Finally, project “Baltic Meets Barents” started activities with first meeting in Hammerfest Arctic Cultural Center and in Hammerfest Commune. It brought together 20 artists from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway for the period of July 26-August 1st, 2021. As focus of this time meeting was cooperative activities in Covid-19 pandemic situation, the main target group this time were dance artists. Covid-restrictions didn´t allowed invite to inside studio local community members to participate our workshops, but it was possible to allow some audience to see performances at Arctic Cultural Center, and additionally, it was organized open space outside performance and outside creative activities.
For some artists it was first time to work in live internationally after 1,5 year break. We appreciate this possibility to work together as artist residency very much – to share and present performances and area of interests to each other. During those long days (really long as we had 24 hours sunshine!) we shared: how to be in the creative process as team (with different age group and with strong personal understanding about creativity); how to deal with fear and everyday thinking-cliches; how we see creative work after pandemic situation; what we, as dance artists in Baltic and Barents, can provide to our communities in new circumstances. And we learned this specific way how amazing arctic people (Barents people) are living together in peace with those climate conditions and with nature.
"BMB" Supported by: Nordic Culture Point, Hammerfest Municipality, Lithuanian Culture Council and Eesti Kultuurkapital.
“Listen, make decision, trust and be”. It reminded us how to trust bodily - wisdom to listen what is going on in one`s body and how to connect it with personal memory, feelings, thoughts.
Performances:
“Dior in Moscow” (Seiko Dance Company), “RE VERA” (association Party), “Fragile Beauty” (Fine5 Dance Theatre), “Swans in stone” (Stellaris DansTeater).
Residency in nature – observing movement activities connected to earth, water, air and extraordinary Nordic Light (midnight sun).
See you next time in “Barents Meets Baltic” in Baltics in September 2022!
