Come Together

Following the coronavirus crisis, it seems our society is in greater need of an overhaul than ever. Like a magnifying glass, the pandemic brought underlying social ills into sharper focus and exacerbated social and political tensions. Covid-19 inevitably triggered a rupture in how we think and work, which has necessitated a radical change in the global art and cultural sectors as well. How can we develop sustainable and translocal formats of artistic production and collaboration?

With its new project “Come Together”, HELLERAU shall initiate a one-year artistic research process to examine new possibilities of artistic collaboration, networking and encounter with the public. The project will focus on a joint search for values of coexistence and encourage dialogue on such matters as care, empathy and well-being. How can art and culture contribute to our well-being, to our mental and physical health? How can we improve our abilities to feel and express empathy and strengthen our resilience?

ChoreoLab invites international performing artists, dance companies, curators and choreographers to publicly engage, develop and present collaborative working processes in a variety of artistic formats. Over the course of several months, participants will work together in so-called “X Stations” to develop digital exchange platforms, residencies, educational and dialogical formats, discussions, open studios and joint productions, all of which will be condensed into a ten-day event with a public programme in autumn 2022. In cooperation with experts, young people and local artists from Dresden, the organisers plan on developing an educational programme to accompany the artistic research process from the start which can serve as the basis for an interdisciplinary research academy on the future of well-being.

Artistic directors: André Schallenberg, Carena Schlewitt
Artists: Agata Siniarska, Yasmeen Godder, Claire Cunningham, Gizem Aksu, Boglárka Börcsök, Reut Shemesh, Lia Rodrigues, Ngô Thanh Phương

Residencies, workshops, discussions, performances Festspielhaus HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts, Dresden and online: 2021 - 2022, focus 15 – 25 Sep. 2022