David Binder: The arts festival revolution

Translator: Thu-Huong Ha Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: David Quesada Reviewer: Fran Ontanaya

Sydney. I had been waiting my whole life to get to Sydney.

Sydney. Tota la vida havia volgut viatjar a Sydney.

I got to the airport, to the hotel, checked in,

Arribo a l'aeroport, a l'hotel, em registro,

and, sitting there in the lobby, was a brochure

i assegut allà al vestíbul veig un fullet

for the Sydney Festival. I thumbed through it,

del Festival de Sydney. Faig una ullada,

and I came across a show called "Minto: Live."

i veig un espectacle anomenat "Minto:Live."

The description read: "The suburban streets of Minto

La descripció deia: "Els suburbis de Minto

become the stage for performances

es converteixen en l'escenari de representacions

created by international artists

creades per artistes internacionals

in collaboration with the people of Minto."

amb la col·laboració de la gent de Minto."

What was this place called Minto?

Què era aquest lloc anomenat Minto?

Sydney, as I would learn, is a city of suburbs,

Sydney, pel que sabia, és una ciutat de suburbis,

and Minto lies southwest, about an hour away.

i Minto es troba al sud-oest, a una hora més o menys.

I have to say, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind

La veritat, no era exactament el que esperava trobar

for my first day down under.

el meu primer dia a Austràlia.

I mean, I'd thought about the Harbour Bridge or Bondi Beach,

Vull dir, esperava veure el Pont del Port o Bondi Beach,

but Minto? But still, I'm a producer,

però Minto? En fi, com que sóc productor,

and the lure of a site-specific theater project

i era un projecte teatral pensat per a un lloc específic,

was more than I could resist. (Laughter)

no vaig poder resistir-me.

So, off I went into Friday afternoon traffic,

Vaig agafar el cotxe divendres a la tarda,

and I'll never forget what I saw when I got there.

i mai no oblidaré el que vaig veure quan vaig arribar.

For the performance, the audience walked

Per la representació, l'audiència caminava

around the neighborhood from house to house,

pel veïnat de casa a casa,

and the residents, who were the performers,

i els residents, que eren qui feien la representació,

they came out of their houses, and they performed

sortien de les seves cases, i feien

these autobiographical dances on their lawns,

aquestes dances autobiogràfiques a la gespa,

on their driveways. (Laughter)

al carrer. (Riures)

The show is a collaboration with a U.K.-based

L'espectacle és una col·laboració

performance company called Lone Twin.

amb l'empresa d'actors britànica Lone Twin.

Lone Twin had come to Minto and worked

Lone Twin va treballar prèviament a Minto

with the residents, and they had created these dances.

amb els residents, i havien creat aquestes dances.

This Australian-Indian girl, she came out and started

Aquesta nena Australiana-Índia, va sortir

to dance on her front lawn,

i va començar a dansar davant de casa seva,

and her father peered out the window to see

el seu pare mirava per la finestra per veure

what all the noise and commotion was about,

què era tot aquest soroll i rebombori,

and he soon joined her.

i s'hi va apuntar de seguida.

And he was followed by her little sister.

També la seva germana petita.

And soon they were all dancing this joyous,

I de sobte estaven tots ballant aquesta dansa

exuberant dance right there on their lawn. (Laughter)

alegre i exuberant devant de casa seva. (Riures)

And as I walked through the neighborhood,

A mesura que caminava pel veïnat,

I was amazed and I was moved by the incredible

estava impressionat i commogut per l'increible

sense of ownership this community clearly felt

sentiment d'identificació que aquesta comunitat sentia

about this event.

per aquest esdeveniment.

"Minto: Live" brought Sydneysiders into dialogue

"Minto: Live" va establir un diàleg entre els veïns

with international artists, and really celebrated

i artistes internacionals, i va celebrar de veritat

the diversity of Sydney on its own terms.

la diversitat de Sydney a la seva manera.

The Sydney Festival which produced "Minto: Live" I think

Crec que el Festival de Sydney que va produir "Minto: Live"

represents a new kind of 21st-century arts festival.

representa un nou tipus de festival d'arts del segle XXI.

These festivals are radically open.

Aquests festivals són radicalment oberts.

They can transform cities and communities.

Poden transformar ciutats i comunitats.

To understand this, I think it kind of makes sense

Per a entendre això, crec que agafa sentit

to look where we've come from.

si mirem d'on venim.

Modern arts festivals were born

Els festivals d'arts moderns van néixer

in the rubble of World War II.

de les runes de la Segona Guerra Mundial.

Civic leaders created these annual events

Els líders civils van crear aquests esdeveniments anuals

to celebrate culture as the highest

per a celebrar la cultura com la més alta forma d'expressió

expression of the human spirit.

de l'esperit humà.

In 1947, the Edinburgh Festival was born

El 1947, va néixer el Festival d'Edimburg,

and Avignon was born and hundreds of others

el festival d'Avinyó, i cents d'altres

would follow in their wake.

es van crear després.

The work they did was very, very high art,

El treball que feien era molt elitista,

and stars came along like Laurie Anderson

i venien estrelles com Laurie Anderson,

and Merce Cunningham and Robert Lepage

Merce Cunningham o Robert Lepage,

who made work for this circuit,

que van col·laborar en aquest circuit,

and you had these seminal shows like "The Mahabharata"

i feien espectacles fonamentals com "The Mahabharata"

and the monumental "Einstein on the Beach."

i el monumental "Einstein on the Beach".

But as the decades passed,

Però van passar les dècades,

these festivals, they really became the establishment,

aquests festivals es van establir,

and as the culture and capital accelerated,

i amb l'acceleració de la cultura i el capital,

the Internet brought us all together,

l'Internet que ens ha unit a tots,

high and low kind of disappeared,

i la distinció elitista-popular casi desapareguda,

a new kind of festival emerged.

va sorgir un nou tipus de festival.

The old festivals, they continued to thrive, but

Els festivals anteriors encara prosperaven però

from Brighton to Rio to Perth, something new was emerging,

de Brighton a Rio, o a Perth, estava sorgint quelcom de nou,

and these festivals were really different.

i aquests festivals eren diferents de debò.

They're open, these festivals, because, like in Minto,

Aquests festivals eren oberts perquè a Minto

they understand that the dialogue

la gent comprèn que el diàleg

between the local and the global is essential.

entre allò local i allò global és indispensable.

They're open because they ask the audience to be a player,

Són oberts perquè demanen a l'audiència que siguin actors,

a protagonist, a partner, rather than a passive spectator,

protagonistes, companys, abans que espectadors passius,

and they're open because they know that imagination

i són oberts perquè saben que la imaginació

cannot be contained in buildings,

no es pot tancar dins d'edificis,

and so much of the work they do

i la major part del treball que fan

is site-specific or outdoor work.

és en llocs específics o en espais oberts.

So, the new festival, it asks the audience to play

Llavors, el nou festival demana a la audiència que representi

an essential role in shaping the performance.

un paper essencial dins de la representació.

Companies like De La Guarda, which I produce, and Punchdrunk

Companyies com De La Guarda, que produeixo, i Punchdrunk

create these completely immersive experiences

creen aquestes experiències totalment immersives

that put the audience at the center of the action,

que posen l'audiència al centre de l'acció,

but the German performance company Rimini Protokoll

però la companyia d'actors alemanya Rimini Protokoll

takes this all to a whole new level.

ho porta tot a un nivell diferent.

In a series of shows that includes "100 Percent Vancouver,"

En una sèrie d'espectacles que inclou "100% Vancouver"

"100 Percent Berlin," Rimini Protokoll makes shows

o "100% Berlín", les representacions de Rimini Protokol

that actually reflect society.

realment reflecteixen la societat.

Rimini Protokoll chooses 100 people that represent that city

Rimini Protokoll escull 100 persones que representen la ciutat

at that moment in terms of race and gender and class,

en aquell moment d'acord amb la raça, gènere i classe,

through a careful process that begins three months before,

per mitjà d'un acurat procés que comença 3 mesos abans,

and then those 100 people share stories about

llavors aquestes 100 persones expliquen històries sobre

themselves and their lives, and the whole thing

ells mateixos i les seves vides, i tot

becomes a snapshot of that city at that moment.

esdevé una foto de la ciutat en aquell moment.

LIFT has always been a pioneer in the use of venues.

LIFT és un pioner en la localització d'esdeveniments.

They understand that theater and performance

Entenen que el teatre i la representació

can happen anywhere.

poden ocurrir allà on vulguis.

You can do a show in a schoolroom,

Pots fer una representació en un aula,

in an airport, — (Laughter) —

en un aeroport, — (Riures) —

in a department store window.

o a l'aparador d'una botiga.

Artists are explorers. Who better to show us the city anew?

Els artistes són exploradors. Qui millor per ensenyar-nos la ciutat un altre cop?

Artists can take us to a far-flung part of the city

Els artistes es poden portar a la part més remota de la ciutat

that we haven't explored, or they can take us into

que no hem explorat, o ens poden portar

that building that we pass every day but we never went into.

a aquell edifici pel que passem cada dia però no hi entrem.

An artist, I think, can really show us people

Un artista, crec, es capaç de mostrar-nos les persones

that we might overlook in our lives.

que passaríem per alt d'altra manera.

Back to Back is an Australian company of people

Back to Back és una companyia australiana

with intellectual disabilities. I saw their amazing show

de persones discapacitades. Vaig veure el seu espectacle

in New York at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal

al Staten Island Ferry Terminal de Nova York

at rush hour.

en hora punta.

We, the audience, were given headsets and seated

Repartien auriculars entre l'audiència i ens assèiem

on one side of the terminal.

a una banda del terminal.

The actors were right there in front of us,

Els actors estaven just davant de nosaltres,

right there among the commuters,

entre els viatgers,

and we could hear them,

i els podiem sentir.

but we might not have otherwise seen them.

Potser d'altra manera ni tan sols els miraríem.

So Back to Back takes site-specific theater and uses it

Aleshores Back to Back fa teatre en llocs específics i l'utilitza

to gently remind us about who and what we choose

per a recordar-nos qui som i què escollim

to edit out of our daily lives.

per a editar les nostres vides.

So, the dialogue with the local and the global,

Així, el diàleg entre allò local i allò global,

the audience as participant and player and protagonist,

la audiència com a participant, actor i protagonista

the innovative use of site, all of these things

i l'ús innovatiu dels llocs, totes aquestes coses

come to play in the amazing work

entren en joc a l'impressionant treball

of the fantastic French company Royal de Luxe.

de la fantàstica companyia francesa Royal de Luxe.

Royal de Luxe's giant puppets come into a city

Les titelles gegants de Royal de Luxe arriben a una ciutat

and they live there for a few days.

i s'hi queden uns pocs dies.

For "The Sultan's Elephant," Royal de Luxe

Per a "The Sultan's Elephant", Royal de Luxe

came to central London and brought it to a standstill

va paralitzar el centre de Londres

with their story of a giant little girl and her friend,

amb la seva història d'una nena gegant i el seu amic,

a time-traveling elephant.

un elefant que viatja a través del temps.

For a few days, they transformed a massive city

Per alguns dies, van transformar una ciutat enorme

into a community where endless possibility reigned.

en una comunitat plena d'infinites possibilitats.

The Guardian wrote, "If art is about transformation,

The Guardian va escriure, "Si l'art es tracta de transformació

then there can be no more transformative experience.

llavors no pot haver-hi una experiència més transformadora.

What 'The Sultan's Elephant' represents is no less

El que "The Sultan's Elephant" representa és ni més ni menys

than an artistic occupation of the city

que una ocupació artística de la ciutat

and a reclamation of the streets for the people."

i una reivindicació del carrer per a la persones".

We can talk about the economic impacts of these festivals

Podem parlar de l'impacte econòmic d'aquests festivals

on their cities, but I'm much [more] interested in many more things,

a cada ciutat, però m'interessen moltes més altres coses,

like how a festival helps a city to express itself,

per exemple com un festival ajuda a una ciutat a expressar-se,

how it lets it come into its own.

com li fa arribar a ser ella mateixa.

Festivals promote diversity,

Els festivals promouen la diversitat,

they bring neighbors into dialogue,

afavoreixen el diàleg entre veïns,

they increase creativity,

fomenten la creativitat,

they offer opportunities for civic pride,

enforteixen l'orgull cívic,

they improve our general psychological well-being.

i milloren el nostre benestar psicològic en general.

In short, they make cities better places to live.

Resumint, fan les ciutats millors llocs per a viure.

Case in point:

Un bon exemple:

When "The Sultan's Elephant" came to London

Quan "The Sultan's Elephan" va arribar a Londres

just nine months after 7/7, a Londoner wrote,

just nou mesos després del 7/7, un londinenc va escriure,

"For the first time since the London bombings,

"Per primer cop des dels bombardeigs a la ciutat,

my daughter called up with that sparkle back in her voice.

em va trucar la meva filla i vaig sentir la seva veu plena de goig.

She had gathered with others

Havia quedat amb amics

to watch 'The Sultan's Elephant,' and, you know,

per a veure "The Sultan's Elephant", i, saps?

it just made all the difference."

Això va marcar una diferencia".

Lyn Gardner in The Guardian has written

Lyn Gardner va escriure a The Guardian

that a great festival can show us a map of the world,

que un gran festival ens pot mostrar un mapa del món,

a map of the city and a map of ourselves,

un mapa de la ciutat i un mapa de nosaltres mateixos,

but there is no one fixed festival model.

però no hi ha un model fix de festival.

I think what's so brilliant about the festivals,

Crec que allò que tenen d'especial els festivals,

the new festivals, is that they are really fully capturing

els nous festivals, és que capturen completament

the complexity and the excitement

la complexitat i l'emoció

of the way we all live today.

de com vivim avui dia.

Thank you very much. (Applause)

Moltes gràcies. (Aplaudiments)