Moving Identities
Again in 2024-25, five performing arts groups will create new works across five European countries to learn and share perspectives on themes of contemporary European identity.
The groups selected for this year's programme dive deep into themes of identity, social justice, grief and war in this second year of Moving Identities.
They will challenge stereotypes, expanding our understanding of social justice and the experience of grief and witnessing war. The performers' explorations provoke reflection on the human experience, especially the existential dimensions of life, death and mortality.
"We are witnesses to large-scale events, and this affects our fate, whether we want it or not"
- ISKRA (NO)
The five selected groups will be in residency in the country where they are based before continuing their artistic development work at two international venues.
Here are the groups selected for Moving Identities 2024/25
ANART from Denmark sheds light on Ukrainian women's lived experiences of the conflict and amplifies their voices and struggle for justice. Working with contemporary dance and immersive performance, ANART is dedicated to promoting human rights and democratic values through their performances.
For Moving Identities, they will explore how stress affects a dancer's body, their physical wellbeing and their art.
Read about their work here
#yodo from Germany (You only die once) will further develop immersive artistic formats that invite people to get in touch with the theme of death, their own mortality, grief and the understanding of care work. They work with traditional and urban African dance, political organising, end-of-life care, dance education and poetic research.
They are interested in creating spaces to open up, share and learn together about these topics that are often taboo in Western contexts.
Read about their work here
ISKRA from Norway is a group of exiled artists trying to create their theatre under new circumstances in a new culture, in a new country. They want to create a space for dialogue to explore identities, roots and a new way of making theatre when the world is on fire.
Their work includes drama and shadow theatre, documentary techniques and interactive installations. In Moving Identities, they will explore the meaning of witnessing not only global events, but also each other's experiences.
Read about their work here
Las Sistahs from Spain seek social justice and explore black feminism. They believe that the greatest revolution is to work from and with tenderness and love. As a group of women of African descent, this is how they want to work.
In Moving Identities, they will explore three concepts associated with a black woman's body: pleasure, foreignness and pain. Drawing on the historical research of Dr J. Marion Sims, known as the ‘father of modern gynaecology’, and contemporary experiences, they will explore what remains of this brutal, racist and violent practice and find new ways to celebrate black women's bodies, sexuality and pleasure.
Read about their work here
The Age of Love from Belgium works with identity, queerness and the search for underrepresented talent. They support different communities coming together and explore the possibilities of finding love through both differences and similarities with the idea that: ‘Black or white, straight or queer? - It's all disco.’
In Moving Identities, they will explore experiences from the perspective of second-generation immigrants and their struggles and celebrations. Their research includes practical and performative methods, interviews, working with physical materials and how these can be linked to their own heritage.
Read about their work here
How Moving Identities works
The aim of the project is to achieve greater diversity in the performing arts across Europe and to strengthen the international networks and visibility of underrepresented artists through residencies. Moving Identities also enables best practice to be shared between partner institutions and ensures that they develop tools to support a diversity of artists and themes.
Each year, a group of artists is selected in each country. Each group receives three residencies during the year: one in their home country and two internationally at an international partner institution. The artists also meet online to network and receive guidance to help them develop their creative practice.
In 2024/25, the participating countries are Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Germany and Spain.
By exploring what it means to be European today, Moving Identities examines how the performing arts connect us and contribute to a more equitable and collaborative Europe.
