EU-project: PUSH+

EU-project: PUSH+

PUSH+ is a Creative Europe funded project with Imaginate (Scotland – lead partner), Krokusfestival (Hasselt, Belgium), The Ark (Dublin, Ireland), Scenekunstbruket (Oslo, Norway) and Aabendans (Roskilde, Denmark) and new associated partner Bangkok International Children’s Theatre Festival (Thailand).

PUSH+ has grown from the learning and results of PUSH (a 2-year project exploring Gender & Sexual Identity, Migration and (over)protection) and from the desire to take that learning to the next level. PUSH+ will explore three new (related) topics which are rarely discussed in theatre and dance for young audiences: Home, Failure and Different Bodies.

Home

This topic will explore the concept of home and ask if it is somewhere that implies a degree of permanence as opposed to a point on the map where you originated from. With children in mind, we will think about what is home.

Failure

This topic will explore the notion of failure, why we fear it, what are its artistic possibilities and whether it stunts our appetite for taking risks and discovering ourselves and the world around us.

Different Bodies

This topic will explore bodies, the ‘right’ body, the disabled body, the oversized, the old, the healthy body. We will challenge the idea that the young, normal, well-developed body and mind is the ideal, and open up to other expressions.

Each topic will have a year-long focus to maximise its impact and profile. They will be explored alongside three artistic formats – Participatory, Site-specific and Intergenerational – to inspire experimentation with form as well as content.

PUSH+ Objectives

PUSH+ will grow and develop the communities of interest that have formed around each of the PUSH topics offering more opportunities for a wider range of people including intercultural dialogue leading to more diversity of people and stories at its core. Through PUSH+ these dialogues will take place not only with the makers of the work but will be opened out to the rest of the ecosystem – including presenters and audiences. Project activity will push these topics beyond thinking and discussion towards new performances while still offering open-ended, paid and facilitated research time that is so important for the development of artists, their practice and future productions.

New activities includes Residencies (to create works in progress), Festival Presentations (to showcase these works), an International Workshop (to connect with a Third Country), a Symposium and a strong focus on diversity.

PUSH+ Planned Activities

PUSH+ will include the following activities, each hosted by different project partners:

  • PUSH+ Labs – an 8 day, paid facilitated research laboratory exploring ideas, thinking and possibilities.
  • PUSH+ Residencies – two weeks of studio time with support to develop a Lab idea to a work in progress stage.
  • PUSH+ Festival Presentations – 3 partner festivals will present topic-related works in progress or public interventions created by participating artists.
  • PUSH+ Festival Visits –  artists and partners will visit 3 partner festivals to see work, take part in the PUSH+ events and network with the festival delegates and audiences.
  • PUSH+ International Workshop – a 5 day workshop in Bangkok exploring the Different Bodies topic with 5 artists from Europe and 5 from Thailand.
  • PUSH+ Symposium – a day-long event at The Ark, Dublin to compile, interrogate and share the ideas and research at the end of the project.