Meeting the Odyssey is a social and artistic collaborative project sailing from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea. Each summer from 2014 to 2016, artists and organizers from different European countries will travel together, giving workshops and performing theater pieces.

The project will combine elements of the Odyssey, contemporary themes relevant to Europe and stories collected through exchanges with the local population.

But Meeting the Odyssey is also a journey in itself: bringing people together through long term collaboration, and discovering new artistic landscapes and cultural attitudes to develop synergies at the European level.



Project ambition

What is Europe today? Who are the people living in Europe compared to who they were? What is their personal Odyssey?

This project asks: what is the common Europe behind the commitment of the European Union? Is there a common ground based on culture and daily life? How can we be reminded of our common roots? The project aims to decrease prejudices and to create a shared narrative that comes out -of the stories of the people in Europe today, through the frame of the legend of Odysseus.

For a meaningful discussion about a sustainable and inclusive European culture and a creative future, we need to cross national borders to meet people from different contexts with different perspectives on Europe.

An international partnership

This project is carried by the Théâtre Viirus in Finland and a network of European cultural structures of which Réseau en scène Languedoc-Roussillon] (France) is a part. At the invitation of Réseau en scène, ARTfactories/Autre(s)pARTs were requested to make a work of observation and evaluation of the project. Our association will coordinate a work of analysis on the various aspects of this project, in particular on the questions of borders and identity, and on its impact on the local populations. Our method of work will be inspired by the methods of research-action, which involves the research team at the heart of the project.

Three years around the world































































Partners of the project

• Théâtre Viirus, Finlande
• Théâtre Asterions Hus, Danemark
• Cada Die Teatro, Italie
• Théâtre Polski TeatrLalki i Aktora, Pologne
• Festival Malta Arts Festival, Malte
• Compagnie Profit Art, République Tchèque
• Région Lombardie : DirezioneGeneraleIstruzione, Formazione e Cultura, Italie
• Réseau en scène Languedoc-Roussillon, France
• ARTfactories/Autre(s)pARTs, France
• Résidence et compagnie ScarlattineTeatro, Italie
• Théâtre Skorohod Platform, Russie
• Théâtre Vanalinnastuudio, Estonie
• TeatroDellaLimonaia, Italie
• Théâtre Anapoda, Grèce
  

Read the complete presentation of the project