Every year, ASSITEJ Switzerland awards a cultural prize to a deserving individual, group, or institution in recognition of artistic or cultural achievements in the field of performing arts for young audiences.
The five collectives now nominated represent the diverse performing arts scene for young audiences in all parts of Switzerland and all language regions, both in terms of content and aesthetics.
Some of them have been shaping this scene for decades, others only for a few years. They have dedicated themselves to dance, performance, puppetry, contemporary circus, theatre, or combinations of these genres in their artistic work. Some are institutionally anchored with their infrastructure, others are constantly seeking new networks.
In their artistic practice, all of them deal with the realities of life of their young audiences on a daily basis and must and want to be open to change.
The award ceremony will take place in February as part of the Jungspund Festival in St. Gallen.
The nominated are:
Founded in 2011 as a neighbourhood festival, since 2015 the plusQ’île Festival has been creating a lively and supportive artists’ village open to all on Lake Biel, with circus tents and caravans, locally anchored and internationally oriented. The plusQ’île is a convincing example of inclusion in action. Children and families are the focus in all areas of the festival.
Since 1974, the Théâtre Am Stram Gram has been one of Europe’s leading institutions for children’s and youth theatre. Under the direction of Joan Mompart, the theatre stands for artistic quality, international cooperation, communicating contemporary issues to young audiences, and constantly developing new forms of participation and involvement for young people.
The puppet theatre division at Lucerne Theatre (Co-direction: Sibylle Grüter und Jaqueline Surer)
The puppet theatre division at Lucerne Theatre has been in existence for over 40 years and has been managed by Jacqueline Surer and Sibylle Grüter since the 2018/19 season with great artistic quality and innovative strength. Despite an uncertain future due to a modest budget and a lack of spatial prospects, the puppet theatre impresses with high capacity utilisation, diverse cross-disciplinary collaborations and strong roots in the independent scene. It makes the diversity of contemporary puppet theatre accessible to a wide audience of all ages.
uantuzten theatre collective, Zürich
The uantuzten theatre collective is young, wild and participatory. The collective’s main concern is to consistently combine participation and production. From research to play development, they work closely with children and realise their concerns and ideas. ‘Promoting exchange with young audiences, working together on an equal footing without hierarchical structures, creating accessibility, getting out of your comfort zone!’ are the cornerstones of their ‘Uanifest’.
Tina Beyeler & Kumpane, Schaffhausen
Tina Beyeler is a dancer, choreographer and dance educator. She founded Kumpane in 2003 and works at the intersection of modern dance and spoken theatre. Since 2016, her artistic work has focused on young audiences.
Together with author Andri Beyeler, she seeks out themes that are relevant to young people and brings them to life through a variety of expressive and movement languages.
In the Kumpane Black Box, young people explore and present their own dance expression in a participatory piece development process.
