Bitef

25 th 09. / 12:00 / 180’ Cultural Institution Parobrod

Saša Asentić, Olivera Kovačević-Crnjanski, Nataša Murge-Savić

NEW PERSPECTIVES AESTHETICS AND POLITICS Workshop

■ Since 1999, a group in Per. Art Organisation has been working on the promotion of inclusion in culture and arts. It involves the production and promotion of the creative work of intellectually handicapped persons on the modern artistic scene and promotion of inclusion in culture bringing together intellectually handicapped youth, theatre, dance and visual artists, professionals in the field of special education and rehabilitation, philosophers, architects, students and representatives of cultural and education institutions. The idea for this kind of activism came from artists, cultural workers and social activists who in their direct contact with the intellectually handicapped recognised their major creative potential which is not only noteworthy but is also an inspiration for artistic work and encourages a serious analysis of theatre and society. One such analysis concerning theatre was presented by Natalija Vladisavljević, a member of the group suffering from Down syndrome, in a book we published in 2005 entitled It Makes Sense to Live Like This: “If the spectators requested from the actors to show dignity, they could decide themselves what the theatre should be like. And imitating life is neither civil nor nice!” It is in this request not to look for the imitation of life in the theatre, but for invention and interventions„something new and different and the perception of theatre where the audience does not have a passive, consumerist attitude, that we find the key point of this meeting.

During the workshop we wish to share with the participants and audiences of Bitef Polyphony the experience we acquired during fourteen years of work in the field of arts and culture, in which the issue of disability departs from the usual domain of social care, human rights and humanitarian work and opens new perspectives where the notion of disability and related problems mean aesthetics and politics. ■

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HARD TO BE