by Poulpe Électrique | Dec 13, 2019 | Blog
Just before landing in Romania, when the plane passed through the clouds and we could finally see the fields, I immediately thought of T.S. Eliot’s poem Wasteland. The hills were brown but also white. The snow had fallen during the night. I did not take a photo from the plane, but while wandering around the streets of Targu Mures I took this one.
Photo © Nicole Pschetz
What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, 20
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock, 25
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
– T.S. Eliot
by Make a Move | Oct 28, 2019 | News
Call for participation in “MAKE A MOVE” – Târgu-Mureș Lab:
Deadline: 15th November 2019
An Art incubator for contemporary European non-institutionalised and independent theatre
Posted on 28th October 2019
CALLING ALL ROMANIAN AND HUNGARIAN PHYSICAL THEATRE MAKERS!
The University of Arts Târgu-Mureș, Romania, is calling independent theatre artists/collectives to participate in one module of the Lab in Târgu-Mureș – “InsideOut – Positioning non-institutionalised theatre practices in a critical journalistic and business context” that will be held from 9th until 19th December 2019 in Târgu-Mureș, Romania, as part of the international project Make a Move – An Art Incubator for contemporary European non-institutional and independent theatre. Up to 10 artists from Romania and Hungary will be selected through this call, and these artists will join a core group of 10 international artists for the Artistic Module of the Târgu-Mureș Lab from 9th to 16th December 2019.
The call is aimed at all independent theatre makers, be it individual artists or member of collectives (companies), from Romania and Hungary, working in the field of contemporary movement-based theatre practices (such as physical theatre, mime, improvisational theatre and other forms with a strong relation to the body and movement).
The Artistic Module of the Lab in Târgu-Mureș will have a focus on the added value of interculturality and will include:
- different artistic practices, approaches, creative processes and methodologies of co-creation;
- exchange of knowledge, skills and experiences among local, regional and international participants on subjects of artistic excellence and audience development;
- working with different focus groups such as students and university staff;
- preparation and work on shorter project ideas in co-creation with international, regional and local artists;
- work-in-progress presentations for local audiences, media and relevant local and national cultural policy makers and stakeholders;
The overall ‘Make a Move’ project objective is to contribute to the revitalisation of European theatre by mobilising the unutilised creative and innovative potential of non-institutionalised and independent theatre practices, such as physical theatre, corporeal mime and improvisational theatre.
The strategy to achieve this is to develop and test an innovative incubating environment in which non-institutionalised and independent theatre practitioners will have the opportunity to develop their artistic and professional skills, and grow their production proposals through co-creation processes in collaboration with international and local artists.
The project will cover the travel, accommodation and subsistence costs of the successful applicants to this call.
The project is Co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
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Artists from the field of movement-based theatre practices and/or with a strong relation to the body and movement in their artistic practice
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Artists who are residents in Romania and Hungary, working freelance and/or in collectives (companies) that are registered in the above-named countries
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Collectives (companies) with eligibility for funding in their country of residence is a requirement
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Very good written and spoken English skills
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Applicants should be over 18 years old
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An interest in being a part of transnational collaboration and co-creation process
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An interest in building capacities in the areas of artistic excellence and audience development
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A commitment to networking and further developing international cooperation projects
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Working in an international context
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Improving professional skills
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Peer learning, education and training
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Improving career opportunities to work internationally
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Accessing new markets, creating network possibilities, building partnerships and contacts
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Reaching new and wider audiences
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This Call relates to the Positioning non-institutionalised theatre practices in a critical journalistic and business context Lab in Târgu-Mureș, in particular activities that will be held from 9th till 15th of December (dates exclude travel dates for non-Târgu-Mureș artists).
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The Lab in Târgu-Mureș will take place in the locations provided by the University of Arts, Târgu-Mureș.
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During the Lab, an artist will have the opportunity to collaborate and co-create with nineteen (19) other artists – ten (10) international artists and nine (9) artists from Romania and Hungary.
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The co-creation activity will culminate in a work-in-progress presentation on 14th December 2019. This will be an event in which participating ‘Make a Move’ artists will perform and interact with the local audience to receive feedback on the work that they developed in the Lab.
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All expenses will be covered, including travel, accommodation and subsistence (meals provided or per diem).
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Artists will be expected to collaborate with the resident artists both in the Artistic Module (to co-create a work-in-progress presentation) and in the ‘action research’ element of the project: The ‘Make a Move’ project includes an academic research component that will document and analyse the labs as a model and methodology. Researchers from EU academic institutions (project partners) will be attending each lab as observers and will develop their research in close collaboration and consultation with the artists, through questionnaires and focus groups.
Please apply by filling in the online application form that includes your personal details, short biography, motivation letter, CV(s), reference(s) and links to examples of your work.
The deadline for applications is 4pm (GMT+2) on November 15th, 2019.
An interim decision will be made based on artistic quality, potentially including follow-up interview via Skype.
The applicants will be informed about the final results, including waiting list by November 20th, 2019.
During December 2019, the selected Artists will be contracted by the project.
Application documentation:
For more information, email us on makeamoveuat@gmail.com (Subject: MAM Call Inquiry for Târgu-Mureș Lab/Informații referitoare la Apelul MAM pentru Laboratorul din Târgu-Mureș).
The pilot execution of the Art Incubator will take place in three consecutive sessions in Galway (Ireland), Rijeka (Croatia) and Târgu-Mureș (Romania) during the course of 2019. The duration of each Art Incubator session/ Labs will be 10 days. The envisaged number of participants is 10 full-time artists that will be selected through a public call. Participants can either be individual independent theatre makers or members of the collective (company) selected to participate. For each session, another 10 participants will be selected, as auditing participants, from the local/regional non-institutionalised and independent theatre community.
Each Lab foresees a co-creation laboratory to enable immediate implementation of newly acquired skills, while benefiting from the interaction and networking with peers, mentors, international audiences and representatives of the respective European Capitals of Culture.
Each Lab will be conducted under a specific topic that is linked both with the curriculum, the specific location and the agenda of each European Culture Capital, illustrating a key element of the non-institutionalised and independent theatre agenda and identity.
Make a Move Art Incubator Galway – Digital Practices
The first session of the Art Incubator will focus on digital practices, both from a business point of view and an artistic point of view. The artistic element of the curriculum in Galway will introduce participants to artists who create work using digital technologies – for example, sensor-based interactions, mixed-reality experiences and virtual reality experiences. Through practical workshops with these artists the practitioners will have the opportunity to experiment with these technologies to understand how they can be incorporated artistically into their own work. This aspect of the curriculum will again draw on the artistic connections established through the Galway 2020’s ‘Windows on the World’ programme, a programme of work specifically oriented towards the creation of artistic work using digital technologies.
The business element of the curriculum in Galway will draw on Galway 2020’s aim to become the first ‘Virtual European Capital of Culture’, and will include workshops and talks with the Galway-based theatre artists and digital media experts on the process of incorporating a digital outreach element in their work. For example, participants will examine practices such as the ‘live streaming’ of theatre performances, and the creation of cross-media platforms that support the creation and dissemination of live performance work. It is also our intention that participants will learn tools and practices that will enable them to incorporate a digital element into the design and dissemination of their own work during the ‘Make a Move’ project, which will also feed into the overall project communication and dissemination activities.
During the Galway session, the participating artists will begin the process of identifying project ideas for follow-up cooperation projects after the conclusion of the Make a Move project. Idea identification, formulation and conservation will be conducted in the context of a series of three workshops – to take place at each Art Incubator session throughout the year 2019 – on project development and project fundraising. Throughout the series, the participants will learn about the topic of cultural funding policies in EU countries, challenges that non-institutional and independent theatre practitioners face in the frame of these policies and identifying ways how to manage those challenges. Recognised experts in the field will lead the workshops.
Make a Move Art Incubator Rijeka – Site-specific theatre practices and audiences
The second session of the Art Incubator will focus on the topic of site-specific theatre and progressive audience outreach practices in theatre, specifically on the topic of public space and urban locations as places for artistic exploration, work and interaction with the audiences. Within artistic elements of the curriculum in Rijeka, public spaces will be explored as site-specific theatre locations, places for artistic interventions, installations, community art works and other possible forms of contemporary theatre and performing arts practices. In collaboration with an expert historian of Rijeka who will lead a study visit of several Rijeka’s locations, and in partnership with cultural experts on audience development, artists will be developing their projects inside the frame of specific locations in Rijeka that have a strong meaning for the community either past, present and/or future. This topic of public space(s) is related to Rijeka 2020 programme that encourages progressive audience development practices by proposing a vision where ”urban areas become spaces where artistic projects are created in collaboration with the local community”. During the Rijeka session, the participating artists will continue the process of new project idea identification, formulation and development initiated at the first fundraising workshop during the Art Incubator session in Galway.
Make a Move Art Incubator Targu – Mures: InsideOut – Positioning non-institutionalised theatre practices in a critical journalistic and business context
The third session of the Art Incubator is dedicated to the topics of communication, business and fundraising skills. Many times artists find it difficult to talk about their work, which sometimes results in interviews or performance presentations filled with platitudes. Considering this, it may be difficult for theatre artists and collectives (companies) to promote their work, to gain finances and further to market the performance for the audience. Therefore this Art Incubator session is dedicated to presenting a multi-perspective approach to talking about the artistic product, considering ways of ‘translating’ the artistic universe into words, using tools from the areas of theatre criticism, journalism and/or aesthetics. At the same time product ‘storytelling’ will be considered from the point of view of many different audiences and assessed from the business and management perspective, accompanied with tips and tricks from cultural management professionals. The Art Incubator session in Targu-Mures will conclude the process of developing the first set of joint follow-up cooperation proposals coming out of the Art Incubator participants projects. The goal is to finish the development of at least 5 cooperation projects, arriving at the stage of having a clearly defined project idea coupled with a business plan for the project idea execution, including potential funding opportunities.
