Composer and visual artist Gino Robair presents Radical Divination, his “opera of augury through papermaking.” During this event, papermakers create—using performative, game-based structures—a score for an operatic work. That score then serves as a platform for interpretation by an ensemble of musicians and dancers. Although considered a craft rather than a performance-based artform, papermaking embodies its own rich choreography and provides an environment for artistic exploration.

As a composer and visual artist, Robair explores the way nonstandard and graphical notations influence interpretive performances across different media: music, dance, video, and theater. He is currently working toward a PhD in performance studies at UC Davis, developing performative models for improvised papermaking and letterpress printing.