Wuppertal, 17 May 2023: The future Pina Bausch Centre and the German Szenografie-Bund are collaborating with the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy to offer four workshops in 2023 and 2024. The overarching theme is sustainability in stage design – SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE.
The Pina Bausch Centre will be an inviting and highly sustainable contemporary arts centre that is open all day to welcome a broad range of people. Cultural venues and educational institutions are becoming increasingly aware that they have an important role to play as pioneers of sustainable practice, offering new ideas and opportunities for dialogue and open discussion. In order to contribute to the protection of our climate and the current discourse on the climate emergency, we are therefore developing a comprehensive sustainability strategy that will be in place in time for the opening of the Pina Bausch Centre. The scenography workshops are part of this initiative.
The first workshop, SOMETHING OLD: SUSTAINABLE WORKING METHODS IN STAGE DESIGN, will launch from 18–25 June 2023. Featuring presentations, workshops and keynotes by leading experts, it will introduce existing sustainability initiatives and interesting developments in the fields of sustainability and culture. Speakers include Nadia Fisterol and Konrad Walkow (STUFF – NEUE MATERIALCYKLEN IM THEATER), Urs Dierker (Circular Costume Design), Thierry Leonardi (eco-design consultant at the Opéra de Lyon), Philine Rinnert (scenographer), Wesko Rohde (author of the DTHG/Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft’s Green Book) and Carolin Baedecker (Wuppertal Institute). Over six days, these experts will work with the workshop participants to establish the status quo of sustainability in stage and costume design.
The first workshop at the Pina Bausch Centre in Wuppertal is aimed at scenographers, theatre technicians, sustainability consultants, craftspeople, artists and other interested parties – also from the fields of architecture and design. There will be opportunities to experiment with different materials, production methods and aesthetics. We want to encourage the people who are imagining, inventing and building spaces for dance, theatre, film, exhibitions and performance to take a new look at sustainability and our global responsibility for ecological, economic and social working practices.
Together, we will reflect on how we use materials, research the potential of a circular economy and discuss opportunities for more sustainability in the arts. In addition to these theoretical inputs, we will collaboratively build things, upcycle and create a large table out of old stage sets. On the final day of the workshop, local sustainability groups and initiatives will join us for discussion and exchange of knowledge.
Three more workshops will continue to address the topic of sustainability in stage design throughout 2023 and 2024:
- New materials, “SOMETHING NEW” (November 2023)
- Circular economy, “SOMETHING BORROWED” (March 2024)
- Art of the future, “SOMETHING BLUE” (June 2024)
The next workshop, entitled “SOMETHING NEW” will take place from 10–18 November 2023. The workshops are part of the project “A holistic approach to the Pina Bausch Centre”, which is supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation’s fund “Zero – Climate Neutral Art and Culture Projects”. Co-funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
To take part, visit: http://eepurl.com/ipKhWg
If you have any questions, please contact Teresa Monfared or Katharina Becklas at the Szenografie-Bund: residenz@szenografie-bund.de. Or Bettina Milz or Anna Stratmann at the Pina Bausch Centre: [anna.stratmann@pina -bausch.de](mailto:anna.stratmann@pina -bausch.de)
To learn more, visit:
https://pinabauschzentrum.de
https://under-construction-wuppertal.de
https://www.szenografen-bund.de
https://wupperinst.org/das-institut