Changing Opera and Opera makers through Participation, Experimentation, Research and transdisciplinary Art

forthcoming

COOPERA aims to innovate opera through participatory practices. It observe, experiment, implement and modelize narratives and participatory practices fostering cultural rights, social resilience and opera transformation. The project establishes a European consortium of institutions, artists, researchers, and citizens. This consortium is conceived as a bridge linking France, Italy, Belgium and Ukraine, establishing a strong logic of cooperation based on opera common cultural heritage, which mark out the aspirations for freedom of the Europeans since the birth of opera (17th cent.), the italian, french and belgium fight for democracy (19th cent.), until the defense of Ukrainian culture against the russian attacks today. The consortium adopts a multidisciplinary approach including partners from different cultural fields (opera, theater, performance, visual art), operating in institutions, public space and rural territory, each contributing unique expertise in participatory art and cultural engagement. The project focuses on collaboration with research to help redefine the role of opera and performing arts in contemporary society and study, explore, develop, and promote participatory gestures. COOPERA also engages target groups beyond professionals through participatory approach in governance, observation, research, and evaluation. The project is structured around 5 work packages, including mapping and observing existing participatory practices, experimenting and implementing 6 innovative participatory methodologies, then modelising and disseminating those 6 methodologies. Key actions involve observation residencies, experimental residencies, pratice-based research and the development of 6 podcast, 6 teasers and a booklet to share results. Dissemination strategie includes online campaigns and local and european public events to impact cultural ecosystem as much as citizens and ensure the project's long-term sustainability and shortcoming impact and relevance.