The Beyond Signs team is happy to report a successful ending of the “Festival of signs, movement and imagination” in Zagreb!
Despite minor technical challenges, the first ever Beyond Signs artistic residency successfully took place in Zagreb from the 18th to the 21st of October 2021. The artistic residency was combined with the “Festival of signs, movement and imagination” organized by the Croation partner, the association Theater, audiovisual arts and culture of the Deaf – DLAN, with a special highlight on the 20th anniversary of the organization’s existence.
During the four days of the festival, the three partner’s teams had the opportunity to network with local and international Deaf and hearing participants of the festival. Most importantly, this was the first time the Beyond Signs team was able to work together in person, after the Covid-19 imposed travel restrictions of late 2020 and early 2021 which interrupted the project’s activity schedule.
The selected artists had a chance to work together on stage in person at the KNAP culture center. Their activities were mainly focused on the exchange of best practices and developing an understanding of each other’s experiences under the guidance of artistic directors Angel Naumovski and Tony Weaver, together with Diana Anselmo who stepped in as the assistant to Rita Mazza, the Italian artistic director who was unable to attend the residency in Zagreb due to health issues.
Along with the artistic work on stage, the final day was followed by a video presentation of the residency made by Ze Luis Rebel, the Portuguese Deaf film director included in the Beyond Signs project, which was shown to a hand picked audience of local and international Deaf individuals and relevant cultural operators.
In conclusion, the Zagreb residency was a long awaited opportunity for the Beyond Signs team to regain faith in the possibility of working together in person again during the next phases of the project.