By Diana Guijarro

When we speak of European culture politics we normally think of treaties, agreements and diverse regulations. However something is changing regarding the concept of the concept of culture in Europe both at institutionally and in practice, specifically regarding help for new cultural pieces.

Regarding the interview that we present below we have selected some aspects of European cultural politics that we believe are very relevant for artistic activity and its protection, diffusion and mobility and which are of great importance in creating a culturally plural Europe.

Among the many acts that are being put into place in the EU we find that the cooperation among diverse cultural operators (businesses as well as artists) is a priority, understanding this cooperative labour as elemental to accomplish the goals of cultural diffusion and development.

For this reason the Commission of the EU for the development of cultural policies has focused on three basic objectives:

1 – Intercultural dialogue (thereby promoting diversity) and artist mobility (fundamental to creating a common cultural space)

2 – Culture has to be understand as a catalyst for creativity (European Strategy 2020)

3 – Europe must acquire a new role so that cultural dimension is vital for contacts between regions.

For this it’s interesting to mention currently active programs like the Working Plan for Culture (2011-2014), the Green Paper about the potential of cultural and creative industries (CCI) where new spaces for experimentation, innovation and mobility of objects are published, and, last, the Cultural Programme (2007-2013) managed by the Executive Agency of the EU for the educational, audiovisual and cultural environment.

To show a concrete example, we present a border-crossing project between Italy and Spain: the co-production between LRM Performance, a Spanish artistic collective, and Heuristic, an Italian Cultural Association with its headquarters in Sardinia, organiser of the five editions of the Miniere Sonora Festival.

This cooperation bore fruit in the elaboration and presentation in the Antonio Garau Theatre this past December of the latest work of the artistic collective LRM Performance, Memory Root Light.

We spoke with the artistic director of the Miniere Sonore Festival, Stefano Casta and with the collective LRM Performance, formed by David Aladro-Vico and Berta Delgado.

Interview with Stefano Casta, artistic director of Miniere Sonore

There are festivals in Europe like Abierto de Acción (Open Action) in Spain (Alicante / Murcia) specialising in performances, why have you at Miniere Sonore, with it being a festival of electro-acoustic music, opted for this discipline with LRM in this special event?

SC- In reality Miniere Sonore has music at its core, but its goal is the search for new artistic languages, to promote original productions and show them to the public. For this reason Miniere Sonore’s offer is heterogeneous. LRM, with its interdisciplinary work, has shown the dialectic problem between languages (within which music exists) and this has been the basis of their project and their research. It’s a project that matches the theoretical premises of the Heuristic Association which is the commissary of Miniere Sonore.

How was your experience with LRM?

 SC- It’s been a perfect experience from all points of view. There’s been a great understanding ever since the first meeting. In the work, realised with great precision and in our free time, we have had some very interesting debates about art and aesthetics, the artists of LRM have shown themselves to be perfect participants in the context of the festival. I hope that we are given the conditions to renew the collaboration between Heuristic and LRM another time.

Regarding the more technical aspects that come with the realisation of a festival of this type, how have problems of logistics, organisation and getting things ready been resolved? Do you have a broad team of professionals?

SC- Memory Root Light has required certain care due to its complex scenery installation. Some problems have been resolved just before the presentation, but this is part of the game.

However, everything was organised trying to predict to the smallest detail, one needs to keep in mind the variables that are present in improvisation, problems to be resolved at a moment’s notice, and this is in part determined by good organisation. The “heart” of Heuristic (our association) is composed of Lorenzo Lepori and myself, both creators of the festival. Around us there is a series of young professionals that constitute the “body” of the organisation, which is still in progress. 

As we have mentioned, Europe is acquiring a new role in the cultural atmosphere, one that is more realistic, more practical. Do you think the Festival Miniere Sonore is converting into a platform that serves for the projection of artists and intercultural dialogue?

SC – That is exactly our goal. We want Miniere Sonore to reach a European level in all respects and I am convinced that this direction is the right one: a series of results regarding hospitality programmes has been achieved with greater than expected success, now it’s necessary to “export” the festival beyond the Italian borders. Miniere Sonore must be converted into a European node for diverse work networks and therefore favour the production and distribution of works.

Realising a festival the size of Miniere Sonore requires an adventure that is as risky as it is attractive; after 5 years of operation and with the accumulated experience what aspects relating to its development have been modified the most, for example, the budget? 

SC- The most important aspect is surely the ways of the work: at the beginning there were three organisers with not too many contacts, whereas today surrounding the Festival there are more people circulating, more proposals and offers that come from abroad. Also from the economic point of view there is some progress: the budget from year to year is more important but at the same time it implies more problems at the management level.

The fact that a festival has been produced for five years shows great organisation and an artistic inquisitiveness to search for new forms of contemporary expressiveness; are these the aspects that have helped get support from diverse institutions? (Region of Sardinia, Community and Province of Oristano, Conservatorio Cagliari, the Spanish Embassy in Italy). Is institutional help a vital support and an important factor to continue with the project?

SC- Surely Miniere Sonore has a rather particular conception, it differs from those that we are used to, and for this I think that these, in addition to its quality and novelty, have been the principal factors that have brought the interest of the institutions.

For a festival that principally deals with research, institutional help is of vital importance, the first among others is the Region of Sardinia, however you have to keep in mind the great private support that has been offered to us without which we would not be able to go forward with this project.

One of the goals of the Heuristic Association that you coordinate is the execution of projects and festivals (like Miniere Sonore) which are related to the cultural growth of local zones; to this end, have you observed positive transformations in these areas? Does this type of festival function as a direct and real platform so that the public can revalue its resources?

SC – I believe that in these years Miniere Sonore has created a positive effect. The three aspects that we have been able to appreciate are:

  1) Participation of local musicians when needed – many of them from the Conservatorio de Cagliari  – creating brand new productions as resident artists.

  2) The loyalty of the public, each time with more and more curiosity, grows year by year and among a great variety of ages.

  3) The extension of the work network that takes more collaborators on board from other zones of Sardinia.

Within that contact with the public, their impressions and reactions, do they believe that the social networks and their feedback are fundamental for this process of communication? Can the attendees contribute to the growth of the Festival through these methods?

SC- In any case, the public always provides feedback in all occasions. From my point of view Miniere Sonore must contribute to create an attitude of openness in the public, of curiosity, of availability to new works without prejudice. Miniere Sonore intends to bring unexplored territories to the spectators where they can design their own personal map without fear of getting lost.

The festival has already had contact with English, French and now Spanish artists; have you thought about extending connections and branches to other places? Including outside Europe? What mechanisms would be necessary to do this, perhaps some type of online platform?

SC- There are of course formidable artists all around the world, artists that we would like to participate in our festival with new productions. Probably for the next edition we will get an Asian and an American guest. The online platform is one of the projects left to do but much of this depends on the private and institutional help that want to join in for 2013.

Interview with LRM Performance 

Credits: Sara Sánchez

How did the contact between LRM performance and the Festival start?

LRM – We got to know each other via Facebook and later in person in Madrid, two years ago.

Why do you believe that they selected you?

LRM – The day of our meeting with Stefano in Madrid we understood each other very well from the first moment. He is a professional musician and producer, but they like proposals that mix artistic disciplines, lets in culture in all its axes, so for this our job is interesting for him.

In what way has this helped to disseminate your work? Breaking barriers as well just as you do between different artistic disciplines?

LRM - We have realised the creation and elaboration of the product -Memory Root Light with all the economic and physical effort that comes with it, and it has been realised in conjunction with the Heuristic Association – hosts and organisers of the Miniere Sonore Festival – to generate the background of logistical and economic conditions necessary for the presentation of the festival. This has allowed everyone to accomplish all of our goals and complete the cycle. To do this, good communication is crucial.

For us this collaboration has been very positive not only because it opens future possibilities in Europe but also because it helps in the process of creation. For example, it allows us to compare the reactions of a public from a different background. The work has been very well received in our opinion for its interdisciplinary character, mixing music, plastic and dramatic arts, and we have been very satisfied as have the hosts. 

Credits: Sara Sánchez

What have you taken from this experience?

LRM - We have taken away a great feeling: Stefano, Lorenzo and all the team of Miniere Sonore welcomed us in a very hospitable and professional way and this greatly facilitated work when there are so many things to resolve.

In your previous interview, Berta commented that one of your goals was to present Memory Root Light in Europe, have you completed your goal or is this only the first step?

LRM - It’s the first step, without a doubt; we need to show it in more countries in the European Union, we want to see the reactions of different publics which we think will be just as positive as the response from the Italian public and we believe that with this project future cooperation agreements for its presentation will be equally satisfactory for everyone.

Throughout your trajectory, the Far East has had an important role (Memory Root Light), in what manner is this reflected in your work? Does the Far East serve as an open space with many possibilities?

LRM - For us the Far East is a reference, we are attracted to their culture: it is more contemplative than western culture, but at the same time it possesses a wealth of ideas that creates a fresh environment for creativity, something that the west is losing.

For Memory Root Light we have needed dramatic arts performers from Japan and Taiwan since we have incorporated oriental cultural references in its creative process – such elements of the Peking opera, the Gagaku, or movements coming from traditional Thai dances.

Your job presents a very productive duality, on the one hand the enormous search through materials, sounds and movements; and on the other hand the transformation into a non-narrative experience, looking for spontaneous emotion. Have we arrived at the end of the voyage in this search or is it only a point of departure for new languages?

LRM - It’s a point of departure, of course; the creative search never ends… we believe that we have a very interesting procedure for creation because it generates associations that would not happen otherwise. Music, visual and dramatic arts mutually reinforce each other when they are elaborated and presented together. We work each discipline to the same level of complexity, we look for a dense result, a job that can be seen and heard many times. For us there is a lot left to discover and to create.  

Credits: Sara Sánchez