At Otherness Project, we embark on a transformative journey that transcends borders and disciplines, seamlessly blending art, science, and society.
Our mission is to design sub-projects to deliver high-quality performances, workshops, and research initiatives that not only captivate audiences but also serve as catalysts for education, individual growth, and social healing.
We are dedicated to pushing boundaries, challenging norms, and creating experiences that resonate with the complexity of our interconnected world. We believe in the transformative power of art to bridge gaps, foster understanding, and ignite the spark of curiosity that fuels both individual growth and societal progress.
We cooperate in various artistic and research environments internationally. Our partners reside in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, the UK, Montenegro, and the spectrum is getting larger every year.
Join us on this global exploration where art becomes a powerful force for change, education becomes a journey of discovery, and society is enriched through the diverse narratives we weave together.
CONTACT: othernessproject@gmail.com
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OUR STORY:
Otherness Project was initiated as a third sector organisation in Helsingør, Denmark, in 2014, with a core group of artists and researchers residing in Eastern European and Nordic countries.
In Denmark, between 2014 and 2019, Otherness Project:
- participated in 11 EU projects,
- developed and disseminated among 8 partners organisations the social research-based Sideways Storytelling method,
- developed 4 participatory performances with/for/by local audiences, using relational art, dialogical art, performing arts, installation art, gamification, art-and-science methods,
- raised 2 million EUR for its sub-projects,
- delegated 15 young professionals to participate pan-European exchange and training programmes,
- was endorsed by the Danish Ministry of Culture for its excellence in socially engaged arts projects.
In the UK, between 2019 and 2023, Otherness Project continued its work as a grassroots organisation with global team members from the UK, Scotland, China, Italy, the US, Hungary, Romania, the Check Republic, and Colombia.
- initiated a global object-storytelling project during the pandemic,
- created a trilingual hybrid performance tackling both gender equity and the role of AI in human life,
- was endorsed by the National Centre for Writing and the International PEN,
- created a platform for intersectional voices,
- has become a member of the prestigious publib directory: https://www.publib.co.uk/othernessproject.
An example of one of our gamified action-research performances is ‘IF’, which took part in several international artistic and research events and platforms, its methodology was published by De Gruyere and was represented in the volume Global Perspectives on Youth Art Programs, by Bristol University Press.
Our installation-performance, IF, developed with the action research methodology, invited to several festivals across Europe: Bådteatret, CPH / Actor Training in a Globalised World, CPH /Altofest, Naples (IT) / International Time Perspective Conference, Nantes (FR) / Passage Festival, Helsingor-Helsingborg (DK-SE) / Bridges Festival, Cluj-Napoca (RO) / Rahvusvahekine A-Festival (ET).
TEAM in DENMARK (2014-2019)
artistic director: Rita Sebestyen (RO/HU/DK/UK)
performer: Minni Katina Mertens (NO/DK)
performer: Sara Vilardo (IT/BE/DK)
light- and sound designer: Ivan Wahren (SE)
EU-project manager: Stine Ebbesen (DK)
dramaturge: Mira Nadina Mertens (NO/DK)
social media editor: Nora Ugron (RO/FI)
