Dates
| 01.10.2024 / 16:30-20:30 |
| 02.10.2024 / 14:30-18:30 |
| 03.10.2024 / 14:30-18:00 |
Information
Since 2023 Studio ALTA and artist and activist Marika Smreková have been collaborating to explore strategies that make performing arts accessible also to parents of young children. In collaboration with them, other institutions, and by engaging in international dialogue, a gradual transformation of our processes began. We started identifying various barriers rooted in the ways we work, imbedded in our society and in the way contemporary art is presented, and we learned how to break them down, little by little. We began opening doors that for a long time had been closed, or very difficult to pass through, for many of us. As a result, we have welcomed back into our auditoriums an audience that, as they became parents, had lost its previously strong relationship with living culture. We made a number of mistakes. So we clarified frequent misunderstandings and established new friendships and collaborations. What we discovered is that, in culture, the theme of parenting is not only about parents and children but about all of us.
The Accessibility Symposium is a milestone in our transformation as an organisation, and we would like to share our experiences with you over the course of three days. How far did we get in the year and a half? What means did we used to make our programme accessible? And what could a parent-friendly culture look like, that is a cultural operation accessible to parents, children, and those without parenting experience?
*Due to the scheduled renovation of Studio ALTA premises, the entire programme will take place at the Žižkostel community and cultural centre. Free of charge babysitting is available for the duration of the Symposium.
EVENT REGISTRY
FREE BABYSITTING REGISTRY
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PROGRAME
1 October, Tuesday (16:30-20:30)
Institute of Anxiety: Public Hearing on Accessible Culture for Parents and Children
– Together with Institute of Anxiety, we invite 45 guests to share their experiences. You will hear many voices mapping the current state of the cultural sector and its accessibility.
2 October, Wednesday (14:30-18:30)
Doors to Accessibility (14:30-17:00)
– Series of short lectures and discussions, including sharing of examples of best practices from the Czech Republic and abroad in making culture accessible
– Professional meeting and presentation of Studio ALTA research
Marika Smreková: Seeing the Invisible (17:30-18:30)
– Performance by Marika Smreková, Lenka Jabůrková, and Matěj Nytra, offering a shared experience of an intergenerational encounter and bringing diverse communities and groups with different life experiences into one space.
3 October, Thursday (14:30-18:00)
Tanz und Elternschaft: Small Moves Tall Moves (14:30-16:00)
– workshop of a Berlin-based work group “Dance and Parenthood” that will explore dance as a tool and driving force for social change.
Parent-Friendly Culture picnic (16:00-18:00)
– a space for imformal sharing of thoughts, experiences and food. A moment of being together or a chance to find out more about the possibilities of accessible culture. The picnic will also become a site for a series of small performances, interventions and workshops.
* On October 3, we also recommend visiting the Culture Get-Together conference organized by our colleagues from Nová síť. More information HERE.
DETAILED PROGRAM
1. 10. Tuesday (16:30-20:30)
Institut úzkosti: Public Hearing on Accessible Culture for Parents and Children (16:30-21:00)
Who is culture for? Who benefits from the current set-up of cultural institutions and who are not considered and therefore excluded by these institutions? How can cultural institutions function in a way that is accessible to parents and children and when do they malfunction? What changes we need to implement and what impact does (in)accessible culture have on our personal lives – our daily actions and the long-term decisions we make? What visions of the functioning of cultural institutions can we even imagine? And why does the need for accessible culture for parents and children concern us all?
The goal of the Public Hearing on Accessible Culture for Parents and Children is to gain insight into the systemic barriers that often stand in the way of accessible culture for children and parents, whether as creators or audiences, and to share the personal experiences of individuals or representatives of organizations who are trying to bring possible solutions.
The public hearing is a space for bringing together actors from different fields, who are united by personal experience and the ability to reflect critically in a particular field. This format allows voices to connect, which can inspire and motivate each other for future interdisciplinary collaborations.
The Public Hearing is a 4 hour series of 5 minute-long contributions that range in form from academic text to free or personal testimony to performative or otherwise stylized formats.
Contributors: Alice Nikitinová, Ann Klusák, Anna Hořejší, Ascaldeia Mariana Catwall, Bára Bažantová, Bára Šimková, Barbora Látalová, Ester Trčková, Hana Malaníková, Hana Polanská Turečková, Hana Puchová, Jana Adamec Tkáčová, Johana Ožvold, Kača Olivová, Karina Kottová, Kateřina Čopjaková, Kateřina Fojtíková, Kateřina Vídenová, Magda Stojowská Jiřička, Marie Čtveráčková, Marika Smreková, Martin Tománek, Martina Dvořáková, Martina Johnová & Barbora Kropáčková, Martina Pachmanová, Martina Smutná, Matěj Metelec, Mothers Art Lovers, Oldřich Bystřický, Petr Dlouhý, Šárka Homfray, Tadeáš Polák, Táňa Vozková, Tanz und Elternschaft, Tereza Frecerová, Tereza Stejskalová, Tereza Vohryzková, Vincent Šimek, Zuzana Štefková and others…
Harmonogram (line-up will be announced a week prior the event)
16:00-16:30 check-in
16:30-20:30 Public hearing
20:30-21:30 check-out
The event is organized by Studio ALTA and the Institute of Anxiety (IÚ).
2. 10. Wednesday (14:30-18:30)
Doors to Accessibility – Discussion (14:30-17:00)
This inspiration-oriented format will offer a deeper insight into the different forms of accessibility for parents from the perspective of cultural organisations, grassroot initiatives or EU grant structures. Along the impulse speeches from our colleagues, we will present our research and practice at Studio ALTA that we have been working on sice 1,5 years. Accessibility is becoming an increasingly important topic and we will aim to map where we are and what directions we can take.
Besides such presentations, we want this format to be a space for us to exercise our imagination about what kind of world we want to move towards with our activities. Several artists and performers will take us on a journey into the future to share very specific visions of what our cultural and social environment might look like. The longer we engage with Parent-Friendly Culture, the more convinced we grow that an accessible culture for parents and children concerns the society as a whole.
The format is so appropriate for anyone curious about how Parent-Friendly Culture affects them, how we can change the world, or how we navigate the internal transformation of our organizations.
Marika Smreková: Seeing the invisible – Performance (17:30-18:30)
How does a pile of objects sound when perceived with eyes closed, and does it feel warm? How could we imagine what has been forgotten? Could we see the silent? From whom could an adult learn the most and when would be the most suitable moment for it?
The material world of tools, surfaces, materials, colours, nature and hands, people, individual ideas and wonders turns into a unique and intuitive one. Our (non)theatre hall becomes a playground for utopia, where no stone will be left unturned… We will meet and get closer to each other. Let’s put our hands to work. We can take a break from expectations, plans, and tasks. What can we learn about ourselves when we switch our roles? When we return to childhood, grow into adulthood, or become old?
Creative team: Marika Smreková, Lenka Jabůrková and Matěj Nytra
More information and tickets HERE.
3. 10. Thursday (14:30-18:00)
Tanz und Elternschaft: Small Moves, Tall Moves – Workshop (14:30-16:00)
Together with you, we would like to set up and play on a movement parcour.
This approximately one hour movement course invites children and their grown-ups to experience the theater space in a new way and to move around in it together. In a game with costumes, light, music and stage design, you can experience the creativity of your own movements. The course is aimed at people of all ages and focuses on collective action and experience.
Founded within the ZTB e.V., the Ag works self-organized and voluntarily. We have been meeting online once a month since November 2020. In a joint exchange we identify and analyze existing deficits, disadvantages and existing barriers for dance professionals who are parents and together with invited guests from the scene (including juries, decision makers, managers, curators, artists), develop concrete proposals for solutions and approaches on how these can be remedied. Such an example is the “Kids and Caregivers Rider” dedicated to cultural institutions we created. Or this workshop that can show us what we can get and learn from the intergenerational playground and how the presence of children can possitively affect development of our imagination.
https://tanz-und-elternschaft.de/en/kids-and-caregivers-rider/
current members: Claudia Garbe, Janne Gregor, Jenny Haack, Laura Kassé, Anja Kolmanics, Heike Kuhlmann, Isabel Mohn, Nicole Nigro, Saskia Oidtmann, Linda Scholz, Steffi Sembdner-Erfurt, Diana Thielen, Johanne Timm, Jasna L. Vinovrški, Maria Walser
Parent-Friendly Culture piknik (16:00-18:00)
The Parent-Friendly Culture Picnic is a place where we can spend time together, laze around, relax, play, discuss what interests us. We invite you to join us for some snacks and refreshment, and we’d love if you also bring something to the picnic blanket.
During the picnic there will be several small interventions, tarot readings and mini-workshops from our guests and hostesses. 🌱
This picnic is a celebration
This picnic is joy
This picnic is time together
This picnic is relaxation
This picnic is a place of mutual support
photo: Darja Lukjanenko, Simona Rybová
The Symposium of Accessibility is part of the On Mobilisation project, supported by funds from the Creative Europe, National Recovery Fund, Czech-German Fund for the Future and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
