ZAMEK Culture Centre

"Presence" is a performative project prepared by ZAMEK Culture Centre in cooperation with CODA Norway's Oslo International Dance Festival and Warsaw's Teatr 21. It will be implemented over the next two years (2022 - 2023) thanks to the grant from the Norwegian and EEA Funds. Premieres and performances by three castle theatre groups, guest performances by top world teams, meetings with outstanding artists, workshops, dance laboratories, discussion panels and a publication with a transcript of interviews with project participants - all this will be the result of cooperation and exchange of experiences between artists from Poland and Norway. Dozens of events, three partners, two countries, several cities.

"Presence" draws on the experience of "Common Theatre" - a programme in which since 2016, we have presented performances created or co-created by artists at risk of social exclusion due to disability, health, age or social status. But in the new project we are going one step further - in terms of both the programme and the territory and, most importantly, ideas. Together with our partners, we will attempt to renegotiate the socially established understanding of normativity in theatre. The norms concerning corporeality, both in terms of appearance as well as physical and mental condition, exclude a dozen or so per cent of the population - people with disabilities or otherwise distinguished by their otherness - from active participation in culture.

The two-year project implemented by ZAMEK Culture Centre is a celebration of theatre, it is an expression of admiration for the artist and their abilities, and it shows the beauty of diversity - an immanent feature of the world. Non-normative artists remind people of their Presence!

NORWEGIAN PARTNER

CODA International Dance Festival in Oslo is the largest contemporary dance festival in Scandinavia. CODA's artistic vision is to promote dance projects in which inclusivity is of paramount importance - presenting bodies of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Thus strengthening the artistic offer for a diverse audience. Every year, in the 3rd week of October, the festival gathers the best national and international contemporary dance artists.

POLISH PARTNER

Teatr 21 - a theatre group active since 2005, consisting of actors with Down syndrome and autism. Teatr 21 has created over a dozen performances presented in theatres and institutions all over Poland. The group has performed at national festivals (e.g. Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, Kraków) and abroad (Prague, Berlin, Helsinki, Freiburg). In addition to its artistic activities, Teatr 21 is involved in educational and publishing activities and theatre pedagogy, organises conferences and lectures, as well as works in international networks. In 2021, the group was awarded the POLITYKA Passport in the category of "THEATRE".

The "Presence" project benefits from grants in the amount of EUR 288,050.58 from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway provided through the EEA Funds.

The aims of the project are: to develop new forms of cultural activity and improve the existing ones, to include artists with disabilities in cultural activities on a large scale, and to combat their discrimination. Rejecting cognitive schemes and stereotypes within which socially and culturally defined disability functions will concern both the artists involved in the organisation of events and the wider audience.

The EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (i.e. the so-called Norwegian and EEA Funds) are a form of non-repayable foreign aid granted by Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein to the new EU Member States - several countries from Central and Southern Europe and the Baltic States. These funds are related to Poland's accession to the European Union and its simultaneous entry into the European Economic Area (which consists of the EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

All programmes and actions funded under the Norwegian and EEA Funds are based on common values such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. The overriding motto is: WORKING TOGETHER FOR A GREEN, COMPETITIVE AND INCLUSIVE EUROPE.

The call for grant for the programme "Presence" - "Improving access to culture and arts" is dedicated to projects aiming to develop the cultural cooperation between artists, participants in cultural life and cultural institutions, as well as to strengthen the bilateral relations between Poland and the Donor Countries.

Key visual and typograpghy by Marcin Markowski

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Graphic promoting "Presence" project.