Interested in joining the BLIND DATE project? There are still some places left! To apply read the instructions in the Open Call
For info in Macedonian, please mail info@zoeys.org
A Blind Date for two groups of musicians, one from the Netherlands and one from Macedonia. They will be given 14 days to overcome their cultural differences; find common language; brainstorm ideas together; learn to be open minded, to trust each other while developing ideas into pieces; practice and perform their artistic results on a concert with international audience. All of this in only 14 days!
They will resist, will find it impossible, will worry and feel like quitting but as there will be no time to analyze, they will have to work intuitively, therefore make amazing pieces, they will grow, learn and feel stronger as artists. They will become friends forever!
Each couple will bring an artistic product that will serve as a result of their time together.
About the daily programme:
After the introductory presentations of the first day, the couples are made and the participants will be working on idea-forming for their final product. This product could be a composition for acoustic instrument and live electronics, sound installation, composition or installation with visual arts etc. The choice will be left on each group.
Every morning will begin with a talking session called Distilled Experiences. During this hour many topics (see programme) will be discussed. The topics are a subject to change, as we would like to support the participants to come with their own suggestions. The morning sessions are important, as the participants will learn to openly debate in a group setting and think about topics important for their personal development and reflection as artist.
After the Distilled Experiences, in the morning several workshops will be given. The workshops will cover the interest of both Dutch and Macedonian participants, as they will offer knowledge about the use of software as well as knowledge about how to work and write for an acoustic instrument. For details please see the programme.
At noon, the group comes together again, this time to talk about the progress and difficulties of the working process of their group. They will talk about their ideas, what they are working on and as they get deeper into their pieces many questions will come to surface. These questions will be addressed during these sessions on a daily basis and with the whole group. This way the participants will notice that no matter which art form they chose, or which artistic language, they are all facing the same problems. This method brings the group closer together, stimulates dialog and directly influences their confidence.
The afternoons are reserved for the participants to work on their pieces. During their artistic working process professionals in the field, from the Netherlands and Macedonia, will guide the couples. As the project will start with a concert of the professionals, the participants will get to know their language and will know who they could address with a certain question during the project. At first the guidance will consist of searching for common artistic ideas and making choices about artistic expression. As the participants get deeper into shaping their ideas a lot of questions will arise. These will be addressed together with all of the participants in the noon talking sessions.
Concerts:
The project will bring two major and many smaller concert performances.
At the kick-off and as a pat of the Ohrid Summer Festival, the Blind Date will organize a concert on which compositions of the lecturers/professionals from the Netherlands and Macedonia will be presented. This presentation will have a role of an introduction of what the Blind Date will be about and it will create a clear view of the possibilities that can be achieved with this artistic discipline. It will offer inspiration to the participants.
During the 14 days period, every second evening a presentation of the work in progress will be organized on various locations in Ohrid. This will give the participants a nice way to get feedback from the audience before their pieces are done and the locals will be informed on a nice way about what is happening in their city.
At the very last day of the Blind Date a concert will be organized for presentation of the pieces created by the participants. The best piece will have a chance of being presented in The Netherlands.
Workshops:
The Blind Date will introduce its participants to a set of contemporary techniques and concepts behind technology based composition and performance. The participants will be offered to work with:
acoustic instruments and live electronics
Max/MSP
Super Collider
Music Production
Supervising professionals:
Jorrit Tamminga – http://jorrittamminga.nl/
Katerina Pejoska – http://www.katerinapejoska.com
Arjen de Vreede – http://www.djdna.net/
Thijs Koerselman – http://www.vauxlab.com/
Click here for biographies.
Initiative and concept by: Katerina Pejoska
A project by: Zoey Foundation for Arts and Culture The Netherlands and Culture Lab Macedonia.
Interested in joining the BLIND DATE project? There are still some places left!
To apply read the instructions in the Open Call
Supported by Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia and Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje, Macedonia.
