This late spring, we had the opportunity to showcase ourselves to the entire world. We were able to introduce our fair, FIET, beyond the archipelago with our trips to Cuba and Italy!
First, from May 24 to June 1, Jaume Gomila, director of FIET and president of Sa Xerxa de Teatre, attended the XXI Congreso Mundial ASSITEJ y Festival de Artes Escénicas para la Infancia y la Juventud Voces de un Mundo Nuevo in Havana, Cuba. ASSITEJ Spain invited us to the most important congress in their calendar, held every three years, and it is the space where members from six continents meet in the General Assembly. This XXI congress, spanning a little over a week, managed to gather more than 1000 representatives and artists from over 70 countries, with 65 workshops, talks, and debates, and 25 performances from 5 continents.
The team from Spain in Cuba was formed by the board of directors of ASSITEJ Spain: Eulàlia Ribera, Marta Torres, Gonzalo Moreno, and Omar Meza; playwright Nieves Rodríguez; Jaume Nieto from Imaginart, and Jaume Gomila from FIET and Sa Xerxa. With this team formation, ASSITEJ aims to launch a project for the internationalization of performing arts for children and youth on a national scale, with the intention of promoting and fostering the presence of proposals from the peninsula and the Balearic Islands around the world. ASSITEJ’s objectives in this internationalization are to make the group’s attendance visible; facilitate coordination; propose activities to present the Spanish theater circuit; utilize the Portal of Performing Arts for Children and Youth; hold meetings with local operators; and seek institutional support. We were also able to celebrate Gonzalo Moreno’s election by the General Assembly to have the honor and responsibility of being one of the 15 members of the ASSITEJ International Executive Committee.
On the other hand, Jaume Gomila also attended Colpi di Scena. Biennale di Teatro per Ragazzi e Giovani. This year, the 13th edition of the fair took place from June 17 to 20 in Forlì, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. The Biennale is promoted by Accademia Perduta/Romagna Teatri and ATER Fondazione, in collaboration with the Forlì Municipality, the Faenza Municipality, and the Unione della Romagna Faentina. The artistic direction of this edition was entrusted to Italian actor Claudio Casadio, who organized sixteen performances for the new generations. According to the festival, this is a difficult audience to attract and engage, which is why the performing arts sector dedicates much effort to creativity and attention. Having organized so many editions of FIET, we know well what they are talking about, and thus, it has been a great experience to attend the 13th Colpi di Scena to learn new modus operandi that will then help us improve and grow our Fira de Teatre Infantil i Juvenil de les Illes Balears.
As the president of Sa Xerxa explains, we are in a paradoxical world where information circulates more than ever and, at the same time, the freedom of movement of people and ideas is limited. With the most contradictory intentions and arguments in each of the different countries. In fact, it is not easy to maintain the authenticity of what is local while at the same time wanting to be known worldwide. Now, as we increasingly understand the complexity of the environmental sustainability of constant travel, we are also aware of the need to encourage the exchange of experiences and ideas. We want people to enjoy a freer world, we want to be local and global at the same time, and that is very difficult to achieve, maybe even impossible.
