The prizes of the EFFEA call in the “European Region” Emilia-Romagna
“Emilia-Romagna Region European Culture” is our logo. Again, a confirmation of Emilia-Romagna's capability to be an artistic centre of European significance comes from the prizes of the European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA) – an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA), co-funded by the European Union, to support and offer emerging artists a platform to develop their careers on an international level through residencies and networking activities between festivals.
Five 'made in Emilia-Romagna' festivals win the EFFEA grant 2023 for hosting foreign artists in Italy and touring Italian shows abroad. All are supported by the Emilia-Romagna Region Culture Department.
POLIS Teatro Festival, directed by Agata Tomšič and Davide Sacco / ErosAntEros (Ravenna), wins with the project GAIA – a climate performance that evolves in relation with the places it meets, in a network with FIAT – Festival of International Alternative Theatre in Podgorica (Montenegro) and MOT – International Theater Festival in Skopje (Macedonia). This will allow ErosAntEros to bring its new production GAIA to the European attention and POLIS Teatro Festival to increase its network of international partners.
The main objective of the project is to raise awareness on a fundamental issue such as climate change, not only by staging a show that deals with the topic, but by sharing its creation process with the citizens.
The International Puppet Theatre Festival Arrivano dal Mare!, under the artistic direction of Roberta Colombo, Andrea Monticelli and Mauro Monticelli /Teatro del Drago (Cervia, Ravenna), celebrates the goal of Sixth sense theatre, a project that takes its cue from the performative and research activity of young Ukrainian director Kateryna Lukianenko and is made in co-operation with Daria Ivanova (UNIMA Union Internationale de la Marionnette), Summer Puppet Tier Festival (Slovenia), and SAMPO Festival (Slovenia).
The project includes the hospitality of the Ukrainian artist in residence at the partner festivals and the realization of workshops and performative outcomes dedicated to sensory theatre and designed to allow accessibility for disabled audiences, in particular deaf spectators. Sixth Sense Theatre will enrich the 48th edition of Arrivano dal Mare! (May 19-28, 2023) with the subtitle What we talk about when we talk about love.
Santarcangelo Festival, the oldest Italian festival dedicated to contemporary performing arts, currently under the artistic direction of Tomasz Kireńczuk, is awarded for the project focused on the choreographer and performer Wojciech Grudzinski. The artist will be supported by the network created by Santarcangelo, in which important partners participate: Kunstenfestivaldesarts of Brussels (Belgium) and Dublin Theatre Festival of Dublin (Ireland).
Moreover, the festival is involved in two other projects financed by the EFFEA call, as partner of the network coordinated by the Malta Festival Poznan (Poland) and the Berliner Festspiele (Germany), concerning, respectively, the support of the work by Ana Pi, a Brazilian researcher and performer, and Jana Shostak, Belarusian artist and activist.
The Contemporary Circus Production Centre Teatro Necessario (Colorno) is awarded for a project that supports and promotes the new creation of magie nouvelle La Fin du Monde by Parmesan artist - now living in Marseille - Rocco Manfredi, whose company is DispensaBarzotti. The residency and debut will take place in December as part of the international festival of contemporary circus and magie nouvelle Tutti Matti sotto Zero.
The same acknowledgment goes to Dinamico Festival, festival of contemporary circus curated by Associazione Dinamica (Reggio Emilia), which support a residence of the circus artist Laia Picas Rodoreda. The artist will carry out her residence during the festival period, in September, and her work will be followed by four international programmers coming from Trengo Festival (Portugal), Cirkobalkana (Serbia), Cupula Circus Village (Portugal), and Cirkus Kolektiv (Croatia). The partner will support the artist's work by giving her feedback on how to promote internationally, as well as on how to react it to different audiences.
Laia's work explores the language of contemporary circus in a new direction by delivering a "performative conference", a show through which social, academic and political concepts are vehiculated, mixing lectures and entertainment.
EFFEA’s first round of grants will support 142 festivals and 43 artists (individuals, duos, companies, ensembles or groups) from 16 different disciplines and 34 countries.
EFA congratulates all selected artists and festivals. Let us add new congratulations to the artists and festivals of Emilia-Romagna.
EFFEA – European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists
EFA - European Festivals Association
POLIS Teatro Festival | ErosAntEros
Arrivano dal Mare! | Teatro del Drago