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Reverie – a dream of autoimmunity
Reverie – a dream of autoimmunity
A presentation of artist-curator Joanna Holland’s Reverie – a dream of autoimmunity and in-conversation between Joanna Holland and Heather Peak.
Soundscape and artist Q&A
Date: Tuesday 2 December
Time: 7pm - 8.15pm
Event Schedule
- 7.00pm – Settling in (5 mins)
- 7.05pm – Welcome from DASH and introductions (10 mins)
- 7.15pm – Joanna Holland introduces her practice, The Haunted Project & Reverie (10 mins)
- 7.25pm – Presentation of Reverie soundscape (25 mins)
- 7.50pm – BREAK (10 mins)
- 8.00pm – In-conversation with Joanna Holland, Louise Kim Salter & Madil Hardis with audience Q&A (25 mins)
- 8.25pm – Final thank you + Close (5 mins)
Online, Booking Required
BOOK HERE
Join DASH online for Joanna Holland’s Reverie – a dream of autoimmunity – a dreamlike soundscape which blurs the lines between the real and the fantastical.
In the tradition of the Christmas ghost story, Reverie is told as a haunting tale of love, loss and unpredictability – with devastating consequences…
… A once grand hall in an abandoned manor house – now in a dilapidated state of disrepair. A young woman, a dreamy new friendship, and a curse.
An unorthodox relationship, but one which has utterly lifted her from a state of melancholia.
Suddenly this friendship takes a sinister turn, and she finds herself in a nightmarish scenario – where comfort is replaced by claustrophobia and trust by terror.
Rule one – never ever share your innermost secrets.
Rule two – old houses are not to be trusted…
Reverie is inspired by Joanna’s lived experience of chronic illness and a repetitive nightmare; an autofictional work which shares how it feels to live, fly and fall with autoimmunity. Writing and sound design by Joanna Holland, narration by Louise Kim Salter, and music by Madil Hardis.
Following the soundscape, DASH CEO/Artistic Director Heather Peak will be in conversation with Joanna Holland, Louise Kim Salter and Madil Hardis – discussing the work, wider themes, and inviting audience questions.
Reverie is part of a year-long programme The Haunted – a collection of performances, talks, readings and soundscapes which explore liminal space, dreaming, sick bodies, horror and the uncanny.
Offering insights into what it feels like emotionally to be haunted by bodies, haunted by sickness, haunted by dreams, this collection shares how people with chronic illness and encountering parasomnia undergo a change in their experience of space and time.
Female-led narratives by Disabled and non-Disabled artists share what it’s like to exist in an ever-shifting, ‘in between’ space. Performances invite you into the eerie, surreal and uncanny space of the liminal.
Reverie is presented by DASH and funded by Arts Council England.
Code of Conduct
Please read DASH's digital code of conduct which will inform you about guidelines for the Zoom. Please read our code of conduct for participating in any public or closed online activity hosted by DASH. The Digital Code of Conduct for online events was a template provided by Primary.
By attending the event Reverie - a dream of autoimmunity , you have agreed to adhere to what is outlined in ‘DASH’s Digital Code of Conduct’.
*As Reverie is a binaural soundscape, it’s recommended (but not essential) that you use headphones where possible*
Access Information
- This session will take place online, via Zoom
- Closed captions and a session transcript will be available during the event.
- There will be BSL interpretation during the event
Please contact info@dasharts.org with any queries or access requirements.
Content warning
Reverie – a dream of autoimmunity is 14+. It shares a stark and emotional view of chronic illness with themes of horror, pain, nightmares, death and visions. It has an unnerving and occasionally very loud soundtrack. You will hear medical diagnostic tools, such as MRI machines.
Image credit: the house is in my head, © Holland & Poyzer, 2025
Biographies
Joanna Holland (she/her) is a socially engaged artist-curator. Her practice builds on her background in feminist art histories, cultural inclusion, and biodiversity conservation. Joanna’s multidisciplinary work considers how we can live more equitably with each other and our planet. Currently a Visiting Fellow at We CARE Unit – Cambridge School of Art, her practice has been supported by Arts Council England, Cambridge Festival, Cambridge Junction, DASH, the Freelands Foundation, the Jerwood Foundation, Metal, Norfolk & Norwich Festival & Unlimited. Joanna’s practice follows a 20-year career in culture, communications and social change. She lives in Cambridgeshire with her family & ravenous cat. hollandsyntax.uk
Madil Hardis (she/her) is an award-winning audiovisual artist with a background in classical and electronic music, filmmaking and fine art. She has scored award-winning films screened at festivals such as Rhode Island International Film Festival, The British Short Film Awards, Visa pour l'image (Festival International du Photojournalisme), and New York Shorts International Film Festival. She was awarded Best Soundtrack at Beeston Film Festival 2024 for "By Any Other Name" (Slick Films). Hardis is also a multi-award-winning filmmaker, with her work screened internationally. Her short music film "Disintegrate" was selected for the Brussels Independent Film Festival in 2025 and received the Tarkovski Grant. madilhardis.com
Madil Hardis has given kind permissions for the following original musical works to be used as part of Reverie the soundscape: Spells on the Wind, Voices in the Walls, Pearlescent, Where am I, Einsam, Atmospherical 2, Imagine This, In the Air. All tracks © Madil Hardis.
Louise Kim Salter (she/her) is an award-winning film actress and artist with credits across stage and screen. She trained under Olivier Award-winning director Rebecca Frecknall at the National Youth Theatre. This year, Louise stars in the supernatural thriller Darker Days and performs Reverie – an Arts Council-funded one-woman show touring Cambridge Junction, St George’s Theatre, and Peterborough Museum. She has received multiple Best Actress awards, including for Butterfly (Girl Feels: Into the Blue, Amazon Prime) and How to be Human, which won Best Film at Miami SciFi. Her work is rooted in an ongoing exploration of the human experience in all its forms. louisekimsalter.com