Karaoke Europe Festival | The Role of Art in Social Interaction

The festival organizers invited representatives of non-profit organizations dealing with specific problems of marginalized groups and artists who enter socially tense environments with the aim of creating a space for dialogue by means of art.

The moderated morning will be open with a platform for new inspiration and an exchange of experiences at the intersection point of social work and artistic approaches.

Program:

09.00 - 09.15    opening: Ondřej Hrab / Archa Theatre
09.15 - 09.35    presentation: Ted van Leeuwen / 5e Kwartier
09.35 - 09.55    presentation: I.Rumanová/B.Uríková / Stanica Žilina Zarečie
09.55 - 10.15    presentation: Ivanka Čonková    
10.15 - 10.35    presentation: Tomáš Kalčík / Kredance prostor ČB
10.35 - 10.55    coffee break 
11.00 - 11.20    presentation: Jana Svobodová / Archa Theatre
11.20 - 11.40    presentation: David Kašpar    
11.40 - 12.00    presentation: Anna Lengyel / PanoDrama
12.00 - 12.40    final debate

Presentations:

Ted van Leeuwen / 5eKwartier
The collective energy of Orchestre Partout
Ted van Leeuwen of ‘5eKwartier’ (5thQuarter, Haarlem, The Netherlands) got inspired by the Czech Allstar Refjudzji Band and he encouraged people living in the refugee camp in Alkmaar to take the stage and start their own orchestra. With the support of ‘De Vrolijkheid’ (Foundation of Happiness) Orchestre Partout was born three years ago, with musicians from all over the world: Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, East Turkestan, Congo, Myanmar, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and the Netherlands.
"Orchestre Partout consists largely of musicians with a refugee-background. Rather then telling dramatic stories of scattered dreams and hardship, we focus on (the energy of) music. All sing in their own tongues, but the music is the language that binds us. We sing songs of love, longing, nostalgia and joy in many languages, but first of all from the heart.
Within the framework of Karaoke Europe, Orchestre Partout has done several attempts to incorporate stories into the concerts that we do. It’s the first time that the band travels abroad. Not all are present, but the vast majority fortunately is no longer a refugee, but a Dutch citizen, and thus able to travel.
In the presentation I will show a short documentary film, made last December, and very briefly I will tell about 5eKwartier, De Vrolijkheid and the situation with refugees in The Netherlands."

Ivana Rumanová, Barbora Uríková / Stanica Žilina-Zárečie
„No“ and participation
Since the Koreans in Zilina are not a socially disadvantaged group the ethical issues we were dealing with since the very beginning of the project were quite specific. Regarding the power positions in the relationships and conversations we had it was very often us who was attributed the lower status. And this flip of perspectives in comparision with the traditional layout of power within the participatory projects (artist with a social/cultural capital – defavorized group) was a very instructive experience.
"Working with a group which is economically well situated and which „has a choice“ was extremely interesting in the sense of a self-reflection of our work and power position. Towards the end of the project in february 2014 when none of the Korean children that had participated in the the project during the 2013 appeared at the workshop; we realized our tricky situation of „needing them to participate“. Maybe this question (Who redeems whom?)  is useful to be considered within the participatory arts in general and so we would like to open it within the final KE symposium. Can the quality of the contact, meeting, communication, relationship be measured through the identity criteria (e.g. nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion...)? Or is it rather the way of working that defines and structures the participatory approach?"

Ivana Čonková
The Art of Action
There are times when keeping silent is a sin. There are times when even words must act differently, otherwise they lose their meaning. A crisis intervention when there are racist attacks can stand the test only as art. The art of action.

Jana Svobodová / Archa Theatre
Theatre as a space for meeting
Based on the example of the performance of vadí-nevadí.cz Jana Svobodová presents the principles of her work with representatives of specific social groups.
Guests: representative of the Association for Roma Children in Kostelec nad Orlicí Pavlína Halušková, project coordinator in Kostelec nad Orlicí Jana Nováková, concept co-author Philipp Schenker.

David Kašpar / Praha 14 kulturní
Where there are people there is culture.
“Cities consist of neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods consist of streets and residential blocks. In them live people. Cities consist of the people who live in them. For a city to be healthy, the cultural-social ties between its residents must work well. Art is a great tool for creating and strengthening these ties."

Anna Lengyel / PanoDrama
Borders of manipulation and other ethical issues by Anna Lengyel
"Artists creating what Ted van Leeuwen calls "social specific projects" are in constant interaction with communities, families or individuals, who often belong to disadvantaged groups. In our work we all get confronted with ethical issues at every turn, while the end result always raises the question how much we avoided to manipulate our subjects, our stories or the material. Or is it okay to manipulate if it is for a noble cause? A short presentation can only help raise some of these dilemmas, which we hope to solve as we learn more and more about our special kind of work."