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Information for international partners on participating in the festival and carrying out projects
The Valmiera Summer Theatre Festival is a performing arts festival set in an urban environment. One of the cornerstones of the festival is sustainability; artists are invited not only to reflect on the resources needed for creating their art, but also include environmental themes in the content of their performances. The festival embraces a sustainable approach by eliminating printed materials, instead focusing on technology-based solutions and by following principles of circular economy, for example, re-using various materials across different areas of the festival, including advertising, decorations, and infrastructure.
Festival organizer Valmieras teātris (State Enterprise Ltd. „Valmieras drāmas teātris” (Valmiera Drama Theatre)
Artist residencies and project partnerships
In collaboration with Latvian stage professionals, the festival offers international artists 2–3-week residencies in Valmiera for creating new ideas or adapting existing visions/productions for performances in a specific urban environment through sustainable, environmentally-friendly methods. The festival also offers various collaboration opportunities for ideating and executing international projects.
Children’s and Youth Theatre Institute
The festival offers performance arts professionals the opportunity to enter a continuing education programme that develops skills for working with children and youth by promoting the creation of new productions.
The Valmiera Summer Theatre Festival programme is built around works created specifically for the event by locally and internationally renowned artists. The city of Valmiera serves as a backdrop of unusual locations for original productions and unique events forthe entire family that entertain, enlighten, excite. The festival takes place every year, and every other edition is dedicated to productions for children and teenagers.
The festival has gained wide publicity as well as the respect and recognition of audiences, theatre professionals, and critics. In 2016, it received the Latvian Television and Latvian Radio award “Kilograms kultūras” (“Kilogram of Culture”)as the surprise of the year. The festival has also won several “Spēlmaņu nakts”(“Players’ Night”) accolades, including for the best play for teenagers (2019), the best play for children (2020), the best dance play for children and teenagers (2021) as well as the jury award (2019) and prizes for individual festival artists.
For several years now, the festival has partnered with the Art Academy of Latvia, Institute of Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture, RISEBA Faculty of Architecture and Design to host a summer school on ephemeral architecture and urban design right in the city of Valmiera. The variety of installations and objects created during the project is an event in itself that never fails to impress and attract visitors and stir discussions.
