Tomasz Kireńczuk to lead the Santarcangelo festival until 2026

Tomasz Kireńczuk will remain artistic director of the Santarcangelo festival for the next two years. "I can only be happy with this decision, as Santarcangelo is currently one of the most important performing arts festivals in Europe," he says.

"It is a festival that is of great importance for the international circulation of culture and art because it directly contributes to the promotion of experimental, interdisciplinary currents in the areas of performing arts. It offers great opportunities to work with artists, to support them, to experiment in areas between dance, theatre, installation, music and participatory activities. It gives the opportunity to work and reinvent each time how performing arts function, what social functions they can perform," - Tomasz Kireńczuk told PAP. "On the one hand, I realise that the proposal to continue is linked to a positive evaluation of the work I have done together with the festival team over these two and a half years, but it is also linked to a deeper reflection on what cultural institutions are and how they should function. In this context, continuity, time, the opportunity to deepen and expand different relationships are important. I also enjoy it from the point of view that I feel appreciated, but also have a sense of a mission that is not yet complete." - he adds.

The decision to extend the artistic direction of Tomasz Kireńczuk was endorsed by the Santarcangelo dei Teatri Board of Directors, chaired by Giovanni Boccia Artieri (which includes Natalino Cappelli and Ludovica Parmeggiani) in collaboration with the municipal administration of Santarcangelo di Romagna and the founding members, the municipalities of Rimini, Longiano, San Mauro Pascoli and Poggio Torriana.

According to the organisers, the positive decision will have an impact on the continuation of the numerous annual permanent projects launched by the association over the past two years, as well as the consolidation of strategic lines of work on the festival's international standing.

"I am interested in the continuation of, among other things, the project supporting research in the field of performing arts, during which two artists are selected who receive money during the year and thus have the opportunity to realise their research project within the framework of an extensive residency system and are provided with comprehensive substantive support," - Kireńczuk pointed out. "I would like to root the festival even more firmly in the international area. I want artists to feel that they can use radical languages, contain their voice on political issues. So that they feel that the festival gives them a sense of security and that this voice is not only heard, but is also understood. This is of great interest to me in the context of developing a reflection on the social function of the festival and what it means today to realise a large.

"I would like to root the festival even more firmly in the international area. I want artists to feel that they can use radical languages, contain their voice on political issues. So that they feel that the festival gives them a sense of security and that this voice is not only heard, but is also understood. This is of great interest to me in terms of developing reflections on the social function of the festival and what it means today to carry out a major artistic project. The themes that interest us are related to feminism, decolonisation, queer, among others. I am keen that, as in previous years, Polish artists should appear," - said the curator.

This year's edition of the festival will take place from 5 to 14 July in Santarcangelo di Romagna. "This will be the 54th edition of the festival, under the theme +While we are here+. Among the artists on the programme will be Rebecca Chaillon, a French artist, and Agata Siniarska, who will show her work for the first time in Italy. We have 26 different theatrical performances in the programme, in addition to workshops, DJ sets and musical programmes, among others," - Kireńczuk added.

The Santarcangelo Festival is one of the most important Italian festivals dedicated to contemporary theatre, dance and performing arts. Founded in 1971, it is also the oldest and longest-running festival of its kind in Italy. During the last two editions, the festival was visited by more than 46,000 spectators who attended 300 events.