Introduction

In this Introduction, the authors present translation as an experiential process that performs a situated and engaged social function with a contingent impact beyond the confines of the discipline. They discuss experiential translation as a holistic, in-the-moment, often shared and plural process which operates in the translation of culture, community, voices of nature, place and environments. Here, the practice of translation is envisaged as a contemporary and performative form of art or meaning-making that challenges authority and hegemonic values. Problematizing reductionist approaches in (mono)linguistic translation, the authors interrogate how and whether experiential translation can account for the plurality of experiences represented to confer greater agency on participants in translation events. The nature of materiality and the role of experimentation and creativity are foregrounded in this process, whether focusing on the gaps and errors that arise through the use of technology in translation or the formulation of fragmentary, incomplete textual creation in experiential performance. The Introduction concludes with an overview of the three sections which comprise the current volume, “Material exchanges”, “Acts and breakages” and “Ateliers”, each offering a different but complementary lens on the creative relation between ‘source’ and ‘target’ and the role of materiality and play through intervention, participation or collaboration in the translation process.