CONNECT CONNECT is an initiative of SPIELART Theater Festival Munich in co-operation with CAMPO – Gent, Republique – Copenhagen, Forum Freies Theater – DĂĽsseldorf, Mercat de les Flors – Barcelona, Tanzquartier Wien – Vienna, Baltic Circle – Helsinki, Theater im Pumpenhaus – MĂĽnster and MĂĽnchner Kammerspiele to sponsor artists in the areas of theater and performance.
The special challenge of the project is that each mentor selects two artists from different backgrounds – either in regard to the artists’ previous works and work experiences, or their genres, or their cultural and geographic differences.
The two artists will then develop a performance or production together with their mentor. The initiators expect that with this “experimental set-up” a project-inherent dialogue between the two artists will develop, a dialogue involving the very different ways they view the world and life and involving their previous artistic experiences and work methods. Both artists will thus have the opportunity to develop their individual artistic work further. The project results in a specific laboratory situation focused on what is “contemporary” in art.
The initiators have selected four mentors for the CONNECT CONNECT project: Alain Platel (Belgium), René Pollesch (Germany), Ong Ken Seng (Singapore) and Philippe Quesne (France). The artists chosen by the mentors will be announced in July 2011.
All four world premieres will be presented during a “festival within a festival” (November 24-26) as part of the SPIELART Theater Festival 2011 (November 18 – December 4). Following the SPIELART Festival the productions will be presented to the general public by the co-producers. One of the productions will be part of the Baltic Circle Festival 2012 programme.
This project has been funded with support of the European Commission.
