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Promotional Line

Contact The Institute’s promotional activities are a response to a thought expressed by Jerzy Grotowski when receiving an honorary degree from the University of Wroclaw in 1991; the founder of the Laboratory Theatre pointed out that theatre masters must be cared for, but that it is the young artists who deserve support. This remark corresponds with an idea formulated by Tadeusz Burzynski in 1988, prior to the founding of the Grotowski Centre. As this theatre critic wrote, such a place could ‘provide patronage for theatrical or para-theatrical activities of young, unconventional artists with questioning minds; by providing long-term patronage, it could facilitate a creative start for the kind of people who are unlikely to find a place within traditional theatre structures’. The Centre took up such challenges, supporting the work of companies such as: Teatr Farma v Jeskyni [Farm in the Cave] (Prague, Czech Republic), Theatre ZAR (Wroclaw), Teatr Piesn Kozla [Song of the Goat] (Wroclaw), Stowarzyszenie Teatralne Chorea and Orkiestra Antyczna [Theatre Association Chorea and Ancient Orchestra], as well as artists such as Maud Robart (France) and Natalka Polovynka (Ukraine). However, regularly responding to these challenges requires time, given the ongoing commercialisation of culture and its ‘media-genisation’. The promotional activities entail ongoing support for independent theatre initiatives, drawn up in the form of long-term projects lasting several years. The Institute lends its patronage to several companies, providing them with administrative and logistical support, in exchange for representation in Poland and abroad. The artists from the promoted companies are also invited tor collaborate in the field of education. The basic criterion for the selection of companies is the quality of their artistic work. It is worthy of note that this activity is a continuation of the ‘Eastern Line’ programme, which embraced artists from Central and Eastern Europe. It was first realised in the form of a festival in 2005, as part of the 14th session of Eugenio Barba’s International School of Theatre Anthropology (ISTA). This region of Europe is currently seeing the emergence of new and interesting theatre phenomena, established by determined artists who actively respond to sudden political transformations and search for their cultural roots through an exploration of traditions, whilst skilfully employing a language of metaphor. The lack of a support system for this kind of activity is the greatest obstacle in many of the countries in this part of Europe. The Institute’s activity in this field is a response to the diversification of theatre models, and to the new needs of audiences in a rapidly changing social and cultural climate. The Institute’s promotional activities aspire to develop a model for supporting young independent artists. Apart from providing patronage for selected groups, the promotional line is responsible for inviting companies that were included within the ‘Eastern Line’ programme, theatres and artists from Central and Eastern Europe that resist commercialisation (such as Plavo Pozoriste from Serbia), to present their work regularly in Wroclaw. Each year, one of the partners of the Grotowski Institute is invited to join this group, which includes representatives of institutions in Western Europe that co-operate in various European projects (such as the Centre for Performance Research from Wales, Odin Teatret from Denmark). The Grotowski Institute will, therefore, serve as a meeting place for interaction and exchange. In the period 2007–2009, the Institute is promoting the artistic and research projects of Maisternia Pisni from Lviv and Theatre ZAR from Wroclaw. It is supporting the project Regula contra Regulam, of Theatre La Madrugada from Milan and the Laboratorio Permanente di Ricerca sull’Arte dell’Attore from Torino. It supported the project  Song In-Beetwen led by Grzegorz Ziolkowski, assisted by Agnieszka Pietkiewicz and Maciej Zakrzewski.