TOWARDS AN EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OPEN STREET

During the showcase OPEN STREET it has emerged as whole Europe is keen to continue the experience of cooperation aven after the activity program funded by European Community (ending next June): to date, the network includes nearly 700 members from nearly 30 European countries, shared among artists, companies, festival directors, operators, public administrations, who have all the same need to share and compare productions, ideas and ways of working. Such a colorful and multilingual cooperation, in recent years has given rise to important “intellectuals relationships” between artists and operators, relationships we can find prominently expressed in artistic productions. European cooperation is essential for circulation of ideas and proposals that result to be fundamental for the unity and cultural identity of Europe; hence next months will be dedicated to the consolidation of network with the participation of all people finding their ideas to be lined with this thought and work, both among those who have recently approached to Open Street and the project founders.

These last ones are maturing the idea to launch the birth of an International Association that transforms the informal relationships tied up during activities of network, in structural and lasting relationships, with precise engagements for common objectives. The auspice is that the constitutive meeting of this new subject can be developed before the end of the program sustained by the UE.

The good result of the showcase, listening who has participated, allows to intend that the job for the birth of this association will surely be binding but also interesting and really tempting for the so many differences that will meet to a same table to discuss and to plan the development of the street art.

OPEN STREET...OPEN SQUARES...

To distinguish the activity of professional show,(companies and artists attending to festivals), from the activity of artists performing free hat show, is subject of a lot of divergences in the European ambit: in many countries, the greatest part of operators and professional companies, does not consider hat activity as real artistic activity, but barely a kind of evolved begging, denying every possible cohabitation among the two disciplines. This, indeed, is considered useful by many European artists:some of them, in fact, attending the 2° edition of the European OPEN STREET showcase in Fermo, were willing to know not only about the Italian ambit of festival and events, but also about the Italian situation of free hat performing. Artists willing to organize a tour in Italy would find the two activities absolutely complementary: the cachets events take mainly place in the weekends, and artists wishes to stay in Italy for several weeks would have the problem to earn some incomes also in working days between one event and another. In these cases the hat can be undoubtely useful...Hence the need, mainly of solo artists and small companies, to be informed at best. We, as Italian seat OPEN STREET European FORUM, have gladly explained the Italian situation, which is not easy to understand. Similarly, many artists told us about the situation in their country and we must say that, broadly speaking, the problem is the same at all latitudes: local authorities are trying to solve the matter with measures that are never the best, and always considering the street show as a security problem to be solved rather than an artistic and social heritage for whole community. Under this point of view, basically all administrations see it the same way all over Europe.To face these problems at European level and try to definy, also in this ambit, what should be considered as common best practices, could be an aim to be pursued by a transnational network as Open Street.
At this stage the network is engaged in gathering as much documentation as possible to have an exhaustive framework of how the free street show and hat passing artists are accepted by local authorities, audience, operators and other artists of variuos European cultures.

Open Street network requests to all artists, companies, organizers and sector operators in Europe to send materials related to the free hat passing show: national and regional laws, regulations of cities and villages, personal experiences, newspaper articles, online news, web links , videos, not forgetting fines, trials, arrests and appropriate convictions to the stake!

You can send your stuffs to: staff@fnas.org, indicating the name of city involved into email title.
Many thanks in advance for kind cooperation!

13th-16th OCTOBER 2011, SHOWCASE IN FERMO AND MONTEGRANARO

Great participation of artists, companies and professionals from all over Europe

The last showcase in the ambit of the Open Street Project, held on October in Fermo and Montegranaro, was a great success thanks to broad participation of artists, companies, managers, festivals operators, public administrators, who came from 19 European countries. In the four days of event it was underlined that the personal encounter and subsequent dialogue between art producers and programmers is a key part in the world of street art, because the different cultural proposals almost always reflect the cultures of origin. It must be remembered that the cultural purpose the network, is not secondary to the economic one, because the exchange of professional practices ensures a flow of ideas and proposals that are highly significant for European unity and identity, but also for the artistic production tout court. Through the showcase came out a brand diverse, exciting and vibrant frame of street art in Europe, where it may happen that the same stories were told with techniques and suggestions very different from each other, and sometimes the performances showed a specific cultural connotation, demonstrating that European identity has as its very starting point the respective cultures . Under an organizational point of view, the choice to have less "show demo" companies than last year (30 instead 80), has allowed everyone to be seen (and to operators to see), as well as giving everyone the opportunity to meet directly and this has created a greater relationship: in confirmation of this, some agreement have already gone to be signed for next summer. In the blog area of this website, you can see many comments from participants, thus confirming as the frame of showcase has been positively designed and implemented. By next June, upon closure of activities, the project will also edit a publication that will make stock of the situation of European street art. Part of this work, dedicated to situation of street show in different countries participating to network, will be managed by the University of Macerata (supported by FNAS) through four interns (3 of them are graduated); during the showcase they have met some of the artistic directors, artists and companies from all over Europe in order to start their research, by using a questionnaire previously prepared. The heart of conversations, to which further specific research will follow in further months, was the individual different cultural strategies under creative, professional, promotional and legislative points of view.

LA STRADA (OPEN) FESTIVAL IN BREMEN

In Bremen the shows of "Open Street Festival" german section.

The next appointment of Project Open Street agenda is the "La Strada" Festival, the 17th edition of Strassenzirkusfestival programmed in Bremen (DE) from 18th to 21st August 2011. The programme of La Strada (Open) Festival foresees a number of shows selected in occasion of the Open International Showcase.

>>> GENERAL PROGRAMME

 

II OPEN MEETING IN MONTEGRANARO (June 2011)

On the occasion of the Open Street Festival in Montegranaro, programmed in the ambit of Veregrastreet Festival, on June 25th the Open Street Forum held an international meeting , focused on theme "The Urban Show in the Open City".

The meeting was attended by numerous Italian and foreign operators: the mayor of Montegranaro, Mr. Gastone Gismondi, and Giuseppe Nuciari, representatives of project leader; Rosalba Ortenzi, counselor of Marche Region; Mario Andrenacci, president of ANCI (National Association of Municipalities) Marche; Guglielmo Massucci, Assessor for Tourism, province of Fermo; Graziano Di Battista, councilor for culture of Montegranaro; Gigi Russo, President of F.N.A.S.; Alessio Michelotti, director of F.N.A.S.; Gabriele Koch, art director of La Strada Festival - Bremen (DE); Ewa Salamon, City Council of Gdansk (PL); Bourdereau Laurent, Conseil Général de l'Essonne (FR); Marta Almirall – event coordinator for City of Barcelona (ES); Al Seed, Art director of Conflux Festival - Glasgow (UK); Jean Felix Tirtiaux, Art director of Namur en Mai - Namur (BE); Alessandro Serena Ass.Circo e Dintorni (IT); Boris Vecchio, Art Director of Circumnavigando Festival - Genova (IT); Wanda Circus counselor of F.N.A.S.; Fabrizio Gavosto, Art Director of Mirabilia Festival - Fossano (IT); Sergio Aguirre and Manola Nifosi, Art Directors of Lugliobambino Festival - Campi Bisenzio (IT); Rada Nimmrichter and Florian Puschmann, University of Bremen, Roberto Leopardi, Silvia Criscuoli and Marta De Bastiani, for Open Street Coordination / F.N.A.S.

After the welcome greetings of Mr.Gastone Gismondi, Mayor of Montegranaro, Open Street project leader, Mr. Giuseppe Nuciari, artistic director of local Veregrastreet Festival, expressed in broad terms the issues to be discussed during meeting, in particular to understand as the presence of street arts can influence the life of the city from the perspective of social relationships, increasing tourism and a new way for citizens to interact with the city as a whole.