theYard.Residency.17

The Center of Performing Arts MITOS presents for the 7th consecutive year the theYard.Residency.17, an artistic residency programme, which is realized in the space of Old Vinegar Factory in Limassol.

theYard was Lukasz Walewski’s idea, an idea for an artistic meeting, with creators from all fields of performing arts, for a common creation, on a common theme. The result was a 3-day festival, with the participation more of 25 artists. The next year, the organization renamed it to theYard.Residency, a residency programme. The aim was to provide an artistic house, because of the limited sponsorships for the culture. Every year, theYard.Residency is sketched according to the needs of the artistic community and the possibilities of the organizators.

Today, the residency programme is active during all year, the yearly schedule is formed after an open call for creators and artistic groups from all fields of arts, from Cyprus and abroad. The programme continues to support the artistic creation, new ideas, the dialogue between artists and audience, the exchange and communication between artists and motivates the artists themselves to take charge of their own productions. The programme aims to preserve a platform for performing arts at the Old Vinegar House and to encourage the redefinition of performing arts according to the needs of artists today and in line with the capacities of MITOS. The theYard.Residency.17 seeks proposals from young artists that need artistic or practical support and from experienced artists with fresh ideas from Cyprus or abroad. The program also calls organisations, that offer opportunities of participation in their own platforms and spaces in order to support exchange and mobility.

theYard team (Elena Agathokleous - Program Coordination, Lukasz Walewski - Manager of Old Vinegar Factory, Constantina Peter - Production, Eleana Alexandrou- Host) proposed for this year's event a more specific structure of the program, divided into categories for better support of the participants in terms of hospitality, advertising, artistic creation, and communication with the public:

Premiere - This category refers to proposals that the Center of Performing Arts MITOS will act as a co-producer. For these participations, the Old Vinegar House along with its equipment will be provided for a month of rehearsals, a premiere and two additional performances. The income out of these three performances belongs exclusively to the artist(s). This new category aims to support the performing arts scene and the artistic mobility.
For 2017, MITOS has already chosen two productions after previous collaboration; one of the productions is a work that has begun in theYard.Residency.16 as a work-in-progress in residency.

Residency - Artists that seek space for the making of a new work or developing existing ideas in the fields of theatre, dance, performance art, music and visual art. According to the projects selected a mentor will be chosen to work with the artists. The residency lasts for a week (Monday - Sunday). On the seventh day the maker is required to present the outcomes, either publicly or to a selected audience, followed by a discussion. The Old Vinegar House along with its equipment will be supplied for free.

24hr shot - Impulsive artistic actions from the fields of music, literature, theatre, dance, etc. An opportunity for experimentation or presentation of completed ideas. The Old Vinegar House will be available for up to 24 hours.

2. The programme for the theYard.Residency.17
(Selection team: Maria Kyriakou - Director, Eleana Alexandrou – Performance Maker, Constantina Peter – Theatrologist/ Dramaturge, Lukasz Walewski – Director/ Co-coordinator Centre of Performing Arts MITOS )
1.
Residency – visual art | interactive installation
03.02 | 19:30
Mesh spatial design studio
Parallel Cities
Parallel Cities is an interactive spatial experience installation questioning the recent development boost of Limassol, following on from the studio’s manifesto on questioning identities, beliefs and preconceptions through design and technology.

The Old Vinegar Factory is partitioned laterally to create two spaces featuring the two parts of the installation, providing an opportunity for the visitors to choose between construction or conservation. The project makes use of installation art and projection mapping to question whether the new seafront developments have improved the city or have overshadowed its culture and history.