SEAS Gathering: Odessa, Ukraine 25-29 april 2007
29 May 2007
A major SEAS Gathering was held in Odessa in close collaboration with The Ukrainian Drama Theatre, The British Council/Odessa, Association New Music and other local organisations. Nearly 100 artists, partners, prospective hosts, sponsors and observers took part to round off the DATES phase of the project and change focus towards the co-production and touring phases throughout the target regions in 2008 and 2009.
Good meals, excellent performances (by the hosting Ukrainian Drama Theatre, by the famous comic group Maski and a special guest performance of SEAS co-production DELETED MESSAGES by Croatian BADco) and the international seminar Arts & Science filled the days and nights in Odessa.
SEAS DATES!!
Impressions and documentation from the DATES, as well as emerging concepts for co-productions, were presented at the Gathering in Odessa. Inspiring proposals for works to be commissioned by SEAS were discussed during intense sessions, with films, slides and personal stories.
The first SEAS DATE took place above the Arctic Circle in the North Sea city of Tromsö, Norway. SEAS artists Karena Johnson (UK) and Melih Gorgun (Turkey) met in Tromsö for a few days to explore the ice, beauty and darkness of our most northern SEAS Host city. Nine more DATES were realized February-April 2007 in Odessa, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Istanbul and Sinop, Skegness, Varna, Bucharest/Constanta and Marseille.
Other artists who participated in a DATES experience were: Eugenio Barba/Julia Varley (Denmark), Dimytro Bogomazov (Ukraine) & Siri Hermansen (Norway), Dritero Kasapi (Sweden) & Venelin Shurelov (Bulgaria), Cosmin Manolescu (Romania) & Anne-Lise Stenseth (Norway), Peter Johansson/Barbro Westling (Sweden) & Javor Gardev (Bulgaria), Wunderbaum (The Netherlands) & Metro-Boulot-Dodo (UK), Lotte van der Berg (Belgium) & Nedyalko Delchev (Bulgaria), Theatre du Centaure (France) & Mahir Gunsiray (Turkey), SIGNA (Denmark) & Lola Lafon (France) and Karmella Tzepkolenko (Ukraine) & Kirsten Dehlholm (Denmark).
During the late summer, two more DATES will take place with among others Gianina Cärbunariu (Romania) and Selda Asal (Turkey).
Europe Now|Europe Next
Encounter #4: Arts and Science
The initiative Europe Now|Next, which emerged from the online project Culturebase.net, has launched its website www.europe.culturebase.net. Europe Now|Next examines the process and effects of EU enlargement in the cultural field in the form of live and online encounters. The website hosts two Encounters closely connected to the Black/North SEAS Gatherings in Constanta, Romania (September 2006) and Odessa, Ukraine (25-29 April 2007).
An international Live Encounter took place during the SEAS Gathering in Odessa on the theme ”Arts and Science”, including presentations by Eugenio Barba & Julia Varley from Denmark’s Odin Teatret, environmental researchers Ronny Aanes (Norway), Viktor Karamushka (Ukraine) and Ralf Steeg (Germany) and architects Jacek Dominiczak & Monika Zawadzka (Poland). SEAS Advisor Adrienne Goehler moderated the Encounter.
25++ film presented for the first time!
The developing platform 25++, initiated by CulturesFrance, has been an essential support throughout the DATES phase of SEAS. A film, created and directed by Gilles Coudert, has now been completed documenting some of the activities around Black/North SEAS but also work led by Theatre Sfumato (Bulgaria) and the Institute Adam Mickiewicsz (Poland). The film was shown for the first time at the Gathering in Odessa and will be officially launched in Paris at a reception held for artists, cultural attachés and the mass media on 29 may. It will be distributed by 25++ Partners throughout Europe.
Istanbul, Turkey: an emerging SEAS Host
Meetings with SEAS Partners SantralIstanbul and potential hosts Istanbul International Theatre Festival and the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and the Arts were held in Turkey at the end of march. An emerging center for contemporary arts, connected to the Bilgi University in Istanbul, is an exciting development. Built along the Golden Horn, with facilities for students, arts residencies and training for the performing and visula arts, SantralIstanbul offers an inspiring meeting between the old Istanbul and the new. The oldest electrical plant in the city is being transformed into a Museum of Energy and next to it a hyper-modern building designed as a Center for Contemporary Art. The plan is to host Black/North SEAS there in september 2008, as part of the EU Year of Intercultural Dialogue. As a home base for conferences, some artworks and a center of the event, SantralIstanbul would become a platform for interventions into various parts of Istanbul over a 10 day period.
Tromsø, Norway: a committed SEAS Partner
After visits by SEAS Artistic Director Chris Torch and Advisor Marith Hope in January 2007, followed by the DATE with Melih Görgün and Karena Johnson, The City of Tromsø and the County of Trom have committed to presenting a major SEAS event in 2009. The project will be coordinated by the Tromsø Kunstforening from their beautiful building in the center of town, a short walk from the Polar Research Center, strengthening the connection between environmental research and the arts. Locally based visual artist Siri Hermansen is already engaged in SEAS.
Varna, Bulgaria: a committed SEAS Partner
SEAS staff will visit the Varna Summer Theatre Festival, together with Advisor Trevor Davies and 25++ Partner Carole Scipion. A presentation of SEAS will be made as part of the international conference “Theatre: Re-Inventing the City” which is built into the intense program of performances, events and seminars presented by the annual festival. The Varna Summer Theatre Festival will host a SEAS event in june 2008, including works by Bulgarian and international SEAS artists.
SEAS Partners Meeting: Stockholm, 15-16 Feb 2007
A number of cultural organisers, all engaged in Black/North SEAS as partners and hosts, gathered for a two-day session, hosted by Intercult in Stockholm, to discuss and plan the future stages of the project. The focus of the work was preparing a multi-annual application to the EU for Black/North SEAS. Partners Arts Council East Midlands (UK), KIT (Denmark), Sfumato (Bulgaria), BADco (Croatia), Hotel Pro Forma (Denmark) and Tromsø Kunstforening (Norway) were all represented. The application covers a 31/2 year period, 2007-2010.
A decision by the EU Commission for Culture is expected at the end of june 2007.
