ABOUT THE PLATFORM
"From Pilsen, it's quicker to get to Munich than to Ostrava. Barrier-free railway and art infrastructures are available to us. The BAVARIAN-CZECH-PLATFORM thus builds on spatial proximity. Its goal is to make it easier for cultural workers to get to know one another and to work together. "
Petr Dlouhý
EMERGENCE OF THE PLATFORM
The idea of founding the platform came about in 2020 on the premises of the European Association for Independent Performing Arts (EAIPA). The first mapping activities began the following year: the founders of the platform, Petr Dlouhý, Kryštof Koláček, Julia Opitz and Axel Tangerding, came together with a multi-headed delegation (representing Czech festivals, residency programs and independent arts and culture centers) for a research trip to Munich and Nuremberg. The aim of the trip was to make initial contacts, to involve important actors in the platform and to introduce Czech artists to their Bavarian colleagues. With the staging of ‚Reality Surfing‘ by the Czech collective PYL, independent Czech art was presented in Munich. The excursion was supported by the Czech-German Future Fund, the Czech Center Munich and the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts.
In September 2022, the activities of the emerging platform continued with a research trip by Axel Tangerding and VFDKB Chairwoman Daniela Aue to Prague and Kutná Hora, supported by the Czech Center Munich. During the trip they met with representatives of the Czech-German Future Fund, the Goethe Institute of the Czech Republic, the Directorate of Czech Centers, the ‚New Network‘ and other institutions. They also took part in the international ‚Theater Festival Kutná Hora‘.
At the end of 2022, the Bavarian-Czech team presented the newly founded platform to representatives of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Goethe Institute, the Czech-German Future Fund and other actors in the field of the independent performing arts.
In June 2023, a Czech delegation visited the Bavarian cities of Munich, Nuremberg and Bamberg and made valuable contacts with the respective local scenes and administrations. Further visit programs are planned for November 2023.
GOALS OF THE PLATFORM
Based on the cooperation between the Association of Independent Theaters of the Czech Republic (AND CR) and the Bavarian Association of the Independent Performing Arts (VFDKB), the BY-CZ-Platform creates a new structured and continuous exchange in the field of the independent performing arts.
The starting point of the cooperation is the belief that it is necessary to establish long-term and ecologically sustainable partnerships in nearby locations that have a similar cultural background and at the same time are capable of cultural enrichment.
Although the Czech Republic and Bavaria are geographically very close to each other, there is still no structured cultural exchange program. Joint projects either take place along very individual paths that are not intended to be long-term – or not at all. The BAVARIAN-CZECH-PLATFORM FOR THE INDEPENDENT PERFORMING ARTS thus acts as a first step towards creating a stable and comprehensive cooperation that enables mutual meetings and the implementation of supra-regional exchange rounds – including artistic residencies or trips by experts to festivals and international conferences.