Since 1997 the event called "OKNO Theatre Encounters” was accomplished as a theatre festival, presenting and promoting the diverse currents of artistic quest present in contemporary alternative theatre, as well as a platform to exchange of experiences and practices between artists, as well as an informal artistic and cultural education. During fourteen consecutive editions, we managed to formulate a series of questions about phenomena important to contemporary art; we also presented several dozens of groups from all over the world.
The fourteenth edition, which took place in 2011, marked the beginning of a new period of the project. It took a form of the subject-oriented encounters with selected artists taking place several times a year. So far, we have organized the encounters with the following artists: Eugenio Barba and the Odin Theatret, Piotr Borowski and the Studium Teatralne; The Krepsko Theatre; The ZAR Theatre; The Porywacze Ciał / Body Snatchers Theatre; The Akhe Theatre, The OM2 Theatre; The Pieśń Kozła / Song of the Goat Theatre, The Węgajty Theatre, The "Pogranicze Sztuk, Kultur, Narodów" Centre in Sejny; The NN. Brama Grodzka Theatre, The Schola Węgajty; The Chorea Theatre, The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, Theodoros Terzopoulos.
OKNO is addressed primarily to practitioners of theatre: artists and leaders of independent theatre groups, animators of culture, as well as all those interested in self-education through theatre. The aim of the project is to acquaint the participants with the broadest possible scope of activities of the invited artists and to take advantage of their experiences, to discuss about ideas and practical aspects of functioning [???], and – above all – to exchange experiences and to celebrate the possibility of direct encounter.
OKNO is a special time for us all. Once, when it was still in the form of a festival, it was, above all, a celebration of encounter: a time to refresh out way of thinking, to broaden our views on various forms, genres, themes, ideas, explorations; a space for experimentation and equal exchange of experiences of practitioners and enthusiasts of theatre. Now, when it is built in the formula of APPROACHING – it has become a time of concentration – in which we can give ourselves and others a few days free from haste and devoted solely to recognition of those areas which – as we feel – are visible only in the process and require our careful presence.
Our guests are always people whose way somehow fascinates us – people we are curious about, people we want to learn from, people we want to listen to. Those who – through their consistent determination and many years of mastering their own craft, and above all through their great passion and determination in what they do – become genuine revolutionaries and reformers of theatre, even if it takes place only in their own lives or the lives of the group of people they work with. Their continuous quest communicates us that something very important happened to them on their way. Their achievements show that effective methods and tools that make this possible do exist.
We try to ask all our guests questions that bother us. We have the feeling that their story, their experience, their practice, which they have agreed to share with us, and finally just their direct presence and possibility to talk – is one of the most valuable things that can happen – to us and our audience – thanks to such an encounter.
ZDJĘCIA
Since 1997 the event called "OKNO Theatre Encounters” was accomplished as a theatre festival, presenting and promoting the diverse currents of artistic quest present in contemporary alternative theatre, as well as a platform to exchange of experiences and practices between artists, as well as an informal artistic and cultural education. During fourteen consecutive editions, we managed to formulate a series of questions about phenomena important to contemporary art; we also presented several dozens of groups from all over the world.
The fourteenth edition, which took place in 2011, marked the beginning of a new period of the project. It took a form of the subject-oriented encounters with selected artists taking place several times a year. So far, we have organized the encounters with the following artists: Eugenio Barba and the Odin Theatret, Piotr Borowski and the Studium Teatralne; The Krepsko Theatre; The ZAR Theatre; The Porywacze Ciał / Body Snatchers Theatre; The Akhe Theatre, The OM2 Theatre; The Pieśń Kozła / Song of the Goat Theatre, The Węgajty Theatre, The "Pogranicze Sztuk, Kultur, Narodów" Centre in Sejny; The NN. Brama Grodzka Theatre, The Schola Węgajty; The Chorea Theatre, The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, Theodoros Terzopoulos.
OKNO is addressed primarily to practitioners of theatre: artists and leaders of independent theatre groups, animators of culture, as well as all those interested in self-education through theatre. The aim of the project is to acquaint the participants with the broadest possible scope of activities of the invited artists and to take advantage of their experiences, to discuss about ideas and practical aspects of functioning [???], and – above all – to exchange experiences and to celebrate the possibility of direct encounter.
OKNO is a special time for us all. Once, when it was still in the form of a festival, it was, above all, a celebration of encounter: a time to refresh out way of thinking, to broaden our views on various forms, genres, themes, ideas, explorations; a space for experimentation and equal exchange of experiences of practitioners and enthusiasts of theatre. Now, when it is built in the formula of APPROACHING – it has become a time of concentration – in which we can give ourselves and others a few days free from haste and devoted solely to recognition of those areas which – as we feel – are visible only in the process and require our careful presence.
Our guests are always people whose way somehow fascinates us – people we are curious about, people we want to learn from, people we want to listen to. Those who – through their consistent determination and many years of mastering their own craft, and above all through their great passion and determination in what they do – become genuine revolutionaries and reformers of theatre, even if it takes place only in their own lives or the lives of the group of people they work with. Their continuous quest communicates us that something very important happened to them on their way. Their achievements show that effective methods and tools that make this possible do exist.
We try to ask all our guests questions that bother us. We have the feeling that their story, their experience, their practice, which they have agreed to share with us, and finally just their direct presence and possibility to talk – is one of the most valuable things that can happen – to us and our audience – thanks to such an encounter.
ZDJĘCIA
