“PQ2015
SharedSpace: Music Weather Politics 2013 - 2016”
The thirteenth edition of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ2015) took place from 18 to 28 June 2015, and marked the first participation of Lebanon in the PQ. As theatre has been lately (again) departing from the stage/theatre building to happen in galleries, factories, in the streets, in the square, the park, the pool and other places (aka the common/public space), the Prague Quadrennial moves from regular exhibition halls to the historical centre of Prague, in various venues located between the Old Town Square, the National Theatre and the Charles Bridge. A decentralisation that invites people to view scenography as a discipline that is increasingly moving from the stage to become a part of everyday life and urban public space, with new ideas and impulses.
PQ2015 is the culmination of international project "SharedSpace: Music Weather Politics" which becomes the theme of this PQ edition. SharedSpace started in 2013 and continues until 2016 in collaboration with 11 European countries. The thematic title, SharedSpace: Music Weather Politics, was explored by curators and teams of 68 national selections within their 120 exhibitions, that showcased professional and student works in the field of scenography and contemporary theatre (the traditional, competitive Section of Countries and Regions as well as the Student Section). Some exhibitions explored the environmental aspect of the theme (New Zealand), weather influencing aesthetics (Finland), theatre as a collective and community creation (Australia and Belgium), the need to address a complete change in the value system (Spain), the balance of people and things (Latvia), the process and live dialogue (Serbia), environments of refugees (Italy), nature and legacy (Romania), the sacrifice for art and society (Hungary), natural catastrophe, language, and hearing (Poland). Issues and strategies were many, but most of the exhibitions created an opportunity for the visitor to, in a subtle way, enter the stage and become part of the performative equation (Spain, Estonia, Mongolia, Slovakia, and Bulgaria for instance).
Besides the national sections, PQ2015 included the Performing Space Section, focusing on theatre architecture. SharedSpace at the PQ included three accompanying exhibitions and live events, which were held in galleries and public spaces in the centre of Prague: the Objects, Makers and Tribes experimental exhibitions. The open call projects challenged the issue of exhibiting theatre while creating shared space for the makers, performers, and audiences: the Object exhibition presented theatre props (usually silent without actors) through the prism of their stories (narratives, histories, fictions, anecdotes, memories); Makers presented the whole process of art – the making, presenting, consuming, and cleaning after – in a big kitchen in which plays were cooked; the Tribes project challenged the public space by putting a variety of 83 different kinds of masked groups in the main walking streets in Prague, confronting theatre with the everyday 'real'.
In a hall where the seating constellation changed to propose different ways of communicating in space, a series of presentations and talks took place. Open discussions on scenographic topics were programmed around sound dramaturgy, art and activism, costume design, lighting design, scenography and utopia, scenography and national identity, etc. In parallel, major theatre makers whose influence over the past decades has changed the very look of theatre were animating talks and debates such as Robert Wilson, Jerzy Gurawski, Andris Freibergs, Robert Lepage and Julie Taymor. The latter also presented the Czech premiere of her latest film, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The SpaceLab project (educational component of SharedSpace and PQ2015 educational platform) created an opportunity for thousands of students to join workshops, attend the Zlomvaz Festival (performances in the streets and theatres in Prague), discussions, concerts, screenings, site-specific projects, and events - creating a space for 'sharing' among students and among students and professionals. Theatre professionals and artists such as Bianca Casady, Sean Patten, Stefan Kaegi, Kirsten Dehlholm, Wojtek Ziemilski, Phillipe Quesne, Aby Cohen, Simon Banham, Jim Clayburgh, John Jordan and many more animated the SpaceLab.
The international jury awarded the prestigious Golden Triga for the best exhibition to Estonia's “Unified Estonia" project created by Theatre NO99 with the directors Ene-Liis Semper and Tiit Ojasoo and curator Eero Epner. The Gold Medal for Best Exhibition Design went to Belgium for the project MovingLab.be, the Netherlands were recognized for Best Curatorial Concept which was focused on the analysis of the theatricality Prague´s public space, and Best Performance Design went to Gao Guang Jian from China.
The Quadrennial featured 120 national exhibitions (68 Sections of Countries and Regions, 52 Student Sections) from 78 participating countries and regions and over 620 events (exhibitions, talks, live events, performances, art installations, screenings, talks, discussions, symposia, children's program). It occupied over 60 places in and around the historical centre of Prague (of which 48 main venues situated in the old town: baroque palace, gothic church, galleries) and reported 180,000 entries at the locations during its 11 days (three times more than in PQ2011) with 6,000 accredited theatre professionals from 90 countries and regions as well as a general public of thousands of foreign visitors from all European countries, the North and South America, Africa and Asia overrunning the centre of Prague wearing the red Quadrennial accreditation tags around their necks. The blue chair – the image of the PQ2015 – was ever present in all corners of the city. But more than anything, the Quadrennial itself was a shared space – an open and inclusive platform where extremely different theatrical disciplines, cultures, strategies, and ways of thinking were presented and explored.
And while the political, social, financial, and emigration crisis' are getting worse around us, the SharedSpace: Music Weather Politics showed that theatre makers are, want, and need to be part of the solution; that social performative environments matter and that often the most important point is how we create our scenographies – if they are made to include a possibility of dialogue, conflict, and difference – as good scenographies always do.
In conclusion, from 18 to 28 June 2015, Prague thus stood at the centre of world theatre and performance design, as visitors could take in the latest works by stage and costume designers, theatre architects, as well as lighting and sound designers from 78 countries. A vibrant event in the centre of Prague showing how dynamic, diverse and inventive contemporary theatre is.