Borderline Offensive – Artistic Residences

20.06.2018. | 12:00

Linda Wardal
Gothenburg, Sweden

Artistic field: contemporary dancer and choreographer.

For the last two years I have been working with inclusive dance, meaning I work with methods so people with different abilities and various bodies can take part in dance training. I want to question who has the right to be on stage and expand the idea of what dance can be. Besides this I’ve made a performance with Romani and Swedish artists on stage, I’m touring with a piece for elder people at nursing homes and I’ve been dancing with teenage refugees in another production. So in general my work is often based on an inclusive perspective.

As an Artist I fight the injustice, fight the patriarchy and want to save the world

What European crisis? The crises is the fact that we are leaving people out, forgetting about love and being blinded by fear and egocentric thoughts. We try desperately to divide ourselves in “we” and” “them” instead of seeing hate and fear as the real issue. It’s a war also against ourselves I would say.

What’s so funny? Why is koala not considered a real bear? – It doesn’t have the right koalifications.

www.lindawardal.com


Nalan Yırtmaç
Istanbul, Turkey

Artistic field: painting and stenciling

I am a painter and I lead humor workshops that bring together art humor with youth of all ages in Istanbul. I want to produce a fanzine in collaboration  with local artist and migrants in Belgrade.

http://www.nalanyirtmac.blogspot.com


Zen Roorda
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

That’s where I am spending my work and spare time.

Artistic field: Theatre

I make theatre. Get to know the people and tell a story. Not because we need to tell the truth, but because we perhaps can show the fragility of our thinking process. That being said, for me it’s always difficult to talk about art in way that it means something, of course it means something. But the line between seeing brilliance in a performance and thinking wtf? is different for everybody. I think the goal is to make it accessible but at the same time it should be profound.

I want to seek for common ground and understanding that there is not one holy truth in this world; and laughing hard while doing so.

What European crisis? Maybe we all have to cross half the world before we discover what ‘home’ really means.

What’s so funny? An old cowboy sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. As he sat sipping his drink, a young woman sat down next to him. She turned to the cowboy and asked, “Are you a real cowboy?” He replied, “Well, I’ve spent my whole life, breaking colts, working cows, going to rodeos, fixing fences, pulling calves, bailing hay, doctoring calves, cleaning my barn, fixing flats, working on tractors, and feeding my dogs, so I guess I am a cowboy. ”She said, “I’m a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower, I think about women. When I watch TV, I think about women. I even think about women when I eat. It seems that everything makes me think of women.” The two sat sipping in silence. A little while later, a man sat down on the other side of the old cowboy and asked, “Are you a real cowboy?”
He replied, “I always thought I was, but I just found out I’m a lesbian.”

http://illusterefiguren.nl


Darinka Pop-Mitić & Svebor Midžić
Belgrade, Serbia

We are living in Belgrade with two kids, three dogs and six cats. Our street in the Belgrade was named first after Soviet general and now is named after Serbian monastery.

Darinka’s artistic field are painting and drawing and Svebor’s writing

We create works that try to question art and the way it interacts with society at large. it sounds high-brow but remember that Duchamp’s fountain was a prime example of toilet humor.

During this residency we want to create a stage for all of us to use humor to see that ideology for us is like the water for a fish.

What European crisis? There is no refugee crisis but a failure of European union to address the movement of the people caused by variety of reasons.

What’s so funny? Man lies on his deathbed. His son is there comforting him. Son is obviously uneasy. There is a weight on his soul that he needs to unburden before the old man passes on.
“Dad” he starts “there is something that I need to tell you”.
“Go on, son” old man gently and feebly encourages him “You can tell me anything”
“Well, I still believe that free and unregulated market is the best way to allocate resources in the society”
“Screw you!” yells the old man “I hoped you were gay!”

click here for Darinka’s portfolio


BORDERLINE OFFENSIVE 

Borderline Offensive 2017-2020 is a transnational project about art, humor and intercultural dialogue. The purpose of the project is to engage newly arrived migrants and established local communities in dialogue, using participatory art and humor aesthetics to address difficult topics and create opportunities for shared enjoyment. Borderline Offensive represent a partnership of 12 countries in Europe and the Middle East, using humor and art to mediate intercultural dialogue and tackle societal challenges as framed by the so-called xenophobia/populism/migrant crisis.

BORDERLINE OFFENSIVE laughing in the face of fear
Artistic residencies

The Call to Arms for Artists launched by Borderline Offensive received more than 130 applications from 23 different countries. A group of experts from 12 different countries from Europe and the Middle East gathered in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, to select the 20 applicants who will join the artistic residencies taking place during the summer of 2018 in Bulgaria, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia and Sweden.

Selected 20 artists from different countries are invited to join us in a 3-year artistic research and societal development process. During 2018 artists will participate in 10 days’ artistic workshops in 5 countries (Sweden, Serbia, Netherlands, Bulgaria and Slovakia). As part of residency programme they will design artistic workshops instigating dialogue between migrant/refugee and host communities, participate in peer-learning workshops with local artistic community and finally conceive an artwork in preferred discipline/genre, imbued with humor aesthetics’ elements (gallows’ humor, parody, satire, sarcasm, irony, slapstick, etc.).

What will they do? In September 2018 they will deliver an artwork proposal for potential production and international touring. During 2019 the produced artworks will go on International touring in different European countries. During final international conference in Goteborg Sweden in 2020 they will present their artworks, experiences and learned/applied processes.

More about: http://www.borderlineoffensive.eu/2018/03/call-to-arms-for-artists-final-selection/


Artistic residency Serbia
June 20th till July 1st 2018

Group for artistic research and art-based societal development, engaging artists to explore questions of migration, immigration and community cohesion in contemporary Europe, through the medium of (dark) humour, one step at the time.

These are the artists selected for the Artistic residency in Belgrade:
Linda Wardal, Nalan Yırtmaç, Zen Roorda, Darinka Pop-Mitić & Svebor Midžić

Borderline Offensive is Co-financed by the European Union within the framework of the Creative Europe programme and supported by the Ministry of culture and information in Serbia

 

Partners
TILLT // Gothenburg, Sweden
CZKD // Belgrade, Serbia
Keunstwurk // Leuwaarden 2018, Netherlands
House of Humour and Satire // Gabrovo, Bulgaria
CIKE + Kair // Kosice, Slovakia
Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) // Zagreb, Croatia
Symbiosis // Thessaloniki, Greece
Zoukak Theatre Company // Beirut, Lebanon
Anadolu Kültür // Istanbul, Turkey
Ramallah Municipality // Palestine
Ettijahat Independent Culture // Syria
Tandem Cultural Exchange // Berlin, Germany

http://borderlineoffensive.eu/

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