“VOICES OF A NEW WORLD”
Havana, Cuba
24 May – 1 June 2024
Voices of a New World
ASSITEJ Cuba and ASSITEJ International, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the National Council for the Performing Arts in Cuba invite you to the 21st ASSITEJ World Congress and Performing Arts festival in Cuba – the most important global moment in the field of performing arts for young audiences with participation from all around the world.
It is essential to think of the world and art as the communion of different voices full of nuance. The children and youth of the world are increasingly demanding more spaces for poetic expression, where they can make the art they practise a tool for real transformation. It is up to artists to hear the emerging voices and give them the space they need. Our congress seeks to empower their points of view through performances, dialogues, panels and interdisciplinary encounters.
We must think of our geographies, physical and theatrical, as full of love and hope. With our arms open to the Caribbean Sea, we await the arrival of companies and artists from different parts of the world. Languages will not be a barrier, neither will accents; only unity and the desire to be better in ourselves and with the planet that gives us a home.
We need new voices for a new world; let us make them heard!
Call for Performances
Focus
Linked to the theme of “Voices of a New World” a special focus in the selection of performances will be on participation, breadth of art form and a celebration of community impact.
The beautiful outdoor spaces of Havana provide an opportunity to invite practitioners who work in public space, in non-traditional forms, in participation, in immersive and sensory installations. It’s a chance to look at the sort of theatre that has the capacity to reach audiences anywhere. It’s a chance to see how flexible and innovative we can be when communicating with our audiences.
Performances in indoor venues and black boxes will also be programmed.
Invited to apply are:
● Productions for and with all age groups from babies up to and including young adults.
●All performing arts genres including circus, clown, comedy, dance, digital performance, immersive theatre, installation, mime, opera, puppet/object theatre, spoken word, storytellers, digital theatre, installation, site specific.
● Performances with children/young people as performers.
● Online performances. The festival will have an online section addressing the practitioners who are not travelling to Cuba. This will be a specific programmed event.
● Performances created partially or fully to suit disabled or D/deaf audiences.
● Performances in all languages. If the production is text based, please consider in your application how you make sure to communicate with local audiences that speak Spanish.
● Productions with simple technical requirements and moderate amounts of cargo volume. It is recommend to avoid freight where possible.
● Performances with deaf or disabled performers, technicians, or other team members. Access needs can be indicated in the application form. Further dialogue on what the organisers are able to provide in the Cuban context will be established with selected productions.
Restrictions:
● Performances produced before 2018 cannot apply. Companies from Cuba are exempt from this rule.
● No company should apply with more than 1 production. Companies from Cuba are exempt from this rule.
● No company that has been selected for ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2022 or 2023 or the ASSITEJ World Congress 2021 can apply to this call. This will not apply if your production is an international co-production and only one of your companies appeared in an ASSITEJ International event in the past 3 years.
‘On the Ground’ and Online
Online performances are invited to apply and will be presented via the ASSITEJ Online platform in a separate program. Performances selected to be presented ‘On the Ground’ in Cuba will be invited to share video footage of recordings, behind-the-scenes clips, trailers and/or the recording of the performance to be shared online with professionals.
Economic Conditions
ASSITEJ World Congress is a unique platform for gathering of members of ASSITEJ and all those passionate about the work that is done around the world for with and by children and young people. It does not operate as a market but as a connection point and many hundreds of collaborations and opportunities have come from these gatherings. The economic conditions of participation in the world congress are dependent on the economy of the host.
For 21st ASSITEJ World Congress in Cuba the hosts will cover
● Accommodation and meals of the performers, technicians, and other essential team members during setup and performing days.
● Free registration and tickets to all performances and events during the Congress and festival.
● Local transport.
ASSITEJ International is aiming to
● Support the international travel of companies coming from low-income countries.1.
Details will be further specified upon selection.
If applicants are able to finance any of these costs in other ways, we invite you to indicate this in the application form under “any other information”.
1Companies from the these countries can be supported: Afghanistan – Albania – Algeria – American Samoa – Angola – Arab Rep. Egypt – Argentina – Armenia – Azerbaijan – Bangladesh – Belarus – Belize – Benin – Bhutan – Bolivia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Botswana – Brazil – Bulgaria – Burkina Faso – Burundi – Cabo Verde – Cambodia – Cameroon – Central African Republic – Chad – Colombia – Comoros – Congo, Republic of – Costa Rica – Côte d’Ivoire – Democratic Republic of Congo – Djibouti – Dominica – Dominican Republic – Ecuador – El Salvador – Equatorial Guinea – Eritrea – Eswatini – Ethiopia – Fed Sts of Micronesia – Fiji – Gabon – Gambia, The – Georgia – Ghana – Grenada – Guatemala – Guinea – Guinea-Bissau – Guyana – Haiti – Honduras – India – Indonesia – Iran, Islamic Rep. – Iraq – Islamic Rep. – Jamaica – Jordan – Kazakhstan – Kenya – Kiribati – Korea Dem People’s Republic – Kosovo – Kyrgyz Republic – Lao PDR – Lebanon – Lesotho – Liberia – Libya – Madagascar – Malawi – Malaysia – Maldives – Mali – Marshall Islands – Mauritania – Mauritius – Mexico – Micronesia, Fed Sts – Moldova – Mongolia – Montenegro – Morocco – Mozambique – Myanmar – Namibia – Nauru – Nepal – Nicaragua – Niger – Nigeria – North Macedonia – Pakistan – Papua New Guinea – Paraguay – Peru – Philippines – Russian Federation – Rwanda – Samoa – São Tomé and Principe – Senegal – Serbia – Sierra Leone – Solomon Islands – Somalia – South Africa – South Sudan – Sri Lanka – St. Lucia – St. Vincent and the Grenadines – Sudan – Suriname – Syrian Arab Republic – Tajikistan – Tanzania – Thailand – The Gambia – Timor-Leste – Togo – Tonga – Tunisia – Turkey – Turkmenistan – Tuvalu – Uganda – Ukraine – Uruguay – Uzbekistan – Vanuatu – Venezuela, RB – Vietnam – West Bank and Gaza – Yemen, Republic of – Zambia – Zimbabwe
Post Congress Activities
The organisers of the Congress are working on creating activities between Cuban and international artists in the week following the Congress (2-9 June). This can take the form of a visit to a local company, presenting a production or running a workshop with the intention of stimulating professional exchange. This is a chance to make the best out of the long trip that many international visitors will make to attend the ASSITEJ World Congress, by working not only in Havana but also in the rest of the country.
The organisers will work to make the connection between local artists and the international visitor but are not able to cover any expenses related to the post congress activities. Local transport, accommodation, and meals must be covered by you.
If post Congress activities interest you please indicate this in the application form.
Accessibility
Contributors with access needs are encouraged to apply and are asked to indicate their needs in the application form. After the selection, the organisers will communicate with relevant applicants to support their participation within the economic capabilities.
How To Apply?
All applicants are asked to submit their applications through our online application platform:
The deadline for Production/Performance applications is 21st August 2023.
Questions
Questions related to the application can be sent to Marissa Garay at marissa@assitej-international.org
Download Call for Performances
