flausen+ International Collaboration Catalyst
Dear Friends and Colleagues
I was recently invited to bring 3 Canadian artists to the flausen+ Festival (Bielefeld, Germany) to participate in the Catalyst phase of an international collaboration with Italian, and German artists from Sept. 30, 2021-Oct. 3rd, 2021.
The flausen+ Residency is an innovation incubator that acts as a catalyst for and then develops new ideas, forms, and voices. For 4 full days, our artists will work with the Italian (Residenza I.Dra) and German (flausen+) artist teams in the f+ way of creation. The award winning platform is supported by the flausen+ Network of 28 German companies and growing EU partners and is at the for-front of independent German innovative practices. This is a special project at the festival, and everyone is excited about the outcome.
This is an opportunity to good to pass up.
We have an amazing team gathered from across three provinces: Vanka Chaitra Salim (BC), Makram Ayache (Alberta), & Deneh'Cho Thompson (Saskatchewan).
For me it is an opportunity to share some of my experiences in international theatre with my Canadian colleagues. For them it is an opportunity to make theatre with artists from very different backgrounds and theatrical understandings, meet new international theatre makers, and network with the German and EU organizations. For flausen+, it is as introduction to innovative Canadian theatre artists.
As an independent artist it is impossible for me to cover the associated costs. Due to the recent nature of the invitation, we have no guarantee of receiving Canada Council funding and would not know until after the activity. Although the financial risk in international travel and collaboration is common in my personal practice, I would not ask the same of others.
I am hoping to mitigate their risk.
Stay well and many thanks!
Jack Paterson
Bouche Theatre Collective
www.Bouchewhacked.com
Meet the Int. flausen+ Canada Team
MAKRAM AYACHE
Makram Ayache (he/him) is a community-engaged writer, actor, director, and producer. His playwriting explores meaningful representations of queer Arab voices. He bridges complex & interlocking political struggles to the intimate and real experiences of the people impacted by them. Ayache is the 2020 recipient of the Playwrights’ Guide of Canada’s annual Tom Hendry Award for his play Harun. He has also been nominated for four Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards. www.makramayache.com
DENEH'CHO THOMPSON
Deneh’Cho Thompson (he/him) is a director, actor and playwright and member of the Pehdzeh ki Nation. As Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan he oversees the wîcêhtowin Theatre Program, one of few Indigenous programs in a Canadian university. Deneh’Cho’s research focuses on the development, naming, and centring of Indigenous pedagogies; new play development, in various roles, and Indigenous collaborations while centering the values of reciprocity, respect and reflexivity. Deneh’Cho is also engaged in the (re)storying of personal family archives focusing on healing, resilience, and Indigenous storywork as a pathway towards the creation of new works of theatre.
VANKA CHAITRA SALIM
Vanka Chaitra Salim (she/her) is a Muslim Indonesian-Canadian Set, Lighting and Projection designer, theatre technician and scenic painter based in the Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories, colonially known as Vancouver, BC. She enjoys experimenting with different mediums of storytelling that revolve around the interaction and interplay of art, culture and technology. Apart from her involvement in the theatre community, Vanka also works as an acrylic paint-maker at Kroma Artist's Acrylics and is part of Srikandi Indonesia Dance Group. She also loves gaming, game art & design, dance, videography, illustration and learning XR technologies, and has recently been experimenting with immersive experiences. She is grateful and beyond excited to have the opportunity to learn, collaborate and experiment with the rest of the team at Flausen+ Festival. www.vankasalim.com
Canada Creative Producer
JACK PATERSON
Jack (he/him) is a Vancouver launched devisor, director, dramaturg, translator, and theatre maker. Projects have ranged from contemporary devising, cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary and multi-lingual events to main stage and classical theatre in contemporary form across Canada, UK, Europe and Indonesia. He is the co-founder of Bouche Theatre Collective (Vancouver) and Global Hive Labs., a network of international independent artists working together in shared practice. www.JackPatersonTheatre.com
BOUCHE THEATRE COLLECTIVE (Canada)
Founded in Vancouver Canada in 2012, Bouche bridges local, national, and international artists and audiences separated by language, distance, and culture. With a specific focus on the cross pollination between Canadian francophone and anglophone artists and the international community, Bouche reaches out through translation, multi-lingual work, and devised creation. BTC is a member of the Presentation House Theatre Creative Hub Co-operative. www.bouchewhacked.com
International Creation Partners
RESIDENZA I.DRA (Italy)
www.residenzaidra.it
Based in Brescia (Italy), Residenza IDra is a multidisciplinary independent development and producing centre, Our desire to be adequate to our times, in search of new forms of representation through integration and collaboration. In addition to development residencies, IDra produces The Wonderland Festival (Mibact and the Lombardy Region), Città Dolci Touring Circuit, NdN (New dramaturgy Network), CURA Project and AL Petroni Award. IDRA actively participates in various networks including CRESCO, ETRE and IETM.
FLAUSEN+ & FLAUSEN+ FESTIVAL (Germany)
www.flausen.plus
flausen+ is unique innovation incubator platform for generating new forms, new approaches and new ideas. For the last decade, the "flausen+" model has been driving creative scenic research by providing paid residencies for process based new explorations free of the pressure of production. To date flausen+ has facilitated over 48 ensembles and 160 artists in their research. flausen + explicitly promotes bold approaches and highly current socio-political topics.
flausen + residency ensembles have gone on to receive high acclaim with their work presented at leading EU companies such as GHent (Brussels) and festivals. According to pulk fiktion, recipient of prestigious George Tabori Award for their work placing children and parents on an equal footing, "we would never have dared to tackle such a theme and aesthetic form without flausen."
Supported by the flausen+ network of 29 theatres across Germany, flausen+ awards 9 residencies per year, in 5 German states hosted by 8 theaters. In addition to producing, hosting and artistic support of the residencies, flausen+ Network members provide administrative support.
Ensemble projects developed through the flausen+ Residencies are further supported by the network with additional research periods, 2 co-productions with flausen+ network theatres per year, the network touring model (NATIONALE PERFORMANCE NETZ) and are showcased at The flausen+ Festival (Bielefeld) and the flausen+ bundeskongress (Koln).
Presenting f+ projects, the biennial f+ Festival has become a gathering point for independent, small, and mid-sized companies from across the EU. Artists, company leaderships, and cultural representatives meet, develop new artistic and admin. relationships, and exchange knowledge through a series of networking activities, workshops, panels, and events.
How You Can Support:
We have broken down the costs for each Canadian artist's participation below. Sponsor a Flight, Sustenance, PCR Test or Insurance or support how you wish. Every little bit helps.
$1500 - Support an artist’s travel (as per Canada Council Travel Calculator)
$750 - Support an artist’s Subsistence Per Diem for total project (5d)
$200 - Support an artist’s Covid 19 PCR Test (required for return to Canada)
$150 - Support an artist’s daily Subsistence Per Diem (1d)
$100 - Travel and Health Insurance (including Covid19 coverage)
Or
Support as you see fit - Every little bit helps!
In return, we will thank you live at the flausen+ Festival, and will acknowledge your support with a thank you, logo and website link in any online materials such as webpage and newsletters.
Land Acknowledgement
Jack’s activities take place on and are launched from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish People: the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We recognize and honour the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation commission and acknowledge the importance of Indigenous sovereignty on this unceded territory.
*A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home. For more information on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada click here. www.nctr.ca
