Creative Meetings across Cultures

Awaken and energise your creativity and agility in a playful way through different artistic techniques - in a safe and engaging digital environment - with people from different horizons to your own!
Date
12 Feb 2022 10:00 13:00
19 Feb 2022 10:00 13:00
12 Mar 2022 10:00 13:00
19 Mar 2022 10:00 13:00
Timezone
CET
Location
Online via Zoom (hybrid space). Participants should be at home, with about 1- 2 metres space to move in and must be prepared to interact with the video camera and sound on.
Target Group
all students, staff and the general public
Host
Université Paris-Saclay with the University of Porto
Registration
Closed  (Deadline: 10 Mar 2022 23:59)

Short description of content and methodology:

Creative Meetings across Cultures is a series of four workshops that aims to share techniques from the arts in an online environment.

CONTENT:

‘Creative techniques are not only for artists - everyone can benefit from them’

The Unknown and Uncertain are all around us, affecting professional futures, lifestyle choices, our environment - the list is endless. Creative techniques can help us take advantage of this opportunity to transform “fight-freeze-flight” reactions into meaningful experiences. With the arts, we learn to appreciate the questions that are present everywhere and the joy of creation in response to them. This allows to us to maintain:

  • motivation and focus
  • resilience and well-being
  • creativity and agility
  • interaction and communication

We develop a sense of purpose and meaning through personal growth and connecting with others - even online! Through our innovative way of working in digital environments, participants learn to:

  • stay physically present, feeling alive and energised online
  • build trust and create meaningful connections while interacting via screen
  • connect the physical environment with the digital space
  • Integrate techniques of well-being into your online time

ABOUT THE SESSIONS

The workshops incorporate techniques, exercises, attitudes and philosophical questions from theatre, writing, movement, singing, drawing and visual arts. We offer a carefully curated journey, connecting and exchanging with others from different cultures, using everyday English, in a fun, exciting and innovative way.

We offer a series of four 3-hour online workshops that each move through several artistic techniques. Trust-building is an important part of the process, enabling those who were unknown to each other to connect and emerge enriched from the experience. We welcome and encourage personal contributions to the group connection. Participants should commit to at least two sessions.

The “Embracing the Unknown” Team:

“Embracing the Unknown” is a team of five artists from the field of performance, dance, classical music, theatre and art therapy, and an academic in the field of languages and interculturality, residing in four different European countries. “Embracing the Unknown'' is a working group of the Parliament of Practices (PoP), a platform of exchange for scholars and artists supported by the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium. Two artists from different fields lead each 3-hour workshop in different combinations.

Marije Nie is a professional tap dancer, musician, performer, teacher, artistic researcher and producer, working internationally for over 25 years in concerts, performances, films and festivals. She brings tap dancing into unexpected contemporary and interdisciplinary settings. She is resident artist at the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium (DK) and co-founder of artist research platform Cross Pollination and Parliament of Practices. Find out more here

Marta Wryk Is a Cologne-based Polish mezzo soprano working as a soloist at the major concert halls and opera theaters of Europe, performing music from the Baroque era to contemporary music. She is equally passionate about educating and building bridges between people using music and creativity. She has served as an educator in various social projects. Find out more here

Christoph Falke is founder and artistic director of STUDIO 7 THEATER, a theatre research ensemble based in Schwerte, Germany. Strong influences on his theatre practice are a physical approach to theatre and his experiences with the classical theatre forms of Japan. Find out more here

Tapani Mononen is a Finnish-born actor, director and art therapist who studied acting and directing in Finland, Denmark and Italy, where he has been living and working for 22 years. His work as an artist is a search for the authentic and personal. His therapeutic studies have helped him to bring much more awareness to his work. His interest for many years has been the connection and unity between the person and the artist, allowing his art to become more authentic, personal and spontaneous. Find out more here

Vera Mihailovich-Dickman is a Franco-South-African associate professor and a member of the SLAM Lab at the Université d’Evry, a PlugIn Lab of the Université Paris-Saclay. She combines English and Intercultural competence development skills through embodied practices of learning supported by intercultural theory. Find out more here

Rita Castro Neves lives and works in Porto, Portugal. Rita Castro Neves and Daniel Moreira work as an artist duo focusing on the representation of landscape, and using drawing, photography and video – in installation, to think about artistic collaboration, different techniques and artistic cultures, territory, scale and journey. Rita is currently a teacher at the School of Fine Arts, University of Porto, where she created and coordinates the group Symptom. Performance. Research. Experimentation. Rita Castro Neves is a member of i2ADS, the Research Institute in Art, Design and Society, School of Fine Arts, University of Porto. Find out more here

Credits: Credits or bonus points depend on your university or course. Educational benefit: Preparing mobility skills, intercultural competence and life skills, amongst which:

  • Observation
  • Knowledge development
  • Openness
  • Curiosity
  • Interaction
  • Self-knowledge
  • Adaptability

Language: Basic English, Multilingual

Number of participants: 20-24 on a first-come first-served basis, respecting a balance between partner universities