With the support of: Erasmus+ & JINT
(Co-)production: OPENDOEK
30.12 - 05.01
During the project’s first residency, hosted by Vitlycke Centre for Performing Arts, artists Sofie Vanderbauwhede, Kim Heerkens, and Elfine Radwanski will maximize the joy of a wintery seclusion and celebrate the inescapable presence of the other. They aim to spend the week in a collective dream, finally waking up to a wealth of methods for feasible paradise-building.
Project paradise
An island
may watch a storm or two
pass by its edges
and remain smiling.
Together, we can dream up a better world. But if we free the power of the imagination, what exactly is unleashed upon us? A collective fantasy – to be hummed in harmony – or a herd of singular beasts: a colorful and beautiful bunch all together, but nonetheless unruly and ready to fight one another when it comes down to it?
“Paradise”: a void forever under construction. Desires confined to an island, similar to how imaginary friends live only in thoughts. A stubborn solidity trying to reject the medium it swims in. A dreamlike prison, perhaps. But what if our paradise refuses to be a utopia-turned-dystopia? Project Paradise aims to stay out of contradictory territory and build a perfect non-space, free from irony and harm. How fun is perfection?
In 2025, Sofie Vanderbauwhede, Kim Heerkens, and Elfine Radwanski will invite a group of young performers from diverse backgrounds to explore the theme of “paradise”. Project Paradise aspires to address the need for more socio-cultural initiatives with an inclusive and participatory approach, while simultaneously working with these exact themes: is it possible to create as well as share one’s paradise?