Occulture as Method Symposium – September 2026
The Dark Arts Kollective (DVRK) research group’s Occulture as Method Symposium explores how occult practices and esoteric philosophies are used as creative research methods
The Dark Arts Kollective (DVRK) research group’s Occulture as Method Symposium will open a space for critical and experimental reflection on how occult practices and esoteric philosophies can be employed as creative research methods, between academia and the arts.
Symposium: panel talks and workshops
SODA 9.30am to 4.30pm Thursday 10 and Friday 11 September
The symposium invites international panel of academics, artists, writers Including: Fionna Barber, Ali Darvish, João Miguel Alves Ferreira, Kate Fox, Jeff Howard, Phil Legard, Stefano Pavarini, Mikkel Rørbo, Jamie Stephenson, Micah K Thambi, Jacqueline V Woroniec.
Workshops run by DVRK members
Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) // Radio making workshop
Let’s Talk About Death
Acid Runes
The Electro-Magnetic Coven
Symposium Performances:
Thursday 10th Sept 7-10pm at Impiety Hour
No Booking Needed
As part of Occulture As Method Symposium we are excited to announce that Hawthonn will be performing at an evening event at Impiety Hour on the 10th September, 7pm-10pm. Also playing will be The Wyrding Module.
Hawthonn is the musical project of Layla & Phil Legard, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
The project began on summer solstice 2014, with a series of musical workings using drone, pareidolia (phantom word illusions), field recordings and imaginative pathworking to explore the afterlife of Coil’s Jhonn Balance, whose ashes were deposited by his lover, Ian Johnstone, at a hawthorn tree at Bassenthwaite, Cumbria.
Dreams, visions and the natural world are all important parts of Hawthonn’s music-making, and we use them sincerely. We hope the music stands on its own, but invite and encourage you to also explore the deeper connections in our work.
The The Wyrding Module is a solo project from electronic musician Christopher Gladwin, one half of “Team Doyobi“ (Skam). The psychotronic sounds of the module are inspired by acid house, kosmische music, industrial ambience and the occult.
Organisers
DⱯRK is a dynamic research community driven by meaningful research connections and a passion for creative excellence.
The DⱯRK is research-led, practice-based, interdisciplinary and public-facing. Through art and creative practices, the primary research focus for DⱯRK is to investigate occulture, the paranormal, magic, esoterism and counterculture.
