Pictured: cieLaroque. Photo: Organisers.
The Polish-Austrian project Let the Artists (NOT) Die. Exchange, to run between April 2016 and December 2017, is a direct reference to the title of a Tadeusz Kantor play that touches on the subject of relations between the artist and the society. The topic continues to be relevant today and is widely discussed in the context of curatorial practice, the role of institutions, artistic productions and creative practice. Starting from exploration of Kantor, the project?s curators want to move to contemporary issues and subjects, and provide the artists with a safe space for creation, discussion and presentation of art.
The project aims at creating a platform that will support the development and exchange of artistic experiences, particularly in the context of collaboration of Polish and Austrian choreographers and dancers. Within the platform, Wrocław, Bytom and Kraków will host shows by renowned Austrian artists, discussions and workshops for local artistic communities, while Vienna, Graz and Salzburg will see a similar programme by Polish artists.
From the curators
The performative programme (shows) will be accompanied by a contextual programme of workshops, meetings and lectures on a range of subjects, including the situation of artists, relations between the artist and an institution, legal regulations, and production. There will be reflection and analysis of Tadeusz Kantor?s perception and sensory experiments which may give an impulse to new explorations. Also, we will seek an answer to the question whether art is an effective cognitive-critical tool.
We believe that a successful educational formula engages the participant intellectually, emotionally and bodily. That is why we offer not only meetings and multimedia lectures, but also workshops for developing new skills, and interactive installations for physical and emotional experiencing of performative environments. We want to provide a space for new definitions of movement, dance and performance, emphasizing the element of reflection as a prerequisite for co-creating contemporary culture, and to demonstrate that inner richness is the source of different perceptions of reality.
In the long run, we intend to build on this foundation a new European identity in which cultural dialogue is an integral part of development.The exchange of ideas and experiences related to conditions encouraging the development of interesting cultural initiatives is also an important goal of the project.
The programme will raise, shape and develop local residents? awareness and community engagement owing to dancers? and performers? intervention in the historic, public, community and mental spaces of Vienna, Salzburg, Wrocław and Kraków, as well as other participating cities.
The project will encourage participants to express their creative visions and ethical opinions on different aspects of reality – identity and diversity, community commitment and, most importantly, the value of direct personal experience in the process of getting to know the environment and another person. The programme is based on an analysis of important local artefacts used as a starting point for artistic discussion intended to explain differences in the perceptions of reality, beliefs, traditions, behaviours and moral attitudes.
Movement, dance and physicality are of particular interest to artists. Dance is always open to other art genres, and the shows often have an interdisciplinary character, also on the border of dance and performance. The programme is intended to reflect contemporary methods of work and development trends in both disciplines It has attracted some of the most prestigious institutions and artists from Vienna, Salzburg and Graz. The programme will be realized in collaboration with the Laboratory of Movement ECC 2016 in Wrocław.
Austrian artists participating in the project include Leonie Wahl, Tobias M. Draeger, Yukie Koji, cieLaroque/helene wienzierl, Tomas Danielis, Tanz Company Gervasi/Elio Gervasi, Simon Mayer, Ian Kaler, Chris Haring, Kabinett ad Co./Paul Wenninger and Paweł Duduś.
Polish artists involved in the project include Tomasz Bazan, Barbara Bujakowska, Maciej Kuźmiński, Karol Tymiński, Aurora Lubos, Ola Osowicz, Eryk Makohon, Paweł Łyskawa, Karolina Garbacik, Maciej Sado, Aleksander Baczyński-Jenkins and Anna Piotrowska. They will participate in festivals and other events in Austria. For example, Maciej Kuźmiński will present Różnica (The Difference) at Tanzimpulse in Salzburg on 21 March 2016; Tomasz Bazan will perform at the Internationale Bühnenwerkstatt in Graz; and Ola Osowicz and Anna Piotrowska will be artists in residence in Vienna.
Project curators: Anna Królica (Cracow), Adam Kamiński (Wrocław), Roma Hurey (Vienna).
Partners
Austria
In Vienna:
Tanzquartier Wien / International Net for Dance & Performance Austria (INTPA), http://www.tqw.at
Polnisches Institut Wien, http://www.polnisches-institut.at
Tanz Company Gervasi, www.gervasi.at
Wiener-Krakauer Kultur-Gesellschaft, http://www.wiener-krakauer.at/wk/
Wien Kultur
Bundeskanzleramt
In Salzburg:
Tanzimpulse Salzburg, http://www.tanzimpulse.at/cms/
In Graz:
Internationale Bühnenwerkstatt, http://www.buehnenwerkstatt.at
IG Tanz Steiermark
Poland
In Cracow:
Cricoteka Centre for the Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor, http://www.cricoteka.pl/pl/
In Bytom:
Rozbark Bytom Dance and Movement Theater, www.teatrrozbark.pl
In Wrocław:
For Art Foundation
Jest Człowiek Association
European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016
Department of Culture of the Municipal Office of Wrocław
Austrian Institute in Wrocław
In Warsaw:
Institute of Music and Dance, http://imit.org.pl
Austrian Cultural Forum, http://www.austria.org.pl/NEW/PL/index.php
Adam Mickiewicz Institute, http://iam.pl
