Site, Landscape, Theatre

a two-day meeting on art practices in the public space
Friday 27 and Saturday 28 April 2012 at DasArts, Amsterdam

Site-specific theatre and landscape theatre have built up a unique tradition in the Netherlands, where there is an extraordinary amount of knowledge and expertise on art in the public realm. Increasingly, theatre makers and artists across the generations make an emphatic choice to operate outside established venues for arts and culture, instead placing their work directly into the urban environment, the landscape or the community.
It is notable that the social contract of theatre  – involving gatherings of people in public – is particularly fertile in this area and is being applied in a range of contemporary contexts: everyone from Jeanne van Heeswijk to Jonas Staal, and from G1000 to Occupy. Increasingly, we are assuming that people can contribute to each other's ideas about society, that they want to be involved and to meet one another.

Over the two days of SITE, LANDSCAPE, THEATRE, de Theaterschool will examine this recent development. Is this form of ‘theatre without frontiers’ particularly suitable for bringing people together to bring democratic principles out into the open, to connect with other public domains and to reach new audiences? In what ways does theatre that employs these methods interact with its direct environment? What types of relationship does this create with the often hidden social, political and cultural conflicts in public space?

Our aim is to explore various concepts of SITE, LANDSCAPE and THEATRE together with a range guests and participants, and to exchange thoughts and views emanating from the diverse perspectives. Our approach to organising this meeting has been guided by our desire to apply an international viewpoint. We have created a framework that allows space for the huge diversity of interventions in alternative locations that are being made by contemporary artists, producers and programmers.
The two days each have their own overarching theme: on the first day, we will explore a number of strategies relating to Making Places; on the second day we will examine more closely a variety of approaches to the landscape in Reading Landscapes.

SITE, LANDSCAPE, THEATRE is curated by Marijke Hoogenboom and Judith Wendel. It forms part of de Theaterschool’s research on contemporary artistic practices and creative producing in education, particularly Masters courses. This event is a collaboration with Atelier Oerol, DasArts, the Art Practice and Development research group, the Production and Stage Management course, Gwenoële Trapman and Rachel Feuchwang.

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programme Site, Landscape, Theatre

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