Glej,
Boundary Crossing

Open Call: Boundary Crossing 2024

we are re-opening the call for early career creators! If you're pricking up your ears at the words "interdisciplinary approaches in the performing arts" and "international collaborations", apply for this year's Boundary Crossing: a four-week creative lab with mentor support in partnership with two theatre academies, HKU Utrecht and Kadir Has University Istanbul. Applications are accepted until 15 August 2024 at this link. Selected applicants will be informed of the outcome by 10 September 2024 at the latest.

What is Boundary Crossing?

Boundary Crossing - crossing of borders - will take place on four occasions in 2024, this year dedicated to the concept of artistic research. The tentative theme of the research will be decided in advance, taking into account the intersections and interests of the participants.

During the process you will work with international mentors and participants who bring different social, cultural, and artistic contexts to the process. You will learn about different perspectives and methodologies to the research process (contextual research, working with target groups, or territories).

The programme transcends both geographical and theatrical boundaries, questioning established practices, working methods, and the process of making itself. With this laboratory we want to offer the creators the possibility to develop their own theatre practice through actions in an international context. All participants will learn to develop and critically evaluate their work through diverse perspectives, working relationships, cultures and roles.

Where does the programme take place?

The programme is running simultaneously in three locations: the Netherlands, Turkey, and Slovenia. The work will be both face-to-face (in each country) and online.

In Slovenia, three participants will be selected from among those who have applied to take part, and will work together as a temporary collective on the selected topic. At the same time, they will also be connected with participants from the other two countries through online meetings in the form of lectures, presentations, and ongoing check-ins on the concepts and the research process.

The process includes a three-day evaluation meeting with all participants in Istanbul and ends with a public presentation at the Glej Theatre.

What does the programme include?

- Lectures on methods and modes of artistic research
- Online interactive meetings between the participants (where the process is compared and possible formats are exchanged)
- Weekly laboratory for local participants (working together in the space)
- Expert support and coaching throughout the research process with local and international mentors and lecturers.
- International participants meeting in Istanbul between 14-17 October 2024.
- Public presentation of the research in the form of an artistic intervention at See Theatre between October and       December 2024.

 

Each of the participants has two roles:

1. carry out the artistic research and present it publicly to a group of participants in their country,
reflects, and contextualises the work in the other two groups.
2. During the project, the work develops collectively, but through participatory roles, individual skills can also be developed. The programme consists of a combination of lectures, evaluations, discussions, and creative work in the space.

Module timetable:

- When: Monday to Friday, 23 September to 17 October 2024.
- Travel to Istanbul between 14 and 17 October 2024
- Frequency: three to four days per week and approximately 4-5 hours per day.
- The schedules for working with the international mentors and participants will be fixed and set in advance.
- The group in Slovenia will be able to set their own schedules for the live work.
- The exact schedule will be coordinated with the selected participants before the start of the programme.
- The project will be led by mentors from the professional theatre environment and academia from all three countries. In - Slovenia, these will be Marko Čeh, Barbara Poček, with the professional support of Tery Žeželj in the role of flying mentor, and Inga Remeta.

Project timeline:

- 15 August 2024: closure of the call for applications
- 10 - 15 September 2024: notification of shortlisting and interview with selected artists
- 23 September - 17 October 2024: implementation of the programme (3 to 4 days per week)
- 19 October - 30 December 2024: public presentation at the Glej Theatre

Who are we looking for?

3 early career artists who are interested in an interdisciplinary approach and artistic research in the performing arts and want to broaden their range of approaches and methodologies.

We want artists who are close to original work and are interested in creating in a multicultural international environment. We are looking for artists who are ready to reflect deeply on their work and their learning process. It is of utmost importance that you are ready to work collectively and creatively.

There is no age limit.

What do we expect from you?

Participants must commit to constant attendance throughout all activities.

Preparation of a final presentation of the artistic research. The format of the presentation is optional (performance, immersion event, artist talk...).
However, it is preferable that the participants choose a format that they have not done before.

Excellent English language skills and access to the internet and a computer/phone are essential, as the programme is hybrid (live and online).

The work is remunerated, travel and accommodation in Istanbul are also covered.

Applications:

Until 15 August 2024 at this link. The final participants will be decided by the mentors and the Artistic Council of Theatre Glej in consultation with the international partners, on the basis of references, a cover letter and an interview with a shortlist of candidates.

More information: see.si and info@glej.si.

Project partners:

Glej Theatre, Ljubljana - The oldest independent theatre in the former Yugoslavia. In addition to experimental theatre forms, they are distinguished by their work with young people - their programmes range from specialised theatre work with high school students to young emerging professional theatre makers_k. More information.

HKU University of the Arts Utrecht - One of the largest universities in Europe specialising in arts and media education. It brings together nine faculties, including the Academy of Theatre. More information.

Kadir Has University, Istanbul - Teaching at this university is based on small focused groups, internationalisation and interdisciplinary work. The university consists of five faculties, including an arts academy. More information.ust

Boundary Crossing 2023

At the beginning of April, we launched the new season of the international education programme that brings together Glej Theatre and two renowned art universities - HKU in Utrecht and Kadir Has in Istanbul. The programme consists of a combination of lectures, evaluations, talks and creative work in the space and will run until the end of May 2023.

The aim of the programme is to offer a quality educational process that is challenging due to its methodology: working in an (international) collective, working in a multilingual space and interdisciplinary creativity. The three separate performance works that will result from this project can be a potential source of further dialogue between the participants.

We received many high quality applications to the open call for 3 places in this year's programme. The chosen Boundary Crossing 2023 programme makers are:

• Nina Goropečnik,
• Đejmi Hadrović,
• Katja Markič.

Gallery

Nina Goropečnik (1993) works in the field of visual and performance art. She is interested in processuality and questions the relationship between visibility and the viewer. In 2022, she completed her master's studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana. Since 2019, she and Rea Vogrinčič have been co-creating the Pita Project platform which is nominated for this years YVAA Young Visual Artist Award. She is a member of student pop-up Gallery 7:069 and the visual-musical collective MATERE. She participated in various solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad.

Đejmi Hadrović (1988) is an ultracontemporary post-war artist. She won the YVAA Young Visual Artist Award in Slovenia in 2022. In 2018, she was the recipient of the City of Vienna award, and in 2017 she was a scholarship recipient of the Austrian Federal Chancellery. Since 2017 she is a doctoral scholar at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, under the mentorship of Prof.Dr. Marina Gržinić. Đejmi creates short films, video artwork, photos, performances, and installations. With a conceptual approach, her works reference post-colonial theory and the avant-garde or the post-modern. Her works demonstrate how life extends beyond its own subjective limits and often tell the story of the effects of global cultural interaction over the latter half of the twentieth century.

Katja Markič (1995) is a dramaturg, playwright and theatre creator awarded with Best Young Playwright award in 2015. As a dramaturg and often co-creator of text and concept she worked on performances SHOUT: FIRST CALL (Creative Work in Progress), Life is a Dream (SNG Drama Maribor, director Dragan Živadinov), Utopia, Archeology of Paradise and Bitter Fruits of Justice (SNG Drama Ljubljana, direcotor Jan Krmelj). Her interests lie in creative process and divised theatre. She is one of the founding members of art collective REAKTOR.

Partners

Glej Theatre, Ljubljana - Glej Theatre is the oldest independent theatre in former Yugoslavia. Apart from experimental performing arts they are renowned for their work with the youth. Their programmers are reaching from specialized work with high-school students to promoting and developing emerging professional artists. More information.

HKU University of the Arts Utrecht - HKU is one of the largest universities in Europe, specialized for education in the fields of arts and media. It consists of nine schools, including the one for theatre. More information. 

Kadir Has University, Istanbul - Teaching in this university is based on small scale approach, internationalization and interdisciplinary work. University consists of five schools, including one for fine arts. More information.

More about Boundary Crossing

Boundary crossing means reaching across borders. In the pilot project the border crossing takes place between countries and theater practices, as well as the in thinking processes and working methods of each individual theatre maker. The underlying methodology of this pilot project is aimed at enabling the maker to develop their theatre making practice through negotiating multiple contexts. Participants learn to develop and evaluate work from multiple perspectives, work relationships, cultures and roles.

Participants from three countries enter into international and interdisciplinary collaboration. They do this live at the rehearsal space as well as through an online collaboration. Participants in the pilot project are 3 young artists from Slovenia, 5 theater students from Kadir Has university, Istanbul and 5 graduates from HKU school of Theatre, Utrecht.

Each participant in the project takes 3 roles:

- Theatre maker in a group of 5 participants in their own country.

- Co - participant (in a different role) in a country of their choice.

- Feedback provider in the other country.

During the project the work is developed collectively, but there is also room for the development of individual skills through the co-participatory roles. All three participating countries will also be working on a related themes. The three works resulting from this pilot project may possibly form an ongoing dialogue with each other.

Gallery

ARCHIVE

Boundary Crossing 2022

Participants from Slovenia

Theatre makers: Lučka Centa, Urška Preis, Tery Žeželj

Coaches: Anja Pirnat and Marko Čeh

Flying expert: Branko Jordan and Barbara Poček

Participants from Turkey

Theatre makers: Büsra Albayrak, Serhat Gücüm and Robin Krijgsman

Coaches: Zeynep Günsür Yüceil, Ayse Dras and Özlem Hemiş

Participants from Netherlands

Coaches: Ronen Abas, Sanne Jonkers, Henny Dörr, Marcel Dolman, Nirav Christophe

Boundary Crossing 2021

Participants from Slovenia

Theatre makers: Nika Batista, Nina Ramšak Marković and Barbara Ribnikar

Coaches: Branko Jordan and Anja Pirnat

Flying expert: Barbara Poček and Inga Remeta