PRALIN ON PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL BERLIN 2019

Representatives of Nová Síť together with ten selected professionals, visited the 4th edition of the Performing Arts Festival in Berlin, as part of the city exchange project between Prague and Berlin PRALIN. It has been the second cooperation with the festival. The main idea of the project is to actively support and mediate communication between the two independent performing arts communities of Berlin and Prague and to enable mutual ways of presenting the work by artists from Prague in Berlin and by artists from Berlin in Prague

The special delegation of selected professionals included: Nela Kornetová (TITS), Ewa Zemboková (X 10), Dominika Andaško (Petrohradská kolektiv), Matěj Samec (Meetfactory), Jan Horák (Studio Hrdinu), Lucia Kašiarová (Studio ALTA), Veronika Kyrianová (Venus in Švehlovka), Eva Dryjová (SE.S.TA). Zdeněk Závodný (Center for Open Culture Pardubice) and Petr Kiška (Cooltour Ostrava).

For most of the members of the Prague delegation, it was the first contact with the Performing Arts scene in Berlin. PAF was an ideal opportunity to offer an introduction to the local art scene (a rich program for professionals, guided tours of the scenes, the chance to see more than 112 performances on 54 stages...). During the PAF Nová síť also met key partners for future collaboration and the partners whom Nová síť have already collaborated (ACUD Theater, Sophiensaele, Ballhaus OST, Theaterdiscounter, etc.) and have continued to work with members of the Berlin Staff Exchange.

The fact that the two partner cities are very close together and there is no stable link between in the field of independent live art makes PRALIN attractive for theatrical professionals, artists, institutions and the public. The two communities have a lot in common: Not only in terms of artistic aesthetics but also ways of working conditions and discourses. They both are big cities with a progressive theatre scene, very close to each other. In many points, they mirror themselves, and in many aspects, they are unique and have their particular problems while being ready to learn from each other.
The project also raises an important question about the dismal absence of trial spaces for artists. A panel discussion highlighting this topic will be held in September 2019.

ABOUT THE BERLIN PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL

The Berlin Performing Arts Festival is organized by LAFT – Landesverband freie darstellende Künste Berlin e. V. in cooperation with the performance venues HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Sophiensæle, Ballhaus Ost and Theaterdiscounter. The Berlin Performing Arts Festival celebrates the diversity of Berlin’s independent performing arts community at numerous theaters and performance venues throughout the entire city. Since 2016, this annual week-long festival has presented the work and artistic positions of Berlin’s performing artists and groups working in all genres.

ABOUT PRALIN

PRALIN is an intercity cultural exchange amongst Prague and Berlin. The main idea of the project is to actively support and mediate communication between the two independent performing arts communities of Berlin and Prague and to enable mutual ways of presenting the work by artists from Prague in Berlin and by artists from Berlin in Prague.


More about the PAF Berlin: https://www.performingarts-festival.de/en/
More about PRALIN: http://novasit.cz./en/pralin

Project organizers: Nová síť (Prague), Performing Arts Programm (Berlin)
Main partner: Czech-German Future Fund
Project partners: Cross Attic - Cross Club, Art Institute - Theater Institute, Goethe Institut Prag, Czech Center Berlin, PerformCZech