Intercultural Theatre And Cultural Appropriation

ended

The ITACA project (Intercultural Theatre And Cultural Appropriation) intends to explore the complex phenomenon of cultural appropriation in contemporary theatre with the aim of setting up a form of theatre aesthetics. The objective is to probe the themes constituting and defining the very origin of theatre, so as to discover their aesthetic and ethical categories, using the lens of cultural appropriation: i.e. the way a historically dominant culture uses and transforms features of a marginalized culture. Cultural appropriation is considered in the context of Quebec theatre and compared to some examples of intercultural theatre in Italy. In the belief that theatre is an ideal philosophical tool by which to explore the relationship between identity and otherness, ITACA proposes to explore that relationship as found in our post-colonial, globalized society and insofar as Europe compares with North America. To achieve its objective ITACA foresees a research and training project between Canada and Italy combining philosophical theory with theatre practice in an interdisciplinary framework. ITACA is open to a multidisciplinary approach, ranging from political science to new media, the study of Quebec culture and digital globalization, and understanding the urgent and relevant theme of cultural appropriation. These theoretical studies are anchored to a programme of Research-creation allowing one to work practically alongside Canadian and Italia stage artists. Multidisciplinary and practical approaches come together in a perspective that observes the theatre first and foremost from an aesthetic angle. The results, presented via international conferences, lectures and publications, will be disseminated in the EU and CANADA, thanks to the support of the respective host institutions UMIL and UQAM, and will be decisive for the experienced researcher’s career development in the academic field.