The Art Consulate manifests itself as a mobile platform able to reach many venues in Gothenburg. It consists of resources and ideas: multitudes of possibilities and interactions in various spaces around town. The Art Consulate introduces ”The international Performing Arts Program, Gothenburg: ISG”. The project adresses a deficiency in the performing arts scene of Gothenburg. Some minor companies h
as limited yet relevant international activities but the city has no continous platform for international dialogue, theoretical exchange and international guest performances outside of The Gothenburg Theater & Dance Festival. We wish to provide such a platform for the international scene and for swedish co-productions working towards international dialogue. Our ambition is to work with international and Swedish organizations in order to develop a working model for international exchange between cities and institutions. International co-production is our central topic since this is a wide spread European model of production that has been largely overlooked in the Swedish context, save for within the dance field. With co-production we intend the purposeful coordination of artistic, technical, financial and infrastructural resources from different countries aiming towards a production of performing art pieces. In the first edition of our project we will include Egyptian artists and institutions. Apart from being a vibrant art scene in itself, Egypt is also a neighbour of Europe. We think this inclusion is important since ”Europe” and its concept of ”international co-production” is formed not only from within Europe but also in encounters with non-european cultures. Within the project The Art Consulate invites specific artistic directors from European performing arts Festivals and venues to a dialogue concerning possibilities and problems touching coordination issues across national borders. These directors will give open lectures to further our understanding of cultural context in other European cities. What problems are they facing in their work and what strategies do they use? Through this we can raise awarness and our own understanding of the obstacles of the internationalization of Swedish performing arts. The lectures will provide an opportunity to create discussions: what discourses are developing within the field and what role does internationalization and co-production play in European contemporary performing arts? Parallel to the lectures our performance program will be executed on stages throughout Gothenburg. We have contracted three international performances of high artistic relevance. All three has, in their own way, been co-produced or developed within international collaborations.
