Aero is a transnational project to work on workshop skills, best practices and seminar formats for contemporary performance and theatre in Poland, Italy, Spain and Germany
- Workshop skills and seminar formats for documentary theatre projects
- For cultural projects by / for / with refugees, artists and activists
- Networking for institutions and individuals
- Four international meetings in Valencia, Hamburg, Calabria and Lublin
First transnational Meeting and Project Kick off in Valencia 27.11.25 – 01.12.25
Meeting activities:
- getting together for workshops and combining creative methods, such as documentary theatre and creative writing, with socio-economic like textile design and marketing.
- development of a toolbox for later publication to be used as a resource for european institutions and local networks
- visits to local artistic sites, organisations and introducing local actors of the socio-cultural scene
More about the project/What exactly is AERO?
theater:playstation has worked for many years in collaboration woth the region of Calabria in southern Italy (more on this here). In this economically isolated region, many traditional villages have been largely abandoned as a result of emigration. At the same time, many refugees are crossing the Mediterranean. As a result, models have been developed there to settle refugees in such depopulated places. One impressive examples have been the villages of Riace and Camini.
Through “Nastro di Moebius” a local cultural institution, theater: playstation got to know this region and started to become active there. This way, the idea of a documentary theatre project there was born.
Refugees in Calabria often come from Middle Eastern or African countries. In north Europe many refugees artists arrived from Ukrainia and Belarus. Eastern Theatre in Lublin and theater: playstation in Hamburg started platforms that enable them to work artisticly in their new enviroment.
In a project with Ukrainian actors, theater playstation developed the question of “home” as a fictitious place of belonging in the process of flight, and searched for points of reference from Homers Odyssey.
Now we want to use this question now for this new cooperation project: For a European Refugees Odyssey.
Refugees in Europe are experiencing more and more discrimination, organizations working with them are being viewed with criticism. Italy has an ultra-right-wing government that massively restricts support for projects. Similar developments can be seen in Poland, Germany and Spain. What does this mean for the future of our work?
Refugee artists can hardly find work matching their qualifications, and suffer from social and regional isolation. They are largely excluded from trans-European travel and thus from networks.
The project responds to these challenges with artistic and cultural resources: theatre workshops, creative writing and documentary theatre projects can make the institutions and refugees more visible through public presentations and lead to a direct dialogue with local communities. They can have an impact on society and counter anti-refugee tendencies. And they can empower refugees and activists, making them more aware of their own background and potential. Additionally our meetings enable refugees to participate in Europe-wide mobility and networking.
In our meetings, we develop a seminar format that combines creative techniques with methods for economic activities. The specific strengths and skills of the partner institutions are incorporated. The result is a toolbox with concrete workshop exercises as well as aesthetic considerations and seminar structures. This toolbox will be made available online and its elements can be used internationally.
At the same time, public presentations by the participants take place during the meetings:
Readings of produced texts, open workshops, presentations of workshop results. There will also be public discussions, lectures and performances by the participating artists. All of this has an impact beyond the participants in the respective locations. Attending artists can get to know other protagonists and make connections.
When and how is this Project happening?
We arew organizing four intensive, one-week seminars and network meetings, the “Refugee Meeting Points”. They take place in four partner countries, in Hamburg, Valencia, Lublin and Calabria (Camini).
At these meetings, around 10 participants develop and test the tools for the workshop format. Between these meetings there will be national work phases in the partner countries.
For our first Meeting Point in Valencia, we especially want to invite artists and cultural activists from the town.
The main venue will be Fabrika12 in El Carmen.
You can participate in all our activities, or also just in some, depending on your availability. You can join our workshops, both as participant, or give own workshop inputs.
For inputs, you will receive a fee (we are currently calculating the details, if you have specific questions, please contact us directly).
There will be also other activities, like visiting arts- and performance-spaces, meet organisations in the town, doing some public presentations.
The central focus of the project is to develop tools and pools for performance and theatre workshops, creative techniques from writing exercises to body and voice work to small performance scores and staging techniques.
Meeting dates:
Thursday 27.11. 15:00 – Monday 1.12. 18:00
First Refugee Point Meeting in Valencia
11. – 18. April 26
Timeframe for Refugee Point Meeting in Calabria (total 5-6 days)
12. – 21. June 2026
Timeframe for Refugee Point Meeting in Hamburg.
3. – 12. September 2026
Timeframe for meeting in Lublin
(Timeline in 2026 might be subject to changes, we will keep this information up to date)
If you’re interested in participation in one of the international meetings, let us know, and we can discuss your possible contribution, travel expenses and more.
Contact us here.
Who can/should participate?
- Young artists who came to Europe as refugees
- Experienced artists and cultural activists from the place of the meeting
- People interested in performance, theatre, dance-theatre, writing
- People who work with refugees on a voluntary or professional basis in social or cultural field.
You can find further information in this PDF!
