“Actus, for Vjosa” by ‘was bleibt kollektiv | Gentian Doda’
"Actus, for Vjosa" brings together Albanian and European artists in a contemporary dance work dedicated to the preservation of Vjosa, the last wild river of Europe. Created by world-renowned choreographer Gentian Doda, with a musical composition by Çezar Aliaj, the project is a celebration for Vjosa and every other free river.
Cross-border/international
Albania
Greece
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Albania
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Greece
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
The project was partly supported by Europe House Albania, a project funded by the European Union.
No
Yes
2022-10-30
As an individual in partnership with other persons
First name: Rosella Last name: Pellicciotti Gender: Female Nationality: Albania If relevant, please select your other nationality: Italy Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Blv. Bajram Curri, Nd. 118, H. 25, Ap. 10 Town: Tirana Postal code: 1019 Country: Albania Direct Tel:+355 69 269 0094 E-mail:wasbleibtkollektiv@gmail.com Website:http://linktr.ee/wasbleibtkollektiv
‘ACTUS, for Vjosa’ is a project which brings together Albanian and European artists dedicated to the protection of Vjosa, the last European wild river. Implemented between September-October 2022, at a time when the declaration of Vjosa as a National Park was being debated with the Albanian government, after many activist actions in the past years.
‘Actus, for Vjosa’ is the first contemporary dance production in Albania to link art, environment and progressive communities. Created by world-renowned choreographer Gentian Doda, with a musical composition by Çezar Aliaj, a production of ‘was bleibt kollektiv | Gentian Doda’, co-produced by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Tirana and supported by several other NGOs. The project was finalized with:
- a month-long awareness and promotion campaign,
- three teasers dramaturgically connected about life related to water,
- a public intervention in the main square of Tirana,
- two full evening shows at the Opera House in Tirana (AL),
- a video-installation in the Opera’s hall showing parts of the creative process,
- one show in Ioannina (GR),
- the broadcast of the full performance on RTSH (Albanian national tv channel)
- a 2023 ’Actus, for Vjosa’ calendar
‘ACTUS, for Vjosa’ recreates a world in miniature (with the participation of 10 performers from 7 different countries), an amorphous, mobile structure - with references to the ‘liquid society’ theory. It seeks to inspire an ‘act of salvation’ from instability and loss. As humans transform nature and are transformed by it, the paysage becomes a reflection of our internal world, and vice versa. The consciousness of this close connection between humans and nature is nowadays compromised by ways of thinking and acting which drift us apart. Through this creation, we sought to raise awareness about our belonging to nature, using the body in movement (as our most visceral and natural way of communicating).
Preservation
Wild River National park
Art as power
Contemporary dance
Act of salvation
The project has a long term objective of reconnecting people with nature. Instead of having an immediate effect, it was the initiator of a movement, a longer journey aimed at raising awareness about this indispensable bond. Currently in Albania the construction industry is at its peak, but we brought this project forward to inspire public and decision makers about the respect to nature, as the healthiest way our country can develop.
People have generously embraced the cause of the protection of Vjosa and its declaration as a Wild River National Park. The issue was brought to attention for a whole month of campaign and key representatives of the Albanian government (such as the Minister of Environment and Tourism, the Prime Minister) also showed interest in the project since the beginning of its implementation.
The ‘Actus, for Vjosa’ project is thought to be kept alive through further international showings of the creation during this year as an inspiration for similar actions. The team is ready for an international tour. Moreover, the whole process of creation and other side activities were constantly being filmed, and the plan is to release an ‘Actus, for Vjosa’ making-of documentary in the near future.
‘Actus, for Vjosa’ is an authentic choreographic artwork. Gentian Doda’s contemporary vision of dance is an accumulation and selection of his classical, neoclassical, modern, folkloric and contemporary yearslong experience and knowledge. Inspired by Bach’s Cantata 106 and based on some polyphonic concepts, the creation has as a starting point motives from the Albanian cultural heritage, transposed to the contemporary world.
Besides the presentation of the final performance in October 2022, an innovative promotional campaign took place on social media and around the city for a whole month, where issues about Vjosa and the importance of its preservation were addressed through an artistic lens. Moving posters (on the links), teasers of the dancing filmed in Vjosa (on the links), impressions from the artists involved (attached) were published on all our Albanian and international partners’ official profiles, bringing the public’s attention to the issue.
In this project, eight international artists had the opportunity to live in and get to know Albania for two months, while collaborating with the local artists and civil society. The whole artistic team had a 3-days expedition to Vjosa during the period of creation, accompanied by an expert who went through relevant scientific information, motivating deeply the artists about the importance of the project on a local and global scale.
‘Actus, for Vjosa’ is an inclusive project which brings culture to everybody. The two performances of ‘Actus, for Vjosa’ in Tirana were accessible through booking the seat online, with no charge. Discriminated groups, civil society and representatives of governmental institutions were invited to participate and most of them were present (Minister of the Environment and Tourism, Minister of Culture, Minister of Agriculture, among others). The voice of activists was made heard through bringing society to the opera building.
‘Actus, for Vjosa’ brought the topic of the preservation of Vjosa out of the conference halls, into the Opera. The Opera House became for two evenings a meeting place between art lovers, progressive communities (LGBT+, feminists, etc), activists and politicians. 1400 people were present after an important innovative campaign. The aim was to empower the community through an artistic manifestation and suggest that art is power.
The artistic process was a highly inclusive one, too. The selection of artists went beyond gender, age and nationality barriers. On the contrary the team is diverse and the creation process was collaborative; proposals and discussions were part of the daily work together with artistic director and choreographer Gentian Doda.
Civil society NGOs were the main supporters and promoters of the project, both Albanian and international ones. They were deeply involved in the supply of factual and scientific information about Vjosa and the cause of its preservation. The information provided by them, by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Tirana, Riverwatch and EcoAlbania directors especially, was crucial to the shaping of the ‘Actus, for Vjosa’ performance by choreographer Gentian Doda. It was also motivating and inspiring for the other artists involved for a smooth completion of the project.
The project was produced by ‘was bleibt kollektiv | Gentian Doda’ in partnership with the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Tirana office. The artistic creation was implemented completely by ‘was bleibt kollektiv | Gentian Doda’, while the organization of events, the awareness and promotional campaign were implemented by the two.
Other local and international partners also had an important role through supporting financially the implementation of the project: international NGOs Riverwatch, Euronatur; the European Union delegation in Albania; Albanian NGO EcoAlbania, and the German Embassy in Albania.
The video-installations in the Opera House Hall showing parts of the creation process were supported by Bulevard Art & Media Institute.
The final performance was filmed thanks to the contribution of partner Vodafone Albania and the film was broadcast on the main Albanian national television channel (RTSH).
This project was one of a kind in terms of crossing disciplines. It was a continuous collaboration between arts, natural science and activism.
The scientific information about the river, the whole ecosystem and the way life grows in Vjosa, was the main inspiration for choreographer Gentian Doda. The structure of the performance organically took shape in his mind during his first expedition there with partners and experts.
The political importance of the project was also a relevant motor. Through meetings with civil society representatives, a strong sense of resistance became part of the project.
Besides dance, the project came alive through collaboration with other art disciplines. The music was a crucial component of the performance and it was created by composer Çezar Aliaj deliberately for this project. Visual art took an important role in the campaign: all the promotional material was carefully studied in terms of innovative design and filmmaking.
The project had a magnificent reception on public and governmental levels. Both two shows in Tirana of ‘Actus, for Vjosa’ were fully booked (1400 spectators), by public, progressive communities, civil society, ministers and other local and international institutional representatives. It was the first time in history that an independent contemporary dance production awoke the interest of such a number of people in Albania. The declaration of Vjosa as a Wild River National Park is now on its way, planned for Spring 2023, and our project played an important role in making the public and decision makers think about its relation to nature and the importance of its preservation.
While numerous actions have been taken in the past years by activists and civil society, in a direct and discursive format, through this project we aimed to communicate in a more visceral and emotional way, rather than through logical thinking. Spoken language can sometimes be limited, while the body in movement speaks to the unconscious.
It is an uncommon perspective from the civil society to believe in contemporary dance and in the synergy between artistic values and social ones, as a powerful political medium; but it has proved through the ‘Actus, for Vjosa’ project to be a valuable and enriching vision.
The project came to life as an artistic tribute to Vjosa. The main key point of the project was to approach an environmental issue, not through political discourse, but through real emotion - considering contemporary dance as one of the most internal mediums of expression.
The whole started as a close collaboration between was bleibt kollektiv | Gentian Doda and Heinrich Böll Stiftung Tirana, in terms of refining the balance between art and activism in the project.
A local and international audition took place for artists who were interested in working with us. Ten performers became part of the work, from Albania, Spain, Italy, France, Hungary, Argentina. During two months of creation, other side activities happened between artists and the partners involved: a 3-day expedition to Vjosa, meetings with civil society and the screening of a documentary film about the Vjosa cause. All these to bring the artists closer intellectually and emotionally to the main inspiration to the project, as well as to prepare the promotional material for the campaign. The expedition to Vjosa served not only for a human and scientific enrichment, but also the three teasers were filmed.
The shows were planned in Tirana, at the National Opera Theater, where public, civil society and government representatives were invited to participate in a common experience.
The performance was also planned in Ioannina (GR), in the country where Vjosa (“Aoos” in Greek) has its source, in an effort to inspire them for similar actions and decisions.
The main product, the ‘Actus, for Vjosa’ performance, is available to be performed in other theaters in the world. In fact, it is part of this year’s plans to tour internationally with the work. Also part of the plan is to bring the film to international cinemas or artistic streaming/broadcasting platforms and to Albanian remote communities where culture hardly arrives (open air screenings).
Vjosa can become a symbol, a metaphor for any other free river in need of preservation. ‘Actus, for Vjosa’ can inspire many other similar artistic and activist actions. Moreover, the whole methodology of the project can easily be replicated in similar contexts:
- the addressing of an environmental cause through contemporary dance,
- the involvement of international artists to make the issue renowned on a global scale,
- the expeditions in the ground,
- the designing of a campaign with a double function: awareness about the cause and promotion of the artistic creation.
The Vjosa River has its source from the Greek Pindos and it flows into the Adriatic in the protected area of Vjosa-Narta Lagoon. What makes this river so unique is the fact that all its main tributaries (Drinos, Shushicë, and Bënça) are free-flowing, and this creates a living network that can’t be found anywhere else in the continent.
The Vjosa River tells not only to Albanians, but to the world, how rivers in Europe used to be like before the era of destruction. The rich flora and fauna make its surroundings so special and unique, that not only shows us a picture of environments that are extinct due to manmade interventions, but it can reveal scientific facts that are still unknown to science. Vjosa is a haven to at least 1,500 species and scientists believe that today we have identified only one tenth of these organisms.
In this context, based on the Albanian legislation (Law No 81/2017 'On the Protected Areas') and also on the EU legislation (Council's Directive 92/43/EEC, date 21.05.1992 'On the Conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora'), Vjosa River represents a significant case of institutional interest for the European community.
The declaration of Vjosa as a National Park is highly innovative in a global context. No other free river, together with its network of tributaries has ever been declared as a protected area. The project designed by civil society for the protection of Vjosa, includes the preservation of the whole system of interconnected smaller rivers which bring water to the main course. A local solution, would in this case, set an important example to follow for other similar cases around the world.
