Introduction and screening of Rise and Fall of a Temple

A symposium that builds on Sajovic’s recent work Rise and Fall of a Temple concurrently showing as an exhibition at Chelsea Space and developed as part of the UAL Research Fellowship at the British School at Rome.

How can we collectively imagine more inclusive and resilient futures? Can we draw on lessons from fallen civilisations such as the Roman Empire to gain perspective on today’s environmental, social, and political crises? Looking back offers a powerful lens through which to examine how power, culture, and systems rise, fracture, and transform, with the Roman Empire’s long history of expansion, inequality, migration, collapse, and adaptation providing critical insight into the vulnerabilities and complexities of contemporary global systems.

The day unfolded as a shared ritual, beginning with historical, political, and creative provocations. Roman divination practices, particularly astrology (reading the heavens) and augury (interpreting natural signs such as birds), serve as symbolic and methodological guides, opening questions around how civilisations have sought meaning, orientation, and foresight in times of uncertainty.

As the symposium progressed, these ancient practices were brought into dialogue with contemporary methodologies including curating, permaculture, writing, and sound-based practices. Together, they frame an interdisciplinary exploration of how communities collectively sense, predict, and negotiate uncertainty, and how cultural narratives, ecological listening, and shared meaning-making shape our relationship to the future.

The symposium culminated in a collective sound ritual, offering a space for embodied listening, reflection, and integration.

SCHEDULE
1.30pm: Doors open

2.00pm: Eva Sajovic: Introduction and screening of Rise and Fall of a Temple

2.15pm: Professor Erika Hughes
Professor of Performance & Society and Associate Dean of Research for Camberwell, Chelsea, and Wimbledon Colleges of Arts
Reading / performance

2.40pm: Matthew Fox
Roman Historian, Institute of Classical Studies, University of London
‘The birth of imperial critique within the Empire’

3.10pm: Christeen Skinner
Astrologer
‘How did Roman beliefs about the cosmos influence daily life?’
3.40pm: Break

3.50pm: Marta Pellerini (online)
Curator: British School at Rome
‘Creative practices of Care’

4.10pm: Dr James Miller
Medieval Historian, Christ Church, Oxford
‘Opting out and stepping up: asceticism and the making of the medieval world’

4.40pm: Sarah Butler
Writer and Senior Lecturer in Creative writing, Manchester Metropolitan University
‘Reflecting and Projecting - a brief writing workshop’

5.10pm: Break

5.20pm: Erika Hughes
Summary

5.30pm: Nicole Bettencourt Coelho
Musician, Sound Therapist, Ritualist
Sound Bath

6.00pm: END

• https://www.evasajovic.co.uk/news