We are delighted to announce that MINI ICAF will be taking place across the afternoon and evening of Wednesday 20 March, 2024, entirely free of charge.
MINI-ICAF is a one-day event where we look back on the big ICAF festival of 2023 and look ahead to the next four years and the festival of March 2026. The goal of MINI-ICAF is to introduce and zoom in on our theme for the next four years and to facilitate conversations and meetings with which we forge possible future collaborations. We cordially invite everyone who is interested in thinking along with us and shaping the future!
During MINI ICAF we are proud to be presenting a rich and diverse programme that includes a dedicated opening ritual, book, documentary and library launch, series of curated workshops, and a celebratory evening programme including a networking dinner and after party.
The programme will officially begin with a warm welcome from ICAF Director Jasmina Ibrahimovic, who will focus in on the power of the sound of change and the deep reverberations the responses to this theme have provided for us as a festival. Jasmina will then introduce our opening ritual which will add further nuance and meaning to our connections to sound.
For the second part of the afternoon programme, we will be proudly launching our ICAF Documentary and Publication, both entitled “The Sound of Change”. The launches will include an introduction from the publication editor, alongside performative readings from one of the contributors. We will also be revealing our brand new ICAF digital library and archive. Together the collective launches will act as a celebration and a closing of our 2023 ICAF Festival Theme “The Sound of Change”, before we introduce our selected theme for 2025-2028.
Following from the launch programme, participants can join one of three workshop offerings that make up the late afternoon programme. Each workshop will have a different audience focus: local, national and international, as well as specific topics of focus, which each tie into the new ICAF thematic trajectory.
Session 1: Open session with the Dutch Community Arts field: Facilitated by Jasmina Ibrahimovic (ICAF)
Community arts in the Netherlands has existed for many years and in some cases even decades. But in recent years, interest in social-artistic practice has grown and there are more and more artists and arts organisations that carry out art projects in a participatory manner with, for and by people who experience a distance from the cultural sector. Important projects are created from personal stories and social urgency that contribute to mutual understanding, a more inclusive cultural landscape and a truer narrative of the nation. At the same time, the Netherlands, like most countries in Europe, is in a state of polarization and we face enormous challenges in the near future. Especially during times such as these, we must seek each other out as a sector, as creators, and as a social-artistic discipline.
With this breakout session of MINI-ICAF, we want to create space for the Dutch community arts field to meet each other, breathe in and out together, support and inspire each other and who knows, draw up a joint agenda for the future… We therefore invite all experienced and less experienced community arts makers, socially engaged artists and other interested parties to participate.
Facilitator: Jasmina Ibrahimovic, ICAF
For whom: Experienced and less experienced community arts creators
Duration: 2 hours
Capacity: 20
Language: Dutch
Important information about this session: The conversation will be focused on the Dutch national contexts. A good understanding of this is required to participate. All are welcome to join.
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Session 2: Open Session with the International Consortium: Neo-parades and neo carnivals and (new) forms of rituals in urban hybrid societies
Neo-parades, neo carnivals and (new) forms of rituals in urban hybrid societies
Public space is a vibrant, interesting place in metropolitan contexts. Especially in big cities where a lot of change is taking place and where people sometimes have to fight for their space and place. Space to come together, to play, to meet and see each other. In Europe there are a number of very interesting artistic practices that claim space for new rituals through parades and participatory art events with various communities in the city.
During this open session, the International Parade Consortium, made up of international partners: Zinneke Parade (Brussels, Belgium), MetX (Brussels, Belgium) Oi Musica (Edinburgh, UK), Partôt Parata/Oltro (Bologna, Italy), Fabrique des Impossibles (Paris, France), Kinneke Parade (Roztoky, Czech Republic), Velvet Parade (Prague, Czech Republic) and Eelts (Tilburg, the Netherlands), will present the vision and mission of the consortium, the urgent needs and requirements that brought them together, and the future aims and wishes of the consortium: as a network, within their communities, and as part of wider society.
The session will then open into a wider participatory discussion with the audience to look at the importance of new rituals within our own contexts and urban societies, and the need for more visibility, action and urgency in our public spaces.
Facilitator: Amy Gowen
For whom: (experienced) artists and facilitators interested in Neo-parades
Duration: 2 hours
Capacity: 20-50
Language: English
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Session 3: Workshop “A friendly greeting”: Do you have a moment? Without words, you discover how to connect with each other. Facilitated by Rotterdams Wijktheater, Joost Roskam.
In its most recent project called Weerzien (Re-union), ICAF’s parentorganisation Rotterdam Community Theatregroup examines our relationship to others in a polarized society.
How do we live together in these times? Do we need the other and who is that other? Are we able and willing to care for someone we don’t know? This year, Rotterdam Wijktheater is creating a space for a series of theatrical encounters with which we interactively explore our relationship to each other. This workshop during the MINI ICAF is one of these series of meetings.
How does an encounter come about? Is it easy to get to know someone who you otherwise might not meet? Without words you discover how you can get in touch with each other. We take the time for a friendly greeting.
Facilitator: Joost Roskam, Rotterdams Wijktheater
For whom: For everyone, no experience required.
Duration: 2 hours
Capacity: 30
Language: Dutch/ English
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The evening programme will begin with a delicious networking dinner, after which we will dance the night away with live music.
TO REGISTER: please send an e-mail to: info@icafrotterdam.com. We still have a few spots left!
NB. Please note that parts of the program will be in Dutch because they are aimed at the Dutch community arts network.