Hi! Could you introduce yourself?
Hi, I’m Andreas. I’m 26 years old and I’m on the documentation team for the ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2019.
What interested you about working on Dialogue’s documentation team?
When I heard of this opportunity I was very keen to get involved. I’m a student at the moment and all my other coursemates were signing up to be event volunteers but I really wanted to work on the documentation side of things. I’m sitting there with the camera in my hand, and I’m needing to document. It sounds strange but I feel like this is very much the right thing to do. To me, documentation is the most important aspect, well one of the most important things, about hosting any event. It’s all about having a portfolio of resources to show to people afterward and to make sure people come back again next year. So I just want to be a part of that and work with the international team that Dialogue has here. That’s just awesome.
What stands out about Kristiansand?
For me, Kristiansand stands out like a bit of a pillar in Norway because it’s one of the smallest cities in the country and yet it brings so much joy and hosts some of the biggest events in Scandinavia and Europe. The festival is hosted in Kilden which is one of two opera houses in all of Norway. It’s also among the global top 10 of the highest tech concert venues in the world. I think that just having the opportunity to use such an impressive venue alone brings so much joy to locals and to the people coming here. It gives Kristiansand a huge advantage over other places that international delegates may have seen at other festivals. Also – by coming to a small, small place like Kristiansand, everything is very close by. I think you really feel the impact of culture on the city of Kristiansand more than you would in most cities because everything is so concentrated here. And everything here is local by heart – that’s one of the most amazing things about Kristiansand.
Why is the ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2019 an important event for locals?
Norway is one of the smallest countries in the world when it comes to population size. So to have an event hosted in Kristiansand which is in the same series as city hosts like Beijing and Tokyo, some of the biggest cities in the world, I think that Kristiansand is very lucky and, indeed, Norway is very lucky. That alone draws people to the event. Hosting it in such a small city, and such a small country, with so few people. It’s so good that we have the opportunity to participate in a global event like that as it lets all the young people know that they can be a part of something global – they don’t have to travel half the world to see a great, great, show or to be part of a huge event. They can have it here on their doorstep.
What do you think about the status of Performing Arts for Young Audiences around the world?
I think young people all over the world need to get involved in culture and be a big part of it. If you want to go make a living as an Actor, or a Dancer, or a TED speaker, well, you can do just that. It’s important to get yourself in an environment which encourages and supports young people making that decision and paves the way for individuals to make that choice for themselves. It’s important to make a stand and say, “we’re here, we want to make Art, and we’re not going anywhere.”
