maltafestival poznań2010

Forum: Politics of Imagination

Every year at the Malta Festival we try to provide an intellectual context for the presented shows and artistic projects. This year, a two-day forum will be a special culmination to the nine Festival days, an opportunity to reflect upon impressions and emotions, as well as the bringing together of issues that are important to Polish and Flemish theatre.

The forum title, Politics of Imagination, was inspired by the recently published book by Georges Didi-Huberman, Quand les images prennent position, dedicated to Bertolt Brecht. The French philosopher researches the relationship between history and aesthetics. By referring to his work we would like to open our discussion to three dimensions that are the most vitally manifested in theatre and performative arts, i.e. aesthetical, historical and social.

To begin with, we will look at the status of the image in the aesthetic experience, the historical and cultural conditionings of imaging, and the organisation of how the imagination works, as well as the methods of bringing visions to fruition. These are the issues that we will talk about on the first day. On the second, the emphasis will be shifted to the word "politics". We will think about how the act of imaging is linked to critical thought and how images can play a part in creating our knowledge of the world. We will also ask: where do the sphere of aesthetics and the sociopolitical experience meet, and what is the role of the artist and how is the realisation of their visions affected by institutional conditionings?

The forum will be an opportunity to revisit these issues in relation to Flemish and Polish art, in addition to reflect upon the intellectual and formal connections and differences between the tradition and the present of these two theatres.

We greatly look forward to the audience's involvement in the discussion. Its name underlines the open character of the meeting which will also be an attempt to move outside the frame of a conference that is lectured to listeners ex cathedra.

FORUM PROGRAMME:

1 July

OBRAZ / WYOBRAŻENIE (IMAGE / IMAGINATION)

10.30 a.m. - 11.00 a.m.

Opening lecture:

Anna Zeidler-Janiszewska and Roman Kubicki

11.10 a.m. - 12.15 p.m.

Panel: Transdyscyplinarna figuratywność/obrazowość (Cross-Disciplinary Figurativeness/Imaging)

Participants:

Katarzyna Fazan

Luk Van den Dries

Moderator: Anna R. Burzyńska

12.15 p.m. - 1.30 p.m.

Panel: Ciało na scenie (The Body on Stage)

Participants:

Elke Van Campenhout

Anna R. Burzyńska

Moderator: Anna R. Burzyńska

1.30 p.m. - 2.45 p.m.

Break

3.00 p.m. - 4.15 p.m.

Panel: Praca dramaturga (The Dramaturge's Work)

Participants:

Marianne van Kerkhoven

Piotr Gruszczyński

Moderator: Anna R. Burzyńska

4.15 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.

Review of Forum Day 1

Participants:

Anna Zeidler-Janiszewska

Roman Kubicki

Katarzyna Fazan

Luk Van den Dries

Elke Van Campenhout

Anna R. Burzyńska

Marianne van Kerkhoven

Piotr Gruszczyński

Moderator: Anna R. Burzyńska

2 July

POLITYCZNOŚĆ (BEING POLITICAL)

10.30 a.m. - 11.00 a.m.

Opening lecture:

Andrzej Leder

11.10 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.

Panel: Tabu w teatrze (Taboo in Theatre)

Participants:

Marianne van Kerkhoven

Dorota Semenowicz

Paweł Mościcki

Moderator: Paweł Sztarbowski

12.45 p.m. - 1.45 p.m.

Panel: Twórca-indywidualista a kolektyw twórczy? (The Artist as an Individualist vs. the Creative Collective)

Participants:

Luk Van den Dries

Grzegorz Niziołek

Moderator: Paweł Sztarbowski

1.45 p.m. - 3.00 p.m.

Break

3.00 p.m. – 4.30 p.m.

Panel: Profesjonalista w teatrze (A Professional in Theatre)

Participants:

Ann Olearts

Paweł Płoski

Steven Vandervelden

Paweł Sztarbowski

Moderator: Paweł Sztarbowski

4.30 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.

Review

Participants:

Andrzej Leder

Marianne van Kerkhoven

Dorota Semenowicz

Paweł Mościcki

Luk Van den Dries

Grzegorz Niziołek

Ann Olearts

Paweł Płoski

Steven Vandervelden

Paweł Sztarbowski

Moderator: Paweł Sztarbowski