Culture for free? The theatre of hope? Myth and reality.

Contemporary Drama Festival Budapest in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation presents the international conference:

CULTURE FOR FREE? THE THEATRE OF HOPE? MYTH AND REALITY.
A conference in 3 parts

Budapest, 5-6 December 2014
Jurányi Art Incubator House, Jurányi utca 1–3, Budapest

(http://juranyihaz.hu/)

Conference languages: Hungarian / English (simultaneous translation)

9:30–10:00     Registration
10:00–10:15   Welcome
10:15–11:45   Part I: Culture for free? The myth of self-sustainable culture production.

Empty coffers throughout Europe. Art and cultural production, previously dependent on public subsidies, must find new ways to continue to operate successfully. The magic phrase is: self-sustainable culture production. Increasingly, production hybrids have emerged generating their own capital with multi-faceted offerings and diverse possibilities, thereby detaching themselves from state-subsidised representational culture.

Is self-sustainability in culture the future and the fate of avant-garde artistic production, or merely a welcome excuse for politicians to completely withdraw from the promotion of culture as a common good?

Keynote presentation:
Mario Husten, Holzmarkt cooperative, Berlin
“Saving space for creativity”

Discussion:
Anestis Azas, Stage Director, Athens & Berlin
Zenkő Bogdán, Grant and Project Coordinator, Jurányi Art Incubator House, Budapest
Mary Aniella Petersen, Artistic Production Manager, Dresden State Theatre
György Szabó, General Manager, Trafó House of Contemporary Arts in Budapest
Mario Husten, Holzmarkt Cooperative, Berlin

Chair: Christian Römer, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin

11:45–12:00   Coffee break
12:00–13:30   Part II: Hope of a New Theatre or the “Theatre of Hope”?
Art is about possibilities, images, visions, fate, chance, and human beings in interesting and critical situations. Europe and the whole world are in the midst of a great paradigm shift: accepted values have become problematic, populations and cultures are finding themselves in a state of migration – and by crossing each other’s paths conflicts arise.

Are we returning to the old national models or has the time come for a more global understanding in the arts as well as in the real world? Theatre has become more mobile in recent years. But is it providing an opportunity for smaller communities to live through and understand their own identities and realities? Can this be called “The Theatre of Hope”?

Keynote presentation:

Florian Malzacher, Head Curator of Impulse Festival NRW, Editor of “Truth is concrete”
“Performative work as parameter of political change – European notions of hope”

Discussion:
András Kozma, Dramaturg, National Theatre, Budapest
Béla Pintér, Director, Béla Pintér and Company, Budapest
Florian Malzacher, Head Curator of Impulse Festival NRW, Editor of “Truth is concrete”
Stephanie Junge, Artistic Director of the theatre department of Theatre Regensburg and former Head of the Heidelberg Stückemarkt “Hungarian edition”
Ildikó Gáspár, Dramaturg, Örkény Theatre, Budapest

Chair: András Forgách, writer and translator, Budapest

13:30–14:30   Lunch
14:30–16:00   Part III: Workshop

Workshop 1:
Digital marketing strategies of artistic production

Presenter: Dr. Ulf Schmidt, Berlin (theatre scholar, art director and curator of the Berlin conference “Theatre and the Internet”)

The rapid transformation from traditional, paper-based and journalistic communications to more direct relations in the digital era is a major challenge for theatres as well. It is becoming more and more difficult to reach those people who could be interested. New skills are needed in order to be present in the minds of audiences.

The workshop will deliver input about some basic strategies from a communication perspective and about the usage of the most important communication platforms. In an open discussion, we will evaluate the possibilities of digital opportunities together with their pros and cons.

6 December

13:00-14:30 Part IV: Workshop

Workshop 2:
Workshop and presentation of the theatre board game Sociopoly by the Lifeboat Unit of the Sputnik Shipping Company, Budapest

Presenters: László Bass (creator of the board game), Gábor Fábián (writer and director of the theatre version, co-head of the Lifeboat Unit), and Andrea Pass (co-head of the Lifeboat Unit)

At the beginning of the workshop the participants will get to know the original Sociopoly, a board game which aims to reduce poverty-related prejudices. Then a short scene from the theatre production will be performed in order to offer insight into the theatrical version of the game. At the workshop, there is the opportunity to learn about a new genre of the theatre board game, about its operating principles, and about the creators’ experiences with generationally and socially diverse groups of participants.

Maximum number of participants: 25

Registrations will be accepted in the order we receive them.
Deadline is 2 December, or until we reach capacity (for workshops).
Both workshops are for practitioners / insiders, and will be held in English.

Please register at kdf2014.konferencia@gmail.com (please refer to the conference and/or the number of the workshop you would l ike to attend).

Conference programme: Mária Szilágyi and Christian Römer