30.04.2025
Sustainable Concepts Made to Last
In today's rapidly evolving performing arts landscape, sustainable approaches to performance creation and sharing are more vital than ever. As artist education flourishes and new, diverse forms of expression emerge across the Nordic and Baltic regions, the need to extend the life and impact of contemporary performances becomes increasingly clear.
TINFO, together with its partners, is exploring innovative ways to support the recycling, adaptation and international mobility of performance concepts — building a living, collaborative ecosystem for the future of the performing arts.
Artist education is expanding, and the art field is becoming increasingly diverse. In the New Nordic region (comprising the Nordic and Baltic countries), a vast number of new, original, experimental, site- and theme-specific, and often participatory performances are being continually created. Audiences are increasingly invited to transform from passive spectators into active participants. Many performances offer sharp observations and critiques of society; they express concern for the environment and climate, and give voice and presence to other species or marginalised groups.
TINFO and its partners are concerned about the short life cycles of these productions.
Could we develop support systems that enable performances and performance concepts to be more recyclable? Could performances become "exportable concepts," or could they be "licensed" and reimagined in different cultural and linguistic contexts?
Some concepts may require workshops or direct guidance from the original creators to be successfully adapted, while others might be reproducible with the help of detailed instruction manuals. What kinds of contracts would be needed? How should licences be priced? Could internationalisation provide a partial solution?
The new one-year networking project PS – Portable Sharing – funded by Nordic Culture Point – seeks to identify and exchange best practices, and to develop high-quality contemporary performance concepts suitable for new linguistic and cultural contexts within the Nordic and Baltic regions — while simultaneously establishing a network to facilitate their future mobility.
TINFO’s project partners include the Performing Arts Centre Iceland (PACI); Scenekunstbruket and the Showbox festival (Norway); the Theatre Information Centre (TIC) and Sirenos festival (Lithuania); Konträr performance venue (Sweden); and Hanko Theatre Festival (Finland).
Internationalisation is a long-term dialogue that should be approached with a spirit of lifelong learning. It provides opportunities to refresh and develop both artistic skills and export competencies. True international work must involve openness to different
cultures, and all of this requires ongoing communication. The PS project strives to be a building block for future collaborations.
TINFO / Hyde Hytti, 28 April 2025