Centriphery project
CENTRIPHERY, A CREATIVE EUROPE PROJECT IN NINE COUNTRIES
In 2019, Espoo City Theatre is laureate, along with 8 multidisciplinary cultural organizations (theaters and festivals) located throughout Europe, of a participatory artistic project supported by the European Commission: Centriphery. The objective of this project, which will run from 2019 to 2023, is to foster collaborations between European artists and citizens, in regions, cities or neighborhoods in peripheral situations and facing difficult social and economic contexts. The project brings together cultural structures from the European Union on the outskirts of cities or regions. The program proposes to set up residences on the theme of oral transmission in these territories.
The program includes artistic residencies, art workshops for residents, creations and performances.
The partners of the project are the Festival of Regions (Austria), New Culture Foundation (Bulgaria), Dansehallerne – Choreographic Center (Denmark), La Manufacture (France), La Manufacture (France), Rijeka 2020 European Capital of Culture (Croatia), Cultura Nova Festival (Netherlands),Walk & Talk Festival (Azores, Portugal) and Prin Banat associated with Timisoara 2 European Capital of Culture (Romania).
”As every Periphery is its own Centre, Centriphery will give the citizens of the so-called ”periphery” a central voice in the transformation of local myths and empower them to participate in the recreation of both local identities and European narratives.”
Project timeline
July 2019
Nine European partner organisations meet in Perg, Austria during the Festival of Regions art and culture festival. The Espoo City Theatre is represented by Erik Söderblom, Matilda von Weissenberg, and Karoliina Kiviluoto. Organiser: Festival of Regions (Austria)
October 2019
Anna-Mari Karvonen’s first residency period in Delnice, Croatia. Organiser: Rijeka2020.
January 2020
A short residency in Espoo to plan and outline Espoo’s Centriphery contibution’s aims, remit, and principles. The meeting in Espoo is attended by actor Matija Kezele (CR) and musician Fred Nevchehirlian (FR), and they are joined by Tellervo Kalleinen, Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Anna-Mari Karvonen. The event is hosted by Erik Söderblom and Matilda von Weissenberg. A few days of brainstorming kickstarts Espoo City Theatre’s Centriphery project.
February – March 2020
Anna-Mari Karvonen’s second residency period in Delnice, Croatia. Karvonen creates sound art work Nielu, and the work features on Espoo City Theatre’s Soundcloud channel in the summer of 2020.
Additionally, the project partner organisations meet in Croatia. Espoo sends two representatives to the meeting. Organiser: Rijeka2000
October 2021
A second residency period in Espoo, which is to be attended by Tellervo Kalleinen, Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Anna-Mari Karvonen, Matija Kezele, and Fred Nevchehirlian.
During the residency, the artistic ensemble works on finetuning the project concept and its delivery.
Several project-adjacent workshops are to be held during the residency period. Open to the public, these events are delivered jointly with multiple partners, and the workshops bring together experts from various disciplines of arts and sciences.
The artistic and inclusive process continues throughout the two residency periods (October 2021 – April 2022).
November 2021
Tellervo Kalleinen’s first residency period in the Azores, Portugal. Organiser: Walk & Talk Festival.
March 2022
Tellervo Kalleinen’s second residency period in the Azores.
April – May 2022
The third and final residency period at the Espoo City Theatre. The participatory artistic process culminates in May 2022 with a performative experience being made available to the public. In addition to the performance, key events consist of programming that bring together the national and international strands of the project.
THOUGHT-PROVOKING DISCUSSIONS, ART WORKS, AND VIRTUAL REALITY
Biased is a performance that introduces us to mind tricks and the unconscious factors influencing our everyday life. The performance was created by a working group of five artists. Matija Kezele from Croatia, Fred Nevché from France, and Tellervo Kalleinen, Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, and Ami Karvonen from Finland joined forces under the aegis of Centriphery project. Read more about the performance Biased.
The supplementary Centriphery programme of events includes an exhibition, a virtual reality artwork, an audio play, and discussions. Read more about the activities.
June – July 2022
The final residency period in the Azores. The main events are held in conjunction with Walk & Talk Arts Festival on July 14-23, 2022. The Portuguese contribution is the final main event of the project and is followed by the remaining activities being brought to their conclusion and the project thus ending.