14.02.2024
As associate partner of Common Stories Creative Europe project we are delighted to announce the list of the CommonLAB 2024 artists. This year, exceptionally, 9 artists, selected from over 200 applications, have been invited to imagine together the stories that will be on our stages tomorrow.
Artists & projects
Avildseen Bheekhoo, Metz-based multidisciplinary artist In Hollanda, in the aftermath of the Mauritius Island’s sinking, a lost VHS footage, shot just after the 1994 cyclone Hollanda, is discovered, revealing a psychotic episode revolving around a horny werewolf and an island on the brink of a racial war.
Diego Bragà, Lisbon-based trans and non-binary Luso-Brazilian theatre-maker, filmmaker and author An androgynous opera, We at the nightclub suffer together welcomes broken hearts at the end of the night and to celebrate the idea of a beautiful future together.
Nadim Bahsoun, Lebanese dancer, choreographer and queer activist, based between Paris and Brussels Interactive performance, System Error questions the links between historical gender and body perceptions and the production of violence.
Azani V. Ebengou, actress, writer, theatre director, based in Marseille Her Kongo Chroniques, a theatre series in eight episodes, recounts the live of a Congolese family line throughout time, from precolonial times to the future.
Lucía García Pullés, dancer, choreographer, actress and author, originally from Buenos Aires, based in Paris Mother Tongue tells García Pullés’ personal story between tongues, and with her tongue, blending the need to survive, the fear of disappearing and the desire for fiction.
Jin Xuan Mao, actor, writer, performer, queer activist, based in Paris The story of a filial relationship, My Odyssey is an ode to the obstinate quest for oneself, an incandescent celebration of reconciliation and fulfillment.
Inés Sybille Vooduness, dancer, choreographer born in Barcelona, based in Lisbon Our digital lakou, a performance generating complex rituals and a diasporic and digital revisiting of the haitian lakou.
Pankaj Tiwari, Indian multidisciplinary artist, based in Amsterdam While deciding global ethicalities, the West conveniently forgets individual realities existing in the same world at the same time. Converting Shame into Dream is an attempt to tell other stories…
Agathe Yamina Meziani, Belgo-Kabylo-Greek performer and dramaturg, based in Brussels Kabylifornie develops a journey through layers of identity, personal and collective memory, and history.
An moving laboratory meeting multiple working contexts, CommonLAB 2024 will make a stopover this year in:
Lisbon, Portugal, from June 17 to 30, at the Espaço Alkantara,
Maputo, Mozambique, from September 2 to 15, in collaboration with CulturArte,
Bobigny, France, from October 14 to 27, at the MC93,
and finally in Brussels from October 28 to November 10, at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles.
About the programme
Common LAB 2024 is part of Common stories, a project that brings together performing arts organisations, artists and audiences to address the dynamic notions of identity and cultural diversity in a changing European society.
Identity constructions are based on and strengthened by stories and experiences. Stories tell us who we are and who we strive to become. They question and challenge the way we see ourselves and others. We believe that a diversity of stories and a multiplicity of perspectives will allow for a more accurate and fair understanding of the political, cultural and social challenges we face in creating common grounds in European societies, which are characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, and the struggle for social justice.
European societies are historically built upon inequalities that, we believe, need to be addressed. Cultural sectors, both concretely and symbolically, are riddled with colonial tensions and rationales, as well as logics of domination and power relations. In the performing arts sector, resources, decision-making and programming positions are still mostly in the hands of a white male middle-and-upper-classes majority, while artists and art professionals from different cultural, social, gender and ability backgrounds are largely underrepresented on and off stage, especially in decision-making and leadership positions.
In Common stories, promoted artistic practices and contents will contribute to the development of a wider transformative framework to better welcome and listen to multiple voices and perspectives.
Common stories is developed by Maison de la Culture de Seine-Saint-Denis, MC93, Bobigny (FR), Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Brussels (BEL), Alkantara, Culturgest, Lisbon (PT), africologneFESTIVAL, Cologne (GER), Riksteatern, Stockholm (SWE), in association with TR Warszawa, Warsaw (PL), Orient Productions – DCAF Festival, Cairo (EG), CulturArte, Maputo (MOZ), Les Récréâtrales, Ouagadougou (BF), and cofunded by the Creative Europe Program.
The project is co-financed by the Creative Europe program.
