A CELEBRATION OF PEOPLE AND PLACE THROUGH CONTEMPORARY DANCE - 2021 and Beyond_Updated ...

A CELEBRATION OF PEOPLE AND PLACE
            THROUGH
       CONTEMPORARY DANCE

    CURATORIAL FRAMEWORK
       2021 AND BEYOND

A VIBRANT DESTINATION
  Supercell: Festival of Contemporary Dance is an annual festival
  that will transform the Gold Coast into an international hub for
contemporary dance. Creating critical mass around Queensland
 dance, the festival recognizes opportunities to work with the art
 and cultural sector on a local, national and international scale to
build a vibrant and respected gathering of artists and audiences.

An emergent arts organization with solid foundations, Supercell:
   Festival of Contemporary Dance presents a significant festival
                package further positioning the city as a leader for
   contemporary dance on a global scale. Supercell’s considered
approach to cultivating artists and audiences in partnership has
 created a sought-after event in Australia's cultural calendar and
                     a destination festival for international peers.

                                        FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE

HISTORY
The festival is formed in consideration with Queensland's long-standing and multi-
faceted dance history. Dance in South-East QLD has a long history linked to the
contemporary dance training at QUT whose graduates continue to base themselves and
develop their work here. There is a local love of physical forms, such as the Butoh and
Suzuki methods which reached fever pitch in the 1990’s, and which have been replaced
by the thriving circus scene led by Brisbane-based flagship company Circa.

Alongside these forms there is a long and established classical ballet tradition which has
a huge following, led by Queensland Ballet as the signature ballet company.

These existing offerings must be taken into consideration when programming and
curating the festival. With each festival Supercell will strive to engage in Queensland's
history and current artistic works to build on a rich matrix of presentations. Mixing in new
ideas, styles and forms that are on trend with the art form globally. The festival context
can both reflect on history and look to future trends as a conduit to audience experience.

AESTHETIC AND FORM
Supercell: Festival of Contemporary Dance acknowledges the broad-church of styles
within contemporary dance and is committed to creating a program which reflects
current global trends in dance and performance, with cultural and creative offerings that
speak to the lived experiences of its audience.

Focusing on the use of the human body with its capacity for layering histories and
knowledge, Supercell is bodies in motion, a celebration of this visceral artform which is
egalitarian in nature and inclusive of language, race, culture and ability.

In programming, Supercell searches for works that engage with current affairs (identity,
gender politics, human rights, first nations art and culture, environment & geo-politics)
placing them in a framework that provides unique perspectives and multiple
opportunities for reflection and dialogue around these topics.

The festival is underpinned by an audience centric curation model which builds holistic
experiences – ‘the Supercell festival journey’. By offering experiences in multiple formats
(live and virtual performances, audio, kinaesthetic and embodied offerings, sensory
materials and spaces for dialogue) Supercell generates an individual journey for each
audience member to weave and navigate their way through the festival. From the
moment a patron engages with marketing collateral through to the drive home after a
day of festival activities, Supercell has a responsibility to consider the audience and artist
at the nexus of the program. This approach is fundamental to the delivery of key themes
and curatorial intentions, empowering and nurturing audiences from start to finish.

                                                                    FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE

SPACE AND SITE
Supercell: Festival of Contemporary Dance inhabits the world class HOTA - Home of the Arts
precinct and gives opportunities for audiences and participants to reimagine these spaces
in new and exciting ways. The festival works to provide a place for people to gather and be
joyful, to detach themselves from the everyday and submerge themselves into art, culture
and gathering.

Supercell lives both inside and outside of the theatre, in HOTA's galleries, green spaces and
unique nooks, searching for interconnectedness between people in response to place and
space. Supercell creates a festival hub where audiences and artists can gather freely to
celebrate, question and connect in an ephemeral space, a festival landmark.

COMMUNITY / THE PUBLIC
Queensland has a growing and passionate contemporary dance audience, sustained
through those who have been associated with Australasian Dance Collective, Dancenorth,
The Farm and the Queensland Ballet as well as large-scale presentations with QPAC’s
International Series and festival offerings. Newcomer HOTA is also changing the way
audiences interact with live performance through their innovative offerings.

Supercell’s point of difference includes fostering local contemporary dance artists and those
working in associated forms into the festival and, using their expertise, opinions and
knowledge to underpin the festival proper. This creates an offering to the local artistic
community and a sense of ownership and belonging to Supercell. The festival’s aesthetics
also lends to uniting disparate audiences of dance, circus and physical theatre to an event
that provides opportunity for critical mass and whets the appetite of those audiences.

The success of the previous editions of Supercell indicates strong audience participation
across all festival activities and, moving forward, Supercell is committed to cultivating new
audiences and reaching new sectors in the community.

BRIDGING THE CONVERSATIONS
Art and culture have always been a vehicle for critical thinking and reflection on the world
around us. A catalyst for social change and a medium to build empathy for those whose
perspectives and opinions differ from our own. Audiences need to see, hear, listen and
contribute to conversations about their experiences to make sense of the world around
them and their place inside it. Supercell’s frameworks provide multiple spaces for robust
dialogue, debate and conversations which celebrate the success of humanity without shying
away from questioning the more difficult elements of the human experience.

The festival strives to be an impartial bridge between high art and commercial
entertainment, responding to the development of dance literacy in audiences through
diverse and sensitive programming. By offering the comfortable alongside the experimental,
Supercell is a safe environment where audiences can take the leap into the unknown,
supported and lead through an exceptional curatorial strategy. Working in ethical
partnerships, Supercell navigates this intersection artistically, pragmatically and financially.

                                                                   FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE

SUPERCELL AND THE WORLD
The festival is a receiver and transmitter of ideas, giving the Queensland contemporary
dance scene opportunities to understand itself within a national and global context. By
inviting delegates from landmark festivals and organisations to attend Supercell, as well
as a select group of international artists, the festival will act as a space for connection
between artists and audiences, both local, national and international.

Rejecting the fly-in, fly-out model of other festivals, Supercell is committed to offering
meaningful engagement opportunities where visiting artists can engage with the
landscape, the local residents and the unique Gold Coast art and culture. For visiting
artists, this residency model offers the time and space needed to generate a greater
sense of connection and belonging to the festival. For locals, the residency model is a way
to engage in meaningful conversations with these visiting artists leading to potential
collaborations and artistic friendships.

Supercell’s unique partnerships with national and international companies, festivals and
arts organisations ensure its place in the international artistic chain of cultural and
creative consumption and trade fostering global connectivity through contemporary
dance. The festival is a platform to promote our artistic and cultural assets to an
international audience and build the profile of our local artists on a global scale.

SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND, A CULTURAL HUB
The festival and its program must drive the message of south-east Queensland as a
cultural hub for contemporary dance in the Asia Pacific region. The current climate of
trade, culture and growth that the area is experiencing supports the image of the Gold
Coast as a new-world city , hyperconnected to the Asia Pacific and beyond.

Supercell can provide a framework that places the Gold Coast, and Queensland, ‘on the
map’ and at the centre of a large network of key cultural players which meet each year in
this hub. The festival embraces everything that is great about the Gold Coast: its cultural
facilities, lifestyle, weather, and a young aspirational population that is open to new
experiences.

                                                                   FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE