Contact Zones

CONTACT ZONES_performing arts in urban space is an international and multidisciplinary project: its aim is to create contact and interaction between performing arts, urban spaces and people. Contact Zones aims to contribute to the sustainable development of cities, generating “good pratice” through co-operation between art, urban spaces and people. Contact Zones is a dialogue, developed through different forms, aesthetics and experimentations, in order to build new visions and suggest unpredictable answers. It promotes the international mobility of artists – with a special focus on Under – 35 artists and the creation of site-specific performances, proposes audience engagement actions. Contatct Zones has been supported by the European Union – as part of Creative Europe Programme – for two editions: the first edition took place in 2015-2016, and the second edition took place in 2019-2020.

Contact Zones is a project created by Margine Operativo in network with Ondadurto Teatro.

The first edition of “Contact Zones_performing art in urban space” of which Margine Operativo was the project leader was declared in 2017 by the European Union “SUCCES STORY” an international recognition that is awarded to the best Creative Europe projects.

The area of action of Contact Zones are the spaces redeveloped and redefined in their use by urban transformation – pedestrian areas, squares, markets, cultural centres, unconventional spaces – where it is possible to intercept a transversal and new audience.

In the first edition – 2015/2016 Contact Zones took place in Italy, Germany, United Kingdom.

In the second edition – 2019/2020 Contact Zones took place in Italy, Denmark, Germany.

Contact Zones is defined as the space in which transculturation takes place – where differents cultures meet and inform each other, often in highly asymmetrical ways. A Contact Zone allows people from different backgrounds to interact and break down cultural boundaries. When a contact zone is established, people are able to gain a new perspective because they are able to interact with people of different cultures. (Mary Louise Pratt, “Arts of the Contact Zone”)

Crossbreeding / Boundaries / Trespassing are the key words around which Contact Zones revolves.

Crossbreeding in art (and life) acts reorganizing the spaces of action, enabling the emergence of new practices of cooperation, new trans-national and trans-local cultural expressions: and all these new forms require and evoke new perspectives and a new cultural imaginaries.

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