted. more
The performances may have concluded but the work will continue... Consider Co-reciting
Anniversary – an act of memory began as 60 recitations by Monica Ross and co-reciters.
Since her death, people across the world have performed new recitations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to honour her work, critiquing power and supporting peaceful strategies to connect everybody with their inalienable human rights.
The Monica Ross Archive is mobilising to meet to the increasingly high volume of pressing requests to continue her work.
The Monica Ross Archive & Friends are collaborating with the artist, Robert Ayers and co-reciters to organise 80 new recitations for the 80th anniversary of the Declaration in 2028.
80 tribute acts - Robert Ayers and co-reciters
Artists, activists, arts organisations, communities, schools, and anyone who would like to host their own solo or collective recitation check out our resources. Contact us directly with any further questions, reflections and to let us know how it goes. We'll add your recitation here. We'll be in touch with you as soon as we can.
Contact: info@monicarossarchive.org
Consider Co-reciting View, Download and Share the UDHR
Paper by Alexandra M Kokoli
Performance Research, vol. 17, no. 5 (2012) ‘On Duration’, pp. 24-30.
Museums and the Embodiment of Human Rights
Paper by Dr Louise Purbrick
Royal College of Art & University of Brighton
By Dint of Repetition: on the lasting legacy of Monica Ross
Rachel Withers
Art and Christianity, number 77, Spring 2014, pp. 2-5.
Anniversary — an act of memory
UK Tour 2011-2013
Anniversary — an act of memory is a performance series in 60 acts focusing on the importance and relevance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Launched in December 2008 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Declaration, it features solo, collective and multi-lingual recitations from memory of the entire UDHR by Monica Ross and Co-Recitors.
The act of memory series began in response to the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes by police in London in July 2005; Ross challenged herself to learn the UDHR by heart and first attempted to publicly recite it from memory in the performance rightsrepeated — an act of memory at Beaconsfield, London 2005. rightsrepeated was subsequently presented by Live Art Development Agency in Performing Rights, London 2006 and National Review of Live Art, Glasgow 2008. From there the work evolved into the Anniversary series, beginning with a solo recitation by Ross during the British Library exhibition Taking Liberties: the struggle for Britain’s freedoms and rights in December 2008. Her aim is to achieve a minimum of 60 solo, collective and multi-lingual recitations of the text from memory with co-reciters from different communities and contexts and in alliance with organisations, campaigns and anniversaries associated with human rights.
The tour marks a new phase of the project that will see Acts 31-60 taken to new contexts throughout the UK and coincides with the release of acts of memory 2005-2010, a DVD of selected documentation from the rightsrepeated performances and Acts 01-30 of the Anniversary series which is published by Live Art Development Agency and available through their online shop Unbound www.thisisunbound.co.uk / www.thisisliveart.co.uk.
30 recitations were produced between 2008-2010 in collaboration with curators, activists, arts, educational, human rights and judicial organisations in the UK, Ireland and Germany, including solo recitations in Mikhail Karikis’ Xenon: an exploded opera 2010 and the film Xenon 2011. Ross performed a special act of memory for the launch of Brighton Festival 2011, with the Festival Chorus singing Sleep by Eric Whitacre and conducted by John Hanson. A major collective recitation for the Festival launched the tour in May 2011.
Each recitation is shaped by the producers and co-reciters who deliver it. While the text and its aspirations remain the same, the different voices reciting in different languages mean that each performance is specific to its context and community and nuanced, inflected and impassioned by the individuals who commit themselves to reciting the Articles from memory. The artist and co-reciters draw on oral traditions where memorisation and spoken repetition produce an embodied form of reproduction which is at once an act of witness and one of taking responsibility for the transmission of knowledge. The emphasis is not on perfect recall but on the attempt to remember, and the difficulty of fulfilling the Declaration’s call to keep it ‘constantly in mind’ especially when under pressure.
The essence of the project is on performance as both a live and generative medium. Every recitation is recorded using photography and video which is edited in consultation with the co-reciters and posted on www.youtube.com/actofmemory as an open archive which can be freely shared with a wider community.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 and is the world’s most translated document, available in over 370 languages at www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Introduction.aspx. To date more than 250 co-reciters have memorised and recited articles of significance to them in 30 languages. The acts of memory version in this booklet replaces the generic male pronouns of the original with non-gendered alternatives. A poster of this version is also available from Beaconsfield Editions www.beaconsfield.ltd.uk.
The Anniversary — an act of memory UK Tour 2011-2013 is produced by Michelle Hirschhorn and financially supported by Arts Council England. For more information, tour schedule and details of participating venues and forthcoming recitations, please see: www.actsofmemory.net.
Special Thanks to Beaconsfield and Live Art Development Agency for their continued support of the project; Bernard G Mills for photography and video; Jason E. Bowman for supporting early project development; all of the touring venues and collaborating partners; Arts Council England; Gemini Press; and most importantly, all of the Co-Recitors who demonstrate their courage and support for human rights by taking part.
Anniversary — an act of memory is endorsed by Amnesty International and the British Institute of Human Rights.
Act 01 07.12.2008 Taking Liberties: the struggle
for Britain’s freedom and rights,
the British Library, London: solo
Act 02 10.12.2008 West Midlands BBC, The Mailbox,
Birmingham: solo
Act 03 13.12.2008 WAR, Supper Club, The Basement,
Brighton: collective
Act 04 27.01.2009 Changing the Face of Human Rights,
British Institute of Human Rights
Conference: solo
Act 05 05.02.2009 SOLON War Crimes Conference,
Institute for Advanced Legal Studies,
London: solo
Act 06 05.03.2009 The Women’s Library, London
Metropolitan University: collective
Act 07 21.03.2009 Rattling the Cage, exhibition, Phoenix,
Brighton: collective
Act 08 17.05.2009 Jorn Ebner Showroom, Berlin:
with Maria Morata
Act 09 14.07.2009 Di McDonald’s retirement,
Nuclear Information Services,
House of Commons: collective
Act 10 19.07.2009 Peace Messenger Picnic, Brighton and
Hove Lawns: collective
Act 11 15.08.2009 O ur Rights Remembered, The
Whitworth, Manchester: collective
Act 12 16.08.2010 O ur Rights Remembered, The
John Rylands Library, Manchester:
collective
Act 13 19.09.2009 Beaconsfield, London: collective
Act 14 20.09.2009 sound box, Tricycle Theatre,
London: solo
Act 15 23.09.2009 Free Word, London: collective
Act 16 11.01.2010 radiofreebrighton.org.uk: solo
Act 17 01.02.2010 Vocal Crossings 11, Act 2 of XENON:
an exploded opera by Mikhail Karikis,
Kings Place, London
Act 18 05.02.2010 The Great Hall, Dartington,
Devon: solo
Act 19 13.02.2010 Space For Thought Festival, London
School of Economics: collective
Act 20 08.03.2010 International Women’s Day Seminar,
APLAW, OXFAM, Garden Court
Chambers, London: solo
Act 21 13.03.2010 International Women’s Week, Stratford
Circus East, London: collective
Act 22 17.03.2010 Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground,
Chelsea College of Art and Design,
London: collective
Act 23 13.05.2010 solo in Act 2 of XENON: an exploded
opera by Mikhail Karikis, Sallis Benney
Theatre, Brighton
Act 24 27.06.2010 solo in Act 2 of XENON: an exploded
opera by Mikhail Karikis, Whitstable
Biennale
Act 25 27.06.2010 solo in Act 2 of XENON: an exploded
opera by Mikhail Karikis, Whitstable
Biennale
Act 26 21.08.2010 sommer.bar TANZ IM AUGUST,
Podewil, Berlin 2010: collective
Act 27 29.09.2010 O rduithe at Live @8, Galway Museum
Square, Galway, Eire: collective
Act 28 23.10.2010 solo in Act 2 of XENON: an exploded
opera by Mikhail Karikis, Kings Place,
London
Act 29 26.10.2010 solo in Act 2 of XENON: an exploded
opera by Mikhail Karikis, Canterbury
Festival 2010
Act 30 28.10.2010 Critical Reflections, Inside Out Festival
2010, London: collective
Act 31 29.05.2011 Brighton Festival: collective
Act 32 14.07.2011 Cumbria Multi-Cultural Women’s
Network, Barrow, presented by
Lanternhouse: collective
Act 33 16.07.2011 Lanternhouse, Ulverston, Cumbria:
collective
Act 34 21.09.2011 Swiss Cottage Library Gallery,
London: collective
Act 35 29.10.2011 Scarborough Library and Information
Centre, presented by Crescent Arts,
Scarborough: collective
Act 36 02 November 2011 To Reverse the Usual Order of Things,
BALTIC, Gateshead, Wunderbar
Festival: with Signer-Recitors
Act 37 01.12.2011 Counterpoint/ Platforma Festival 2011,
Rochelle School, London: collective
Act 38 10.12.2011 We Are All Equal presented by Site
Gallery, Sheffield: collective
Act 39 20.01.2012 part of Speak Up, Speak Out, New
Schoolhouse Gallery, York: solo
Act 40 17.02.2012 Arnolfini, Bristol: collective
Act 41 31.03.2012 Fierce Festival, grounds of Birmingham
Cathedral, presented by VIVID,
Birmingham: collective
Act 42 01.05.2012 MAY DAY… MAY DAY… test streaming,
live stream from Lighthouse, Brighton:
solo
Act 43 04.06.2012 Redbridge Green Fair, Essex: collective
Act 44 20.06.2012 Winning Hearts and Minds, A
Project by Critical Art Ensemble
documenta 13, Kassel, Germany: solo
Act 45 11.08.2012 THE REAL TRUTH A WORLD’S FAIR
A Project by Suzanne Treister, Raven
Row, London: solo
Act 46 10.10.2012 The Federation of International Human
Rights Museums conference,
Liverpool: collective
Act 47 13 November 2012 Southwark Cathedral with children
from Southwark Cathedral School,
London
Act 48 16 November 2012 Accion! MAD 2012, Museo Nacional
Reine Sofia, Madrid: solo
Act 49 24 November 2012 Experimentica 2012: Unseen, Chapter,
Cardiff, Wales: collective
Act 50 01.12.2012 World Aids Day, FEM 2012, Girona,
Spain: collective
Act 51 21.01.2013 Martin Luther King Day, Bader
International Study Centre, Herstmonceux
Castle, East Sussex: collective
Act 52 08.03.2013 International Women’s Day 2013, The
Globe Gallery Newcastle upon Tyne:
collective
Act 53 22.04.2013 Nidum Theatre, Neath Port Talbot
College: collective
Act 54 02.05.2013 O yster Project, Lewes: collective
Act 55 21.05.2013 Promised Land, Dilston Grove,
London: collective
Act 56 28.05.2013 Speech Acts 3, Cambridge: solo
Act 57 30.05.2013 Raised Voices Choir, SOAS, London:
collective
Act 58 08.06.2013 Woodhorn Museum, Northumberland:
collective
Act 59 13.06.2013 Human Rights Council, United
Nations, Geneva: collective
Act 60 14.06.2013 Human Rights Council, United
Nations, Geneva: collective
Finetuned
