MSD Festival

Project

267483

Status

Submitted

Award category

You want to submit

NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS : existing completed examples

Project title

MSD Festival

Full project title

Description

MeetShareDance feszival aims to promote best practice in the field of inclusive arts practices and to foster an International Dance Network for individuals and groups working with dance and disability. It offers those interested in dance, movement and inclusive arts practices, the opportunity to experience, support and contribute to this emerging field, connects local communities with international professionals and provides long term, affordable  and inclusive activities open to all citizens.

Where was your project implemented in the EU?

When was your project implemented?

Has your project benefited from EU programmes or funds?

Which programme(s) or fund(s)? Provide the name of the programme(s)/fund(s), the strand/action line as relevant and the year.

Please provide a summary of your project

International Workshop Dance Festival MeetShareDance MeetShareDance aims to promote best practice in the field of inclusive arts practices and to foster an International Dance Network for individuals and groups working with dance and disability. The festival offers those interested in dance, movement and inclusive arts practices, the opportunity to experience, support and contribute to this emerging field of dance arts practice. It's an international festival based on a philosophy of inter-exchange, promoting the exchange of knowledge and experience through workshops taught by teachers/movers/dancers/ choreographer's with and without disabilities who also participate and share within each other's workshops and presentations. It was created to bring together dancers, choreographers, teachers and anyone interested in changing barriers that exist in everyday life of people with disabilities. Since 2012 it was held in seven different countries Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Portugal and Northern Ireland. More than 500 participants and teachers from 18 different countries participated in the last seven years. The street parade, public performances, open conferences and possibilities that everyone can participate was extremely welcomed within the locals.Open to local community and propels collaboration on local and international level. The primary focus of the festival is offering inclusive dance practice, training and collaborate with local organizations. We unify knowledge, experience and capacities from both sides (Working closely with different sectors: managers, teachers, city administration,..). The outcomes are to gather and share new ideas for inclusive practices, discover and chart changes in the world of performing arts, inclusion and disability and to expose dance&movement and arts as a strong force in every day life. We point up disability advocates and all the parties to come together as a sustainable community.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met

When we think of a sustainable project we have to think of 7 generations ahead. What is happening tomorrow is planned today and we have to think way ahead but act and work now to reach the development we would like to see in future or that is going to be seen by future generations. Our festival play a vital role in the creation of a future that is more inclusive, diverse and distributed equally. The organization of the festival connects with individual professionals and artists and local community itself, bringing international level into local level. We don't bring authority to the community but offer the activities to locals, using what is already established and working on long term connections. It is non-traditional in its concept and delivery in that it is not about promoting the hierarchies which often exist within the field. The intention is to gather and share new ideas, discover and chart changes in performing arts and disability and to expose inclusion, dance, movement and arts as a strong force in artistic and everyday life. The circularity exist from the beginning of the planning of the festival till the closure of it. We use the infrastructure and spaces in the city without any extra stage to be set for us as the city itself is the stage. We work on local level and after the festival is over the trained teachers continues with the work in the city and the following year they share the experience with new crowd. The festival is establishing a strong network connection between the cities, local communities, artists and non-professionals with and without disabilities who are usually excluded from most of the activities. Going to different cities also means that the festival changes according to different culture of the city as every place puts its own flavor, particularities and institutional support. The project propels interdisciplinary: involving local with international, disabled with non disabled, identifying challenges and offering solution.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met

The primary focus  of the festival is on working through, and with contemporary performing arts while welcoming other artistic approaches and always considering new choreographic site specific possibilities as well as new ways of dancing/ moving. We work with professionals and non professionals on long term basis always respecting the experience with a desire to approach different dance pedagogy. The project benefits by supporting the creative individuals and organizations who continue to challenge and inform our decisions. The festival mobilizes art, culture, professionals, accidental audience to one big community that changes perspective on social, mental and physical barriers. Street parade is the important part of the festival where internal festival experience becomes external outdoor event, open to a public and works as a surprise educational effect. With this open air dance action that includes dancers and teachers with and without disabilities we expose diversity and beauty of the bodies and at the same time we showcase the problems of inaccessible infrastructure in the city. The audience thinking is awaken by what they accidentally saw on the street parade and beyond the experience is the question that raises after the street parade is exposed on the streets; How the architecture of the city can be an obstacle, artistic and aesthetic landscape or the place of equal opportunities? Are we aware of diversity? Aesthetics are in all our senses, not just the sight. We want that participants and citizens experience psychical pleasure (that stimulate our senses), social pleasure from interacting with other people, psychological pleasure - making the participants feel safe and in control. We strive to balance aesthetics and usability, functionality of the project by offering practical workshops, dance experience, safe and fun environment, educational input and mobilizing arts and culture by being involved with local associations.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion and how these have been met

Key Objectives: - To promote dance and diversity in a local environment. To generate interest in the local area of the festival by using a local public space (the city) and working with local artists, to create site-specific dance and performance works that come directly from the participants. - Long term educational inclusive dance programs - Bringing closer the professional inclusive dance workshop and possibility to high-profile education to people that have difficulties to travel due to physical and social barriers. -MeetShareDance is based on a philosophy of »inter-exchange«. We hope to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences, as broadly as we can, with workshops taught by teachers/movers who are also participants and collaborators. - Gather and share new ideas and dance practices, open discussion, discover and chart changes in the world of dance and disability and to expose dance as a strong tendency in artistic and every day life. - Rising awareness of social and physical barriers - To promote both cultural and artistic exchange How the objectives are met: - Mapping and contacting local organizations of the city where the festival is going to be held to start working together - Trained teachers continue the work after the festival is finished - Organized professional dance landscape open for non professionals with and without disabilities - Teachers with and without disabilities showing different approaches to a dance pedagogy - Workshops, conferences and street parade organized in the festival - Sustainable and vivid professional network after the event is finished with constant possibilities to reconnect and collaborate again. - Exposing examples of good practice of inclusion in the city - Through diverse actions on the theme of accessibility and disability, we promote thinking and best practices in relation to access. Confronting people’s diversity, their fragility, and their potential and strength, are key to creativity.  

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

The World Health Organisation estimates there are over 135 million disabled people living in Europe but we still struggle to provide equal conditions to all citizens. The role of inclusive dance companies and organizations working with people with disabilities it's not just showing the possibilities and activities where people with diverse condition can meet but we are also responsible for education. We create the inclusive space, connecting professionals, local communities and create inclusive pedagogy. Our initiative is mobilizing arts and communities in transparent level offering an active participation at all stages. So far we visited and worked in seven cities in UE, directly collaborating with more than 30 partners and more than 45 local organizations that work with arts, culture and disability. More than 3500 attendees (accidental audience and people who were not directly involved with the festival), 45 practical workshops of best practices of inclusive performing arts.The biggest impact we achieve with the festival is to approach and open doors of the institutions that never worked with people with disabilities and they are willing to make space accessible and they also learn how to offer the activities that are inclusive. We map and highlight the spaces that already are inclusive and promote good practice in our network. With education and training we provide to teachers and individuals interested in inclusive dance practice a solid and wide knowledge. We provide constant support and networking on local and international level. Some results are seen already with new established groups or organizations that work in inclusive dance practices in the cities that didn't have this activity before, some results and impacts are going to be seen in years and hopefully in generations where inclusion and disability won't be questionable adjectives. With the festival the holistic solutions are provided.  

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project

The local NGOs and local organizations working with arts and education as well as people with disabilities are strongly involved in the development of the project. We bring the structure of the festival and international teachers, however the main public and participants are citizens and communities from the city. The big impact we have noticed in the past eight years is the international inclusive dance networks but also the collaboration and connection of local organization after the festival is finished. We give the opportunity to meet and connect with organizations on national level that before the festival didn't know each other yet working with similar groups. (for example: After the festival organized in Berlin in 2017, three organization from Germany that didn't know each other before the festival, started to collaborate and elaborate a unique inclusive dance methodology). Some existing inequalities have become more intense and urgent to deal with. We wish to deal with them respectfully and creatively. Making professional connection within their community so they can double their impact and grow outside of the communities with disabilities. The intention of the project is also to integrate the successful long-term educational model of inclusive performing art with educational and dance practice of the country where the festival is organized. The affect is not seen in disabled community only but the change of perception of the citizens and interest of civil society in general to become more open, welcoming, accessible and easy to approach. The benefits are visible and tangible, especially is improved psycho-physical well-being and self-esteem. The program is designed to encourage people to become more active members of society through dance and artistic expression. We are paving the way for unexpected experiences, and collaborating with professional artists, disabled audiences and the public to generate the foundation necessary for creating art.  

Please highlight the innovative character of the project

The project is innovative for many reasons: - Connects local organizations and communities with international professionals and gives basis for long term and sustainable development of inclusive space - Street parade highlights through dance and art in non-invasive way the problematic of social, physical and mental barriers society builds on daily basis. - The only inclusive workshop dance festival where different approaches and inclusive arts pedagogy is thought and learnt - Nomad festival: changing the cities, emerging into different cultures and inclusive societies, learning from each-other - After the festival the work, collaboration continues, moreover, by the experience we have after the festival the local community working with people with disabilities becomes more vivid, stronger and opens collaborations with other local communities and mobilize art, culture and inclusion in other sectors as well - For many  different reasons people with disabilities have difficulties in traveling or moving far from their local base (home, doctors, assistance,..) it means they often incur large expense, (accessible accommodation is always more expensive, paying an assistant,..). Festival offers mobile training service. We identify and approach local teachers and organizations that work with specific groups and show them how to start inclusive performing arts classes and how can they positively impact the local community. - We highlight institution, organization, public transports, touristy sites, hotels,... that are accessible (mapping of inclusive sites) and help/teach the entities that are not how to adapt places and find better approach to become accessible. - Affordable and accessible festival, that works high impact, low cost and top professionals on the field. We don't hire external producers, managers but co-working and hire the locals of the city we visit.

Please explain how the project led to results or learnings which could be transferred to other interested parties

Disability or the disabled body performs strong artistic and persuasive discourse. Inclusion doesn't happen easily or spontaneously but through inclusive dance we open this door and keep it open. We believe that different bodies move differently and there is the beauty and power of dance. Developing artistic potential with inclusive dance is big achievement for a person with disabilities – for their own personal development and for the enrichment of society. Important learning can be showcased; rising awareness of the capabilities and contributions for people with disabilities, creating an environment of participation, using inclusive dance that allows artistic expression for individuals and also reflect a new social mobility and social conscience. The format of the festival is to exchange the knowledge and deepen artistic and creative way of expression and that diversity of the bodies can be seen.  We gather a range of disability-led arts organizations and individuals from across Europe to inspire disability advocates to come together as a community and push to be included in the vital conversations and having equal part in the civic society. The model of the festival that is based on performing arts, inclusion and education can be transferred and adopted in any other sector multiple, supporting well-being, as well as striving to extend the idea of what sustainable inclusive festival is. Together we can build a new wave of cultural activism that refuses to accept second best. The results is a international network that offers solidarity, makes new opportunities and consistently grows and can be an example of the community work and how to give voice through arts and digital tools.

Is an evaluation report or any relevant independent evaluation source available?

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the Awards more than once under the same category and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.