The Birds, the Scientists, the Woman and Alzheimer
On sustainability and polyphony in transnational collaboration within live arts
by Epona Hamdan*
The current discussion surrounding sustainability in transnational collaboration within the European live arts scene encompasses all aspects of production and festival schemes. Finding ways to make curation more sustainable without marginalizing voices and limiting artistic diversity is a crucial consideration, while similarly adapting the production process to minimize waste and energy consumption and exploring sustainable artistic practices and understanding their impact on the artistic process.
In European contexts, we are witnessing the emergence of new practices aimed at addressing the challenges posed by climate change. However, it is essential to recognize that many of these efforts are closely tied to Western production and festival schemes. As a result, the discourse on sustainability in transnational cooperation tends to be heavily Eurocentric, excluding other perspectives and forms of practices.
When the choreographer Jérôme Bel decided to stop flying for his projects and guest performances in 2018, he expressed this decision as a commitment to reduce his carbon footprint and to align his artistic practice with environmental sustainability. In an interview with The Guardian Jerome Bell stated:
“The dance community is going through drastic change right now. It’s for us to adjust in order to remain in sync with a world in need of transformation.”
He made it even more concrete in an article published by the New York Times:
“If you won’t buy tomatoes that don’t come from France, or wherever you live, why do we watch culture that is flown in from other countries?”
More and more artists are working on new formats that can go on the road without CO₂ emissions. A trend that has been accelerated by the pandemic and travel restrictions. The technical rider often becomes the new holy book in these endeavors. New technologies are entering the theatre space allowing remote navigation and artistic practices are being rehearsed that enable the staging of a piece without the director or choreographer being present. For the performing arts producer, this trend implies that they will have to do more work translating those artistic systems into operational structures, which requires a deeper understanding of different operational systems.
The British director Katie Mitchell already decided to stop flying entirely in 2012. Her latest project “A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction,” will have been shown in 10 countries by 2024, without Mitchell or her crew having travelled once. The tour is part of the “Sustainable Theater?” initiative by Théâtre de Vidy Lausanne and a network of 10 European producers. Katie Mitchell has developed a "touring score" - an online manual detailing all aspects of the production - which is distributed to local artists in the theatres during each stop of the tour. In each localized adaptation, the artists do also have creative control. A method that Mitchell calls “eco-dramaturgy”. Being an established theater and opera director in Europe, Mitchell emphasizes that this gives her the security for an artistic experiment as such, whereas it would be much harder for the younger generation, being at the beginning of their career. Though nothing can be said to counter that statement, it lacks any reference to her locality as a European director.
At this point I would like to bring in the voice of the Mexican actor and director Lázaro Gabino Rodríguez, who replied to Jérôme Bel’s political stance with an open letter in 2021. Within that letter Lázaro made it very clear that he appreciates Bel’s efforts, but that they lacks complexity in regards to the fact that he is a white successful director born and living in Europe. He further argued that efforts to reduce movement with CO₂ emissions should be coupled with a comprehensive understanding of the varying contexts and challenges faced by artists and cultural practitioners from different regions.
Photo by Lázaro Gabino Rodríguez
What I found very interesting in Lázaro’s letter was its beginning, because it started with a story, which goes like this:
“A group of scientists were tracking the migratory route of a particular bird species. For some time they noticed an anomaly in the pattern: an important part of the flock would stop halfway, on an island, instead of finishing the whole journey. This stop implied a risk for the whole species. The scientists were unaware of what caused this unusual behavior, until they realized that an old woman from the island used to feed the birds, and so they stayed. The group of scientists went to see the woman, explaining to her the situation and after asking her to stop feeding the birds, she agreed. But during the following migration season, the birds stopped on the island again and the scientists noticed she was still giving them food. When they confronted the old woman, she confessed that her husband had Alzheimer’s, and that the birds’ presence was the only thing that brought him back to the present time, the only time of the year where they could still experience something together.”
Looking at this story, the matter of mobility appears in various forms. Each actor is driven by a motivation that in itself, when reading the story, is very comprehensible. Though when looking at the situation as a whole, it becomes a complex web of movements and perspectives that is closely linked to locality, resources and relation. All in all, it seems like the situation in this story is at a standstill. That was at least my very first thought when reading it.
Transferring the story to transnational cooperation and sustainability in live arts puts in question what other approaches to the matter might be available to us, if one does not want to accept that the situation has come to a dead end. In my view the story has therefore the potential to push us towards imagining approaches that might not have been rehearsed yet, but that need to be centered in order to start putting them into practice. Similar to the story, we encounter a complex sphere of actors, motivations and needs in transnational cooperation. In addition to that, spheres of transnational cooperation consist of different operational systems, languages, political codes and varied approaches to troubleshooting. All of which needs to be read under the premises of the freedom of mobility and access to resources.
The legacy of colonialism is evident in the hierarchy of mobility as nationals from former colonial powers enjoy visa exemptions and unrestricted travel, while nationals from former colonies often find themselves in positions with fundamentally different political rights and restrictions. This begs the question if terms like "former" or "post" are accurate, when referring to the colonial, highlighting the strong link between mobility and power.
Former colonial powers have positioned themselves as the “center” of geopolitical contexts, while relegating former colonies to the “periphery”. These terms, though widely discussed, are used here strictly for operational purposes.
In conversation with The Guardian, Jérôme Bel critiqued that the dance world is unfortunately stuck in a system of extreme globalization. To which I would like to reference the Cuban curator and art critique Gerardo Mosquera, who pointed out that transnational exhibitions and live-art projects predominantly planned out on the axis of the "centers" to the "peripheries". These initiatives are financed, organized, and curated by institutions or independent actors in the “centres”, who possess the necessary resources to do so. The uneven distribution of funding can result in imbalanced power dynamics within the project, giving partners with greater financial resources more influence over decision-making and project direction. Consequently, this may marginalize the voices and contributions of partners from contexts with limited resources, restricting their agency and creative independence. Even with well-meaning curators, the phenomena of the politicized body don’t seem to exist in transnational cooperation, as the potential to genuinely engage in transnational cooperation becomes limited. The influence of neoliberal strategies in producing and curating live art further exacerbates existing imbalances and power dynamics. Considering this, I would assert that we are still a long way from a globalized art scene. In fact, this resource disparity, coupled with mobility hegemonies, creates a division between curating and curated cultures. As James Clifford suggests, the desire and power of the postmodern West to curate the world have manifested through the proliferation of biennials and festivals.
Nevertheless, some artistic directors and curators within the European performing arts scene have come to recognize the importance of questioning their perspectives and methodologies. This realization has led to a growing demand for direct and empathetic communication in individual projects, often necessitating a deeper understanding and consideration of complex social and geopolitical processes by those executing the projects. This implies scheduling more time for preparatory conversations in order to gain a deeper understanding of the operational system, as well as the political and economic circumstances that the partner is working in - and linked challenges. This extra time needs to be budgeted and considered in team planning. In addition, there needs to be flexibility in the budget to supply extra spendings that could not have been planned ahead.
In my view, the discussion concerning sustainability in transnational live arts production and curation is stuck in the principles of Western production frameworks. I am referring to the various operational stages that a production or festival planning must abide to in order to maintain the timeline, stay within budget constraints and ensure the successful realization of the project while considering both the local context and the funders' requirements.
The question is which methodologies and aesthetic strategies can effectively challenge or alter these dynamics?
bell hooks coined the term “Periphery” as a location of resistance, a site of radical openness and possibility. The demand to shift away from cultural and political power structures has become more pronounced, and collective approaches in live arts have experienced a revival. The landscape of this field, particularly in Western contexts, has been characterized by competition and a strong focus on individualism. Nevertheless, these emerging collective practices are directed towards fostering work environments that prioritize social sustainability and are attuned to the intricacies of power dynamics within the structures. A development that evolves parallel to a decrease of resources, sharpened border policies and the rise of political structures informed by conservative and right-wing values in Europe and beyond.
Developing a profound comprehension of one another's situations and requirements undoubtedly stands as a pivotal element in transnational curation and production within the performing arts. When we prioritize social sustainability, we create an atmosphere that fosters diverse dialogues and endeavors to establish the foundation for essential transformative measures, representing a crucial step towards decentralizing power dynamics. However, it should be noted that this approach does not directly confront the neoliberal principles governing resource allocation in the so-called "centers."
Coming back to Jérôme Bel and Katie Mitchell, serving as two examples of established choreographers and directors in geographical Europe that suggest a new way of artistic practice to present their work internationally with reduced CO₂ emissions, it is essential to question the notion of political referentiality. Though nothing can be argued against the practice itself, it does stay within a geopolitical framework in live arts, which is deeply politicized and shaped through the connection of mobility and power. While the merit of this cause is undeniable, it is essential to pair it with a comprehensive understanding of the diverse contexts and challenges faced by artists and cultural practitioners from various regions. Another noticeable trend is the shift towards decentralized curation in the live arts sector, wherein institutions collaborate with locally rooted curators in different countries rather than flying curators to festivals and premieres as part of their programming scheme. Nevertheless, the colonial legacy persists, as the curatorial approach is from the “center” and for the “center” and the curatorial practice is entwined with resource imbalances.
When I asked my friend Juma Pariri, who is an indigenous artist and activist from Pindorama (colonially known as Brazil), they suggested that the festivals of the “centers” should hand over their structures and resources to artists and cultural practitioners from the “peripheries” for an amount of time. This approach would open the door to exploring alternative methods of transnational curation, enabling a profound comprehension of the challenges and barriers faced by those operating outside the traditional cultural hubs. It would also promote diverse forms of knowledge production and significantly influence the ongoing discourse concerning sustainability in live arts. All these adjustments would necessitate aligning the existing structures with the specific requirements of curation and knowledge generation in this context.
Poster for the short film Pe ataju jumali / Hot air by Sophia Zhou based on a photo by Frê Arvora.
Juma Pariri explained:
“(…) I believe that in this way, strategies can be created and implemented to decentralize resources, comfort, tools for artistic creation and the protection for certain lives to ensure the continuity of their (and all beings in this world’s) existence. Perhaps, for example, an entire festival, which happens traditionally in Europe, may not exist for some editions so that these resources can support artistic training and the protection of indigenous communities and forests in the Global South that are currently suffering from systemic violence in various areas.”
References
“Jérôme Bel: 'Dance is going through drastic change – we must stay in sync” in The Guardian, 2020.
“When the Choreographer Won’t Fly, the Dancers Rehearse by Skype” in The New York Times, 2019.
“This Play Is Touring Europe. But No One’s Going Anywhere” In The New York Times, 2022.
“Open Letter to Jérôme Bel" by Lázaro Gabino Rodríguez, e-tcetera.be, 2021.
Mosquera, Gerardo. 1994. Some Problems in Transcultural Curating In: Fisher, Jean (ed.). Global Visions: Towards a New Internationalism in the Visual Arts, 133-139. London: Kala Press in association with the Institute of International Visual Arts.
Hooks, Bell. 2000 [1984]. Feminist Theory, From Margin to Center, Second edition. London: Pluto Press.
„Falling Skies” by Juma Pariri and Epona Hamdan, to be published in TURBA (ISSN: 2693-0129 [Print] and ISSN: 2693-0137 [Online]).
*
Epona Hamdan works as a curator and producer in live arts and is based in Berlin. The last book she read was “The Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler. Currently, she is moving and working between cities. To recharge her batteries, Epona loves to listen to music (her favorite EP being the “Cologne Concert” by Keith Jarrett), having her friends around and trying to spend time in nature. Sometimes, however, just sleeping also does the trick. In her work as a producer, Epona has gained extensive experience in international touring and transnational collaborations in recent years. Considering that artistic practices are inherently interconnected with their environments, she explores more holistic approaches to curation.
