Testimonies - ATELIER GOTHENBURG 2018

‘For me it was very valuable to be here, it was really inspiring on many levels from the different scopes. There were 29 people from many different places in the world and it was very important to be part of such an experience.

(Following the Atelier...) I will now try to work more with the context. Even if I am already always developing my work depending it, this Atelier opened my eyes on other political situations and contexts. Now it is more about how I can shape and frame our experiences and approaches to the context, and also to be more open to other continents, bring in performances from across the globe and think about how we connect the content with the context.

Having people from all those different continents and countries was really interesting but it is not easy; you have to listen and to reach common ground in the learning process so you can’t just focus on yourself.  The Atelier was very intense but we were all open to share, it was very rich to all of us, to share the experiences, the personal stories, that was very important. Transferring knowledge from experiences was very important and interesting.’ 

‘I could learn about what Art and Festival mean to people, I had a chance to talk about lots of big questions which we do not ask to ourselves in ordinary days so it really was an enlightening moment to learn and rethink about what the arts means, and what the art festival means in various aspect. I was especially fascinated to learn about artists in Gothenburg, without this Atelier I would have never had a chance to learn about Gothenburg artists in this deep way. After the Atelier, I will clearly be more aware about what is going on in this time, everywhere and also what is my responsibility as an art festival manager.’

'I will never forget the mini panic attack I had after your (the other participants’) introductions. Looking back now, I can't help but to laugh because I had absolutely nothing to worry about. Little did I know that on that night, I was walking into a family that would show me such an incredible amount of unconditional love. Thank you for always making me feel welcome, making me feel comfortable and helping me to come out of my nutshell. I have had some of the happiest moments of my life at the Atelier. Thank you for always being so down-to-Earth and non-judgmental from the very beginning. Most importantly, thank you for always being supportive and encouraging. I cannot thank you all enough for sharing your stories, intense talks about culture's and festivals, dancing like crazy, singing together Malaika and most importantly helping me to grow as a human.'

'About the unforgettable experience of having participated in the 14th Atelier for Young Festival Managers, in Gothenburg, Sweden, organised by The Festival Academy.

I'm trying to make words like:  

magic, surprise, imagination, creativity, creation, love, struggle, weariness, frustration, humanity, human, imperfection, vulnerability, diversity, challenge, encouragement, soul, you, me, us, them, they, word, voice, presence, echo, memory, country, territory, limit, refuge, peace, anger, war, spirit, do, believe, see, hear, feel, admire, confirm, doubt, write, think, hate, grasp, fear, and several others, 

 …make sense when putting them together following what my mind tells me and my heart reaffirms.'

'This experience has been a thoroughgoing strength-giving one and led small every-day-bubbles to burst by being confronted with not every-day-questions. These thought-provoking questions transformed the Atelier into a different kind, yet wonderful bubble, full of valuable meetings, inspiration, challenges, openness, tolerance and acceptance. 

Within this particular space of the Atelier, the deep political and philosophical conversations were what surprised me the most and I now go home with the will to reflect even more on my work practices and how to change them.”

'Incredibly thankful for having had the chance to spend one week with these wonderful people from all over the world in Gothenburg, Sweden. Taking a look at the world together - this was inspiring, heavy, fun, sad, overwhelming at times and full of energy!'