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Building Collective Cultural Capital Shoaib Iqbal, member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ
Earlier this week, I was sitting with a group of young theatre makers from seven countries who were in Lahore, Pakistan for the Next Generation program. It reminded me of my days at college about 20 years ago, when I started to do theatre with a volunteer group. The best part of it was to create the theatre of course, but also to meet students who would visit us to join the group and an audience who would stay after the show to see us. In just a few weeks, I was introduced to more people than in the past two years of my college days.
I loved it and realised that just knowing about people, community and the world is a kind of strange power that helps you to understand and create as a theatre maker as well.
One particular story that I remember and shared with the Next Generation program’s young theatre makers, was about visiting Thailand in 2004. I was invited to speak at a UN Conference and I saved to spend four extra weeks in the country. Before the visit, I searched for young theatre makers, TYA experts, arts educators, musicians and filmmakers who work for children and wrote emails to them. I was able to make enough connections to allow me to travel to various cities in the country and stay with a number of different artists. I had great adventures, including travelling alongside River Mekong with a group of puppeteers, performing puppet shows in various villages.
This experience opened me to a world of possibilities in using theatre and performing arts for children and young people. This small initiative that I took to save and invest in creating this exposure for myself added value to my cultural capital. I am able to benefit from it in various ways continuously.
Getting back to the circle of young theatre makers in the Next Generation program, I shared how it is essential for them as artists and theatre makers to not only “see” things, but also make deep connections with fellow artists that can go a long way. If done right at this stage of their careers, this can keep developing their cultural capital for many years to come.
The support network we are able to build over a period of time, in the community, country or at the global level, becomes one of the greatest resources for personal and professional development. There is a great amount of trust that gets invested in such relationships, which translates into collaborations, exchange and exposure; three essential ingredients for successful arts and cultural practices in general, but especially for theatre for children and young people.
Let’s all remember how being open to seeing more and knowing more about other people and organisations can open avenues for enhanced learning and improved relationships. These go hand in hand with our practices and careers as we grow and develop as artists.
My invitation to you is to cherish opportunities and build relationships, which builds a collective cultural capital for all of us to benefit from. One of the key objectives of ASSITEJ International is just that.
Call for Submissions of the ASSITEJ Online Magazine
ASSITEJ Online Magazine 2023
The ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2023 will be in Serbia from 20-24 November 2023 with the theme of Connecting Voices which is the second theme in our overarching dramaturgy of Regenerating.
The magazine articles will be published in English and the original language of the author. We will create a magazine that communicates through images, films and text. Both visuals and text should address the theme, Regenerating: Connecting Voices. We are aiming to regularly update this online Magazine with new articles, from June 2023 until the opening of the Artistic Gathering in November 2023.
ASSITEJ International, with 15 other international cultural networks, started our eco-certification journey. The one year pilot phase will help us reach the audit and hopefully green certification.
ASSITEJ International is seeking 4 lead researchers to help us conduct research around the themes of:
Access to TYA
Dissemination of TYA
Diversity within TYA, and
The Value of TYA.
The research is to be advocacy-focused and published on an open access basis for TYA practitioners working in the more than 75 countries where we are represented. The research will be globally focused and researchers from anywhere in the world are eligible to apply.
ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2023 "Turning Point" is calling for:
Productions/Performances- From the region of Southeastern Europe, as well as some Central European Countries. Only companies based in or collaborating with artists from these countries may apply.
Professional Exchange Programme- Sessions including workshops, seminars, lectures, roundtables, meetings, networking sessions, film screenings, exhibitions, social events, and other formats related to performing arts for young audiences (sessions may be presented 'On The Ground', 'Online', or 'Hybrid'). This section is open to applicants from all countries.
Led by one of the leading researchers in the field, this 3-year project will engage with existing external partnerships to: a) generate evidence to develop, test and refine frameworks for understanding the value of TYA; and, b) close the gaps in the evidence for this value.
It will be aligned with a current set of work being conducted by ASSITEJ International through funding from Creative Europe. Applicants are invited to define the specific focus and scope in their proposal responding to this call.
IMMAGINA: Shows, Workshops and Performances Selection
ASSITEJ Italy
The 3rd edition of IMMAGINA – International Puppets Festival, will be held in Rome, in May2023.
If you are interested in participating please send filled application form and all the attachment requested to Immagina at: festival.immagina@gmail.com
You will know if your show has been selected by email, by January 31st 2023.
The artists of the theaters for young audience in Ukraine tirelessly make efforts so that the theater fills children's lives with movement, thoughts, and interaction.
The repertoire of theaters is updated, and the interest in creating performances for the youngest unites artists. We continue to explore this topic and, in cooperation with the Lithuanian author of the method of creating performances for young children, Birute Baneviciute, will work together in the program of the online seminar "Performances for young children" from February 10 to March 3.
The regional platform From the First Step has launched its 2023 activity plan. Including various programs in Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia and Croatia, the platform will present its yearly results, as well as its mission and vision at the ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering that will be held in Serbia in November 2023.
OD MALIH NOG(U) / From the First Step is a regional platform dedicated to the development and affirmation of TYA in the Balkan region. It brings together organisations and artists who want to change the situation in the TYA sector with their educational, artistic and theoretical work.
ASSITEJ Lithuania invites you to the 7th International Theatre Festival for Children and Youth JĖGA/COOL!
ASSITEJ Lithuania
ASSITEJ Lithuania invites the international community to visit the 7th International Theatre Festival for Children and Youth JĖGA/COOL! on the 24-29th April, 2023 in the beautiful city of Alytus in South Lithuania! We have prepared for you an inspiring and diverse program of performances and workshops from Lithuania, Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Sakartvelo and Ukraine.
2023 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference: Hosted by Childsplay
TYA/USA
TYA/USA, in collaboration with Childsplay, will present the 2023 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference: AMPLIFY on May 9-12, 2023. The festival will take place in Tempe, Arizona and feature work from across the US, sharing the stories of young people and their resilience. We will showcase innovation in the immersive Write Now Workshops, examine new models of presenting and touring, engage in dynamic interactive workshops, and spotlight groundbreaking arts in education practice, as we collectively envision a more sustainable and equitable future for our industry.
3rd International Performing Arts Encounter for the Early Years: Childhood, Territory of Peace
Colectivo de Teatro en Espiral
It will take place in Tijuana, Baja California, between June 14th-18th, 2023. It is organized by Colectivo de Teatro en Espiral in co-production with the Centro Cultural Tijuana. And it will also present some of its activities in Mexico City, Morelos and Veracruz thanks to the collaboration with the Coordinación Nacional de Teatro of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL), the Department of Tourism and Culture of the state of Morelos and the theater company Inventario: Laboratorio Escénico Objetual.
🌎🌍🌏 Baja California, Mexico
🗓 14 - 18 June 2023
ASSITEJ Germany’s Yearbook 2023: Thinking Out Loud
ASSITEJ Germany
For this yearbook, we called out into the world of performing arts for young audiences and asked: What have you been thinking about and what artistic experiments are you daring? What is emerging, where is the journey going, what can the audience and we look forward to? All photos and texts are the result of an open call and selection process. Enjoy reading and thinking out loud!
Expansion of Steering Committee of Next Generation Network
Next Generation
To make NG Network more vibrant and to work closely with NG alumni, the steering committee of NG Network has opened its door for NG alumni after successful virtual gathering of NG Alumni by NG Network last year. The steering committee has four new members: Carolina Chmielewski from Canada, Fredyl Hernandez from Philippine, Raimondas Klezys from Lithuania and Linnea Lidberg from Sweden. The first meeting of the new steering group in February decided to create working groups among members and execute the 2nd virtual gathering of NG Alumni on 20th March focused on 4th NG Program 2023 by ASSITEJ Pakistan. It is also decided that NG Network will propose a hybrid session with NG participants at ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2023 in Serbia.
Cradle ReWired: Creative Connections
ASSITEJ South Africa
African and Cuban artists: Join us on Thursday 9 March 2023 16:00 – 17:30 (SAST) ZOOM for a conversation between ASSITEJ Cuba and ACYTA about the opportunities for African artists at the 2024 World Congress of ASSITEJ in Cuba.
TEATRALIA, International Performing arts Festival for all audiences
ASSITEJ Spain
TEATRALIA will take place in Madrid between March 3rd- 26th. The festival turns 27 years in 2023 and we are happy to say that once again, TEATRALIA will have talented and diverse companies. The program includes more than 29 –15 of them international and from 12 different countries.
A total of 125 shows in 37 spaces of the 23 districts that, as every year have an intense scholar campaign to bring artistic creation to everyone.
15th Theater Marathon for Children and Young People
ASSITEJ Mexico
In order to celebrate the World Theater Day for Children and Young People, the Coordinación Nacional de Teatro of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL), organizes two days, March 18th and 19th, of theater presentations in the 32 states of Mexico and in the 6 theaters of the Centro Cultural del Bosque in Mexico City. The marathon will have the participation of more than 60 theater companies as well as workshops, storytellers, open dialogue among its participants and spaces to play and explore theater. “Lleva una niña, lleva un niño al teatro (Take a girl, take a boy to the theater)” will be the slogan in the whole Mexican territory for these special days that will promote that girls, boys and teenagers enjoy their right to participate in the experience of theater in their own communities.
🌎🌍🌏 Mexico
🗓 18 - 19 March 2023
ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2023
Towards AAG 2023: Turning Point
Sustainability as the Past and Future of TYA in Serbia
Sonja Petrović
As a theater director and CEO of The Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth (FEP), a manifestation with a long tradition held every August in Bačka Palanka (Serbia), I always posed a question: What does ecological theater mean, and what can it become? What it means to be sustainable, and how can art become more sustainable?
In my ecological mission, I face different challenges and risks. We can say that Serbia has no systemic solutions or proposals for cultural institutions and organizations to be more sustainable. At the same time, we can say that we already have older but progressive ideas and forms. Back in the 90s, these ideas highlighted the meaning and perspective of ecology and sustainability and supported new and brave attempts of young artists to think in the way of ecology.
