Culturescapes (or: CULTURESCAPES) is a multidisciplinary Swiss arts festival devoted to inter-cultural exchange. The festival, which takes place in autumn, showcases the cultural landscape of a different region, nation or city. Although based in Basel the festival extends to many other places in Switzerland, such as Aarau, Bern, Chur, Zurich, Geneva or Bellinzona. Founded in the year 2002, the festival mainly focussed on Eastern European countries at the beginning. However, with festival editions devoted to countries like Turkey, Azerbaijan, China or Israel the festival gradually expanded its scope. To mark its tenth anniversary in 2012 Culturescapes focussed on Moscow, for the first time placing the topography of a city at the centre of the festival.Fluri, Christian „Culturescapes feiert mit Moskau Jubiläum" Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (Basel) 22 November 2012 The 2013 Balkans festival edition highlighted not only a country but an entire cultural region.Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC CULTURESCAPES Balkan, Website SDC. Accessed 12 March 2014., Fluri, Christian „Culturescapes: Erstmals widmet sich Festival einer umstrittenen Region" Basellandschaftliche Zeitung 20 September 2013 2015 Iceland was presented.Website Culturescapes Island 2015. Accessed 04. December 2015. At the same time was also announced that in the future the festival will take place in the biennial rhythm. The next two editions took place in 2017 with a focus on Greece and in 2019 with a focus on Poland.
From 2021, CULTURESCAPES is opening a new festival series dedicated to critical zones that extend beyond the boundaries of nation states. In 2021, the focus was on the Amazon region and Sahara was the region of choice for the 2023 edition. In 2025, the African desert and its surroundings will be the focus of the festival for the second time.
CULTURESCAPES is a network festival, cooperating with existing arts venues in Switzerland, such as the Kaserne Basel or the Museum Tinguely. The festival is usually supported by Swiss federal agencies, e.g. DEZA, county authorities as well as state departments of the guest country. The festival is interdisciplinary. Next to performing arts like theatre and dance the festival also presents fine arts, graphic arts, craft, literature, film and new Media. In the programming section entitled „Focus" the history, current affairs and popular culture of the focus region are discussed and analysed. This largely happens in cooperation with Swiss education institutions such as the University of Basel or the University of Zurich. Some of the countries and topics chosen have led to protests and debate. Such topics include the Armenian genocide or the Conflicts in the Middle East. In a public letter, Culturescapes was requested by BDS Switzerland, a group advocating the boycott of Israel, not to host the Culturescapes Israel 2011 festival.BDS public letter , Accessed 12 March 2014 The BDS Switzerland also protested at some of the events of the festival.BDS Switzerland „Proteste beim Auftritt der Batsheva Dance Company im Beyeler Museum" 23 November 2013, Accessed 12 March 2014.
Foundation
The original idea behind CULTURESCAPES was to draw attention to the transformative processes taking place in the less well-known countries of the former Eastern Bloc, as manifested in the art produced there. Gradually, however, the focus shifted to cultural landscapes with a long tradition of artistic diversity, whose current form bears the stamp of a unique combination of historical, political, social and economic factors.The history of Culturescapes , Website Culturescapes. Accessed 11th Marth 2014., EFA European Festival Association „Culturescapes Member Profile" , Accessed 15 April 2014. Founder and curator of all the festival editions to date is Dutch and Swiss arts manager Jurriaan Cooiman. Since 2009 CULTURESCAPES functions as a charitable foundation. Before this date, the festival had been run by the group Performing Arts Services Basel (PASS).Federal Office of Justice, Switzerland Commercial Registry
Festivals Festival edition Guest region Features2003 Flyer Culturescapes Georgia i. a. Gija Kantscheli as Composer in Residence2004 Program overview Culturescapes Ukraine i. a. Topics: Chernobyl; Literature from Chernivtsi, Music from Valentin Silvestrov2005 Program overview Culturescapes Armenia i. a. First Public conference about the Armenian genocide,Wanted for the future - historical clarification! Armenians, Turks, and Europe in the shadow of World War I, Program Symposium. Accessed 12th Marth 2014 Tigran Mansurian as composer in ResidenceDe Marchi, Rolf „Meine Musik kommt von oben" Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (Basel) 9 November 2005 Article online2006 Program overview Culturescapes Estonia i. a. Estland in Wandel, von Kraahl Theater, Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, first composition contestWirz, Ursina „Culturescapes Estland" Students.ch Magazin (Basel) 8 November 20062007 Programm overview Culturescapes Romania i. a. Monday theatre with Peca Stefan,De Baas, Michael „Rumänien Land im Umbruch" Badische Zeitung (Basel) 15 November 2007 Article online Gianna Carbunariu; Stefan Niculescu, Aurel Stroe, Horațiu Rădulescu, Ana Blandiana2008 Program Culturescapes Turkey i. a. Fazıl Say; Mercan Dede,2009 Program Culturescapes Azerbaijani. a. Frangiz Ali-Sade, Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, Pantomime Theatre Baku, first artists in residence program for young artists2010 Programm Culturescapes China, Press review Culturescapes China i. a. Co-production with Wang Jianwei; Jin Xing, Composition request to Wang Xilin, opera from Hangzhou„Remarks by Chinese Ambassador WU Ken At the Closing Ceremony of Culturescapes China 2010" , Website Chinese Embassy in Switzerland. Accessed 12 March 2014.2011 Program Culturescapes Israel, Press review Culturescapes Israel i. a. Batsheva Dance Company; Composition by Chaya Czernowin; Co-Productions Ofira Henig, Yasmeen Godder, Daniel Landau2012 Programm Culturescapes MoscowMoscow i. a. Dimtri Krymov, Yuri Bashmet, Co-operation with Musma (music masters on air),Website Musma, Accessed 12 March 2014. Composition by Alexander Raskatov, Alexey Sysoev und Pavel Karmanov, Vladimir Sorokin2013 Program Culturescapes BalkansBalkans i. a. Miljenko Jergović, Dubioza Kolektiv, Oliver Frljic,„Wahrheit im Kaleidoskop gebrochen" Badische Zeitung 19 November 2013 EnKnapGroup, Rambo Amadeus, Vlatko Stefanovski, Damir Imamović2014 Website Culturescapes Tokio 2014Tokyo Part of 150 years anniversary of diplomatic relationships between Switzerland and JapanStaines, Judith „Switzerland’s Culturescapes Festival selects Tokyo as focus for 2014„, Culture360.org 8 November 2013, „Events and Projects", Website 150 Years Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Switzerland and Japan. Accessed 12 March 20142015 Website Culturescapes Island 2015 i.a. Jón Gnarr, Ragnar Kjartansson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Egill Sæbjörnsson, Andri Snær Magnason, Einar Falur Ingólfsson, Erna Ómarsdóttir, Sóley, ADHD, Skúli Sverrisson, Ólöf Arnalds2017Greecei.a. Dimitris Papaioannou, Rosarte Children's Choir, Rimini Protokoll, Vassilis Varvaresos, Mönchen vom Berg Athos (Monks of Mount Athos), Milo Rau2019Polandi.a. Krzysztof Warlikowski, Marta Górnicka, Paweł Pawlikowski, Olga Tokarczuk, Vladyslav Sendecki, Kinga Głyk2021Amazoniai.a. Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, Claudia Andujar, Ernesto Neto, Victor Moriyama, Alessandra Korap Munduruku.2023Saharai.a. Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, Keziah Jones, Qudus Onikeku, Felwine Sarr & Étienne Minoungou, Kader Tarhanine, Lionel Loueke, Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Nadia Beugré, Radouan Mriziga, Bouchra Ouizguen, Ami Yarewolo2025Saharai.a. N'Goné Fall, Radouan Mriziga, Kamel Daoud
Literature Culturescapes Aserbaidschan: Kultur, Geschichte und Politik zwischen Kaukasus und Kaspischem Meer. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2009, . Culturescapes China: Chinas Kulturszene ab 2000. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2010, . Culturescapes Israel: Kultur im Spannungsfeld des Nahen Ostens. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2011, . Culturescapes Moskau: Schauplatz der Inszenierungen. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2012, . Culturescapes Balkan: Kosovo 2.0 - Balkart. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2013, . Culturescapes Island: Zwischen Sagas und Pop. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2015, . Culturescapes Greece/ Griechenland: Archaeology of the Future / Archäologie der Zukunft. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2017, . «ON THE EDGE»: Culturescapes Poland. . CULTURESCAPES 2021 Amazonia: Amazonia. Anthology as Cosmology. Sternberg Press, Berlin 2021, . CULTURESCAPES 2023 Sahara: Sahara: A Thousand Paths Into the Future. Culturescapes, Basel; Sternberg Press, London 2023, .
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