volt talks
Co-creation with children and youngsters in the performing arts
During this first edition of the Volt TALKS, we zoom in on the theater practice of co-creation with children and youth. We give a platform to various artists and compare artistic practices.
Who is this for? (Performing) artists, educational staff, production, administrative and communication staff, policymakers, students and lecturers, programmers, critics, researchers and other professionals interested in co-creation with children / young people
THURSDAY 24 APRIL - online streaming of the Volt TALK from hetpaleis Antwerp.
10h00 - Introduction
10h15 - Artist Statement
10h30 - Round table discussion
11h30 - Group interview
12u30 - End
LIVE SUBTITLING in French or English!
program
1 Artist’s statement - 10h15
Many performing artists took part in a co-creative process when they were children. That was when they learned what it means to create together, and what is needed to do so. A co-creative experience as a child is thus the best way to learn how to tackle co-creation yourself as an artist later on. In the artist’s statement, an artist will reflect on his own journey.
2 ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION - 10H30
Co-creation happens in many places: in part-time arts education, socio-artistic workspaces, ordinary education, in theatre and dance companies, in the studios and rehearsal spaces at theatres and in the work of individual artists. We observe an extensive field with a range of practices. It is not unknown for children / young people to move from one practice to another, in which case the field functions as an ecosystem. We talk to representatives of that field. What differences and similarities exist? How can one practice feed another?
BREAK
3 Interview - 11H30
Co-creation happens in many ways. In a conversation between three artists with different styles, we offer insight into the diversity of co-creative practice. We talk about what motivates them to work this way and what they expect from it. The conversation takes us to the rehearsal space: what artistic choices are made there, how is the group compiled, how do people work within the group and what do the artists observe among the players? How do you determine artistic quality?
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Co-creation in the performing arts is an artistic practice based on equality. This mode of creation leads to productions that are not attributable to any one artist, but to a group of people, some of whom have no artistic background or training. Everyone contributes on the basis of their own strengths.
A specific form is co-creation involving children / young people. In these productions, young performers appear on stage, sometimes – but not always – alongside adult professionals.
In organising the VOLT festival, the youth theatres hetpaleis, BRONKS and KOPERGIETERY aim to emphasise the importance of co-creation with children / young people. Not only because it stimulates young people’s personal development, but also because these projects present an image of society: a group gains beauty and power of expression when every member of that group can contribute their own specificity to the whole. The Flemish arts scene has developed great expertise in co-creating with children and young people.
The festival programme of VOLT presents a selection of these productions. This programme bears witness to great variety: after all, co-creation is an overarching concept that covers a wide range of artistic practices and styles. The Volt TALKS take a deeper look at this plethora of co-creative practices with children / young people and the conditions that enable co-creation. The aim is to stimulate encounters, initiate conversations and share knowledge.
