Sägezahn x Bears in the Park – 19. October

ARTIST INFO:

Ariadne Randall | live

Ariadne Randall is an American artist, composer and writer based in Vienna. Her work has

been heard widely, from Lincoln Center and the Vienna Volksoper to countless basements.

Her Reverse Cowgirl Trilogy of performances rides her gender transition towards larger

questions of identity and becoming; its second chapter features McKenzie Wark and

premieres at Brut Wien in 2025. Her debut record under her chosen name was released in

2024 on Oxtail Recordings. She is represented by Peter Gaugy (Brussels/Vienna).

https://linktr.ee/ariadnerandall

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The Boiler | live

The Boiler is one of the numerous solo projects of Kristina Pia Hofer, musician and media

theorist based in Vienna. Kristina has been playing punk DIY shows since age 15, teaching

herself a number of instruments along the way. On the album BODY=DEATH, The Boiler

reckons with precariousness, change, vulnerability, resilience, and loss of close relations; by

way of maltreating a 22kg, 1965, manipulated Philips Philicorda organ (and her own body).

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Beyond the Beat | live

Judith Schwarz: Extended Drums

Arthur Fussy: Modular Synthesizer

Where does the beat begin? This is the central question that drummer Judith Schwarz and electronic musician Arthur Fussy explore in their performance “Beyond the Beat.” Their starting point is the exploration of rhythm’s boundaries, resulting in a constantly evolving symbiosis of acoustic and electronic sounds.

This cycle of solo and collaborative pieces reflects long-standing ideas the two musicians have explored in their work together. When does the ear and the mind recognize a pattern? How abstract can it become while still providing enough structure and coherence for listeners to grasp? Is rhythm also melody? How far can the imitation and contrasts between acoustic and electronic sounds go? What new formats emerge when these diverse sound qualities and techniques merge, creating a cohesive dramaturgical arc throughout the performance?

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Salvatore Viviano | performance

Salvatore Viviano studied art, history, anthropology and literature at the University of

Palermo, Italy, where he was born. After living in Paris for 10 years, working in the fashion,

cinema and TV industries, he moved to Vienna in 2010. Since then, he’s actively working in

the field of contemporary art as visual artist (mostly performance), curator and educator, for

Austrian and international art projects. In 2014 he opened the One Work Gallery in Vienna,

an art gallery project which exhibited one art work at a time (he curated more than 50

exhibitions until 2017.) As an artist, he’s exhibited locally and internationally since 2009. He’s

currently teaching at the Art University of Linz. For SÄGEZAHN Salvatore will perform his

piece „Performance, Anyone?“ for and with the audience.

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Cäcilia Brown | visual arts

Cäcilia Brown’s work deals with the structures and hierarchies of public space. She chooses

the medium of sculpture with its own structures and hierarchies. Some of which are rather

profane- weight, volume, color, dirt.The artist welds and casts concrete, steel, plaster, clay

into objects that remind us of elements of the public realm- rubbish bins, fences, gates,

walls, weights…Destructive acts like burning, or throwing something out the window are as

much part of her methods as are copying and archivingDespite the massive materials that

formally characterize Brown’s oeuvre her works have an ephemeral, almost brittle character,

and incorporate found or collected elements. They build bridges to an ordinary world outside

the art space, quote it and refer to it.It seems as if she were setting up a trajectory that can,

not least, be found in the artist’s titles, e.g.: From the series of working girls: the authority, the

unionist; Entglasung (Devitrification); Intercity. Welcome to Parliament) (…).

She calls her spontaneous, almost intuitive approach ‘the translation of material logic’.

Cäcilia Brown’s work deals with the structures and hierarchies of public space. She chooses

the medium of sculpture with its own structures and hierarchies. Some of which are rather

profane- weight, volume, colour, dirt.

The artist welds and casts concrete, steel, plaster, clay into objects that remind us of

elements of the public realm – rubbish bins, fences, gates, walls, weights… Destructive acts

like burning or throwing something out the window are as much part of her methods as are

copying and archiving.

________________________________________________

Pablo Chiereghin & Peter Kraus | RAUM S | installation

A performative installation where dimensions and depth are disrupted by the whiteness of

the inner landscape. Black structures and sound break the limbo in which the spectator is

suspended, much like the bass guitar hanging from the ceiling.The sound performance

unfolds in waves, enveloping in the space the spectator who stands as structure, reflecting

sound and light.

 

Open Call – Huggy Bears Program 2025

Bears in the Park is seeking innovative Vienna-based artists and collectives to join the next round of the “Huggy Bears Supporting Program.” This program is designed for emerging artists who are either already working in performance art and/or dance or who want to expand their practice into performance art. The aim is to create a special transdisciplinary learning environment, fostering shared knowledge and collaboration.

The program runs from early 2025 until autumn 2025, offering participants project support, including administrative, technical, financial, and artistic help. Regular feedback sessions with the group and the Bears in the Park team will create an intensive learning atmosphere. Along the way, participants will showcase their working process at various events. Collaborations with brut, WUK.performingarts, and ImPulsTanz are part of the program, which culminates in a final premiere at WUK.performingarts and studio brut. (For reference, this year’s Huggy Bears days are from November 14-15 at WUK.performingarts and from November 21-23 at studio brut).

From research to rehearsal to performance, the different phases of creation will be met with care, curiosity, and professional guidance. Each year, 3-4 projects (either individual artists or collectives) are selected. The program’s goal is to place these artists on Vienna’s performance art map and help them build connections with audiences and other professionals.

The program is led by Philippe Riéra and Charlotte Bastam. To learn more about the team, past Huggy Bears artists, and the activities of Bears in the Park, go to our Huggy Bears and Team section and visit our Instagram page.

The Supporting Program includes:

• • Monthly feedback sessions with Bears in the Park staff and fellow Huggy Bears participants.
  • Dramaturgy and coaching support upon request.
  • Opportunities to showcase work-in-progress, such as during “Handle with Care” at brut Wien’s imagetanz festival in March/April 2025.
  • Prioritized access to studio space for the entire 7-8 month period (24/7 availability).
  • Networking opportunities with Vienna’s performance art scene and programmers.
  • Exclusive workshops on production, outreach, sound, video, and lighting at WUK.performingarts.
  • A week-long residency at studio brut during the summer.
  • Free workshops and free tickets to join the ImPulsTanz Festival 2025.
  • Administrative and financial support (e.g., BMKÖS Jahresprogrammförderung für Darstellende Kunst).

Who can apply?

We invite transdisciplinary artists, theater-makers, performers, dancers, and creatives working in time-based art forms to apply. Applicants should keep in mind that their projects should be designed for premiers on the stages of brut and WUK.performingarts.

It is essential that the project leader is based in Vienna, as attending feedback sessions, workshops, and events is mandatory. We place a lot of importance on building a supportive group, so both giving and receiving feedback are key parts of the program. Therefore, attending meetings and participating in all aspects of the program is essential.

How to apply:

Applicants should outline how they plan to use the supporting program for their proposed project. This should include not only the project’s content but also ideas on how to bring it to life.[1]

Application requirements (first round):

• CV and artist bio for each team member.
• Project description (maximum 1 A4 page).
• Portfolio with only relevant material (photos, video links, etc.) of previous and current work. Maximum 4 pages.
• Motivation letter explaining why you want to join the program and how you plan to use its resources.
• Only one project submission per person/group is allowed.

Please submit all materials as a single PDF, labeled with your surname, by November 15, 2024, to charlotte[at]bearsinthepark.org.

Second round: Successful applicants will be invited for an interview between December 9-13, 2024. The jury includes Philippe Riéra, Charlotte Bastam, and dance artist, choreographer and former Huggy Bear Daphna Horenczyk.

Selected participants will be announced in early January 2025.

[1] Please, note that our working language is English, and sufficient proficiency is required for feedback sessions and general communication. However, projects with German as the main language are welcome as well.

Here you find the Open Call as pdf.

Quality Street! – 5. September in Simmering

QUALITY STREET!… The diverse art event is coming to Simmering!

Come visit this series of various art forms, ranging from dance, sound installation, films and performances among others. We have put together a delightful and diverse program for one rejoicing evening. Whether you’re an artist, an art lover, or someone who simply enjoys creative experiences, this event is for you!

Bears in the Park has just moved to Simmering and we are eager to build a space that is rooted in the community of the arts as well as in the neighborhood. Through this very first Quality Street in Simmering, we hope to connect and engage more deeply with our new neighborhood, all while sharing the activities and creative initiatives we’re passionate about.

If you are curious what might await you, check out our latest Quality Streets!

 

Knowing the past, embracing the future. Together with:

Luigi Guerrieri “DEINE MUTTER!”

DEINE MUTTER! is a choreography of insults, an insulting choreography about my mother and yours! It is the celebration of the cathartic power of cursing and swearing, beyond the stereotypes of aggression and violence. How can I talk about my mum while insulting yours? How many times do I have to repeat “son of a bitch” till it looses its linguistic and cultural meaning? Till your and my private patriarchal system will crash? This performance is a collective liberating moment. I curse for you and for me, at the rhythm of my high heels. FUUUUUCK!

Idea: Mor Dovrat

Concept and Performance: Luigi Guerrieri

Coaching: Silvia Salzmann

Costume: Anna Maria Civitareale (meine Mutter!)

Created in the frame of Changing Space Residency 2019 – Im_flieger Wien and netzwerkTanz Voralberg, KarteNoire2502 – Biel/Bienne Switzerland

The movie is a BECK/KREIS production.

L’AUTRE CHIEN Kollektiv- “NUE”

The businesswoman Almuth comes across a homeless person’s cardboard and gives her some alms. Irritated by the fact that the homeless person doesn´t show up, she becomes insecure and starts a conversation in which she reveals her own need for identity. She is saved in a gesture of women solidarity.

a short movie by

idea: Alice Schneider | production: Studio Bischof Production |

director & screenplay: Alice Schneider, Thomas Bischof, Philippe Riéra |

cinematography: Judith Stehlik aac

Peter Kraus & Pablo Chiereghin – “RAUM S”

a Performative Room Installation

A performative space installation where dimensions and depth are disrupted by the whiteness of the inner landscape. Black structures and sound break the limbo in which the spectator is suspended, much like the bass guitar hanging from the ceiling. The sound performance unfolds in waves, enveloping in the space the spectator who stands as structure, reflecting sound and light.

LOD COLLECTIVE – “DREAMER”

Is there such a thing as reality at all? DREAMER invites us to question what makes us human and what reality truly is. The performance reminds us that we all have a dreamer inside us, and that it is the ability to feel and experience emotions that truly sets us apart as humans. Intimacy and sensuality are explored through the human connection, acknowledging that human emotion is universal. DREAMER emphasizes that connecting and belonging are vital aspects of the human experience.

choreography by Laureen Drexler & Rebeka Mondovics

performance by Laureen Drexler & Giorgia Scisciola

musical arrangement by James King

stage design by Marie Therese Fritz

costume design by VIS A VIS

photography by Florian Moshammer

Martina De Dominicis & Evandro Pedroni & Manuel Riegler – “HOW TO ENTER A STAGE” – According to ChatGPT

In how to enter a stage the performers flirt with the tool of ai generated text. In this first approach to the topic, they specifically asked Chat gpt how a dancer should enter a stage. The tension between the interpretation of such instructions and the disclosing of the process of choreography in which the audience itself will have agency, becomes the base of an ironical playground situation that questions modes of production and its possible tools.

Concept: Martina De Dominicis

Performance: Martina De Dominicis, Evandro Pedroni

Composition, live sound: Manuel Riegler

 

When and Where:

• From 7pm, Performances start at 8pm.
• Entry is free of charge. Just come by and be curious.
• At Bears in the Park, Eyzinggasse 12/2, 1100 Vienna.
• The event is happening partly outside.
• Unfortunatley our grounds are not fully accessible by wheelchair yet.

Video of our Grand Opening

We  are still looking back on this special day with pride and joy. After a long search, we found this new home for the trancedisciplinary performance scene in Vienna. We put a lot of sweat and energy into preparing it for the opening. Therefore we are delighted that Francesca Centonze and Mimi Schmidl have captured some of these precious moments on camera. This video will will bring back memories of this special evening for a long time to come.

See the video here.

It was wonderful to see so many familiar and new faces on May 13th. The great contributions from the artists who were showing special works adapted to the new location, the visitors in the garden and building and the exuberant atmosphere showed us how many great things await us with our new home for performance art in Vienna.

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us!

Thanks to the Stadt Wien MA7 and the BMKÖS for their many years of support. Thanks to Veronica Kaup-Hasler – Executive City Councillor for Cultural Affairs and Science – for showing support for the free performance art scene and opening the place with us.

Thanks also to the 11th district, district head Thomas Steinhart and Ewa Samel, who welcomed us with open arms. We look forward to starting projects and to develope this Kulturankerzentrum within Simmering.

Thanks to Fernand Riera and friends doing such a great job managing the bar and the catering!

Thanks to Martin Schwab for being a great Technical Director, always being everywhere at once.

And thanks, of course, to all the artists who made this evening so special:

CAROLINA CAPPELLI
JANNIS NEUMANN
YOMER
MARIA MERCEDES
SEBASTIJAN GEč & GORAN BUGARIC
ORLY
MALIKA FANKHA

Photo credit title picture: Marcella Ruiz Cruz

Grand Opening – 13. May

Mark your calendars for 13^th of May because we are having our grand opening! We have assembled a great line-up with performances, fashion and music acts to welcome you in our new Bears in the Park space in Wien Simmering.

We are thrilled to announce the presence of Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Executive City Councilor for Cultural Affairs and Science, together with the following artists:

CAROLINA CAPPELLI, performance
JANNIS NEUMANN. performance
YOMER, performance
MARIA MERCEDES, dance
SEBASTIJAN GEč/GORAN BUGARIC, dance and fashion
ORLY, concert
MALIKA FANKHA/ DJ malenciaga, performance and DJ-Set

And for all the other important needs, there will be a pay-as-you-wish bar and some fingerfood.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have supported us on this journey, and we invite you to join us in celebrating this momentous occasion. Together, let’s embark on a new chapter of artistic exploration and creativity.

Details:
Date: Monday, 13.05.2024
Time: From 17h
Location: Eyzinggasse 12 (entry on the corner to Otto-Herschmanngasse), 1110 Wien Simmering
Access: Free entry. Not accessible by wheel
Language: Mostly English, Some German

Our New Art Place in Wien Simmering

We have searched and wandered through Vienna on a hunt for the perfect new Bears in the Park location. We believe we found it. From April 1st we are located in Wien Simmering in a beautiful brick compound that gives us the possibility to reinstate our artist friendly platform by giving free studio residencies to performing artists.

More so, the new space grants us even more opportunities: We dispose of a big sized studio with over 250 m2, another dance studio with 65 m2, a space for experiments with 35m2 and an Atelier with 22m2. On top comes a spacious kitchen and meeting place, a lobby, a cloackroom, our office and best of all a lovely little garden.

Until now we are in the undertaking of making the space prettier and fresh for your arrival. Our gratitude goes out to Stadt Wien, enabling us to establish this new and promising place for the performing art scene in Vienna.
But besides being a place for the scene, we strive to connect to the cultural landscape of the 11th district. Being a Cultural Ankerzentrum in Wien Simmering, we want to reach out to cultural and artistic groups in the area to foster a lively community of the arts.

Furthermore, from now on we are open for bookings again. If you are in need of a rehearsal space in 2024, don’t hesitate to reach out! Find more information about the residencies on our website.

Handle with Care feat. Huggy Bears Part 2

Also this year, our Huggy Bears artists are part of the imagetanz festival by brut. On two occasions (Part 1+2), the series “Handle with Care” offers each artist/collective the possibility to launch their work-in-progress publicly in Vienna. Right after their sharings, we will engage in a Q&A to spark new ideas and inspirations. This way, the event can generate valuable insights for the further developments of the artists’ projects until their premiere in November 2024.

 

Handle with Care PART 2 – 21.03 / 22.03, 17:30 -19:30h

MO-ZA-IK (Jamali Abale, Viviane Le Tanzmeister, Rosa Perl & Mátyás Kántor)  – “Elevate”

In Elevate, MO-ZA-IK, a collective of passionate researchers and practitioners within House Dance Culture explore House Dance’s liberatory and healing aspects and delve into it’s communal, transcendental, and cultural dimensions which are rooted in the queer, Black underground community. Their vision is to create an immersive performance merging the physical dimensions of House Dance with healing through communal practices, emphasizing the significance of the Cypher. Through freestyle and intuitive movement exploration, discussions, and incorporating different audio elements, they seek to convey a collective and healing atmosphere, addressing the need for engagement in collectivist practices amidst political separation and pressing global issues.

Sebastijan Geč with Malika Fankha, Nikolaos Giannopoulos, Patrick Wally– “And they never looked back”

The performance delves into the experiences of two protagonists intertwined in a narrative exploring ghosting, haunting, and one’s transformation into a monster. It grapples with the realization of the inevitable and the necessity of confronting fear, both on and off-screen. Presented in two cinematic parts with intermissions, the audience is immersed in what is seen, heard, and felt, blurring the lines between reality and fiction for the characters and viewers alike. Confronting fear at its origin leads to the establishment of healthy boundaries, a crucial aspect for society.

<<<<All work-in-progress showings will be held at brut nordwest. The entrance is pay-as-you-can. Registration through the brut website.

<<<<More information about the artists you can find on our website.

<<<<Language: English

Handle with Care feat. Huggy Bears Part 1

Also this year, our Huggy Bears artists are part of the imagetanz festival by brut. On two occasions (Part 1+2), the series “Handle with Care” offers each artist/collective the possibility to launch their work-in-progress publicly in Vienna. Right after their sharings, we will engage in a Q&A to spark new ideas and inspirations. This way, the event can generate valuable insights for the further developments of the artists’ projects until their premiere in November 2024.

Come and join us to see what our Huggy Bears 2024 are up to:

Handle with Care PART 1 – 09.03 / 10.03, 16 -18h

Helena Araújo: “and it gets better”

and it gets better is a work-in- progress by Helena Araújo that inhabits spaces between dance, theatre and performance. Set on a fake beach, the research gives a warm spotlight to the mental health of artists in the performance art world. Using humour, disobedience and cabaret flamboyance elements Helena exposes the everlasting rocky pressures of the art market along with her anxieties. To survive the industry waves she also tries to find beachy coping mechanisms. and it gets better challenges the underrepresentation of mental health in the art world and addresses the impact of the art market on artists’ well-being.

Ale Bachlechner: “Crying and Lying”

Crying and lying are two activities with which you can reliably ruin your life. Strikingly, they are often associated with femininity. Tightly interlacing live performance and prerecorded video Ale admits publicly to her strong craving for a satisfying narrative and captivating dramaturgy of life. The concept of a hopefully quick, linear and progressive succession of milestones in your so called private life and career is countered by the figure of the queer late bloomer who hits those milestones late, in the wrong order or never.

<<<<All work-in-progress showings will be held at brut nordwest. The entrance is pay-as-you-can. Registration through the brut website.

<<<<More information about the artists you can find on our website.

<<<<Language: English

Huggy Bears at KOBO Art Space Zürich

Huggy Bears Days 2023

The Huggy Bears Days are coming up! From 26.11 to 28.11 at brut studio and from 29.11 to 30.11 at wuk.performing arts our mentoring program artists will celebrate their big opening nights. This year, we at Bears in the Park have had the pleasure of accompanying four very different, but all extremely exciting projects over a period of several months. The artists engage with diverse topics, from political activism/ apathy, consumption and decoloniality, gender fluidity and transformity. But all of them are united by a certain searching through our complex and often hard-to-digest time. Now we invite you to experience these distinct paths.

studio brut: Sunday, 26.11 – Tuesday, 28.11

19:00
Reverse Cowgirl β by Ariadne Randall
It’s a concert, it’s a nature documentary, it’s a piece about becoming who we want to be, and what we leave behind along the way. Our gender, for instance? It’s a way of asking what home means if they’d throw you in jail there for being who you are. Caution: includes sinful dancing and historical instruments. To ensure the highest performance quality, please exchange your identity with the Department of Performance Quality before experiencing the qualities of this performance.

20:30
Collective Action (a solo show) by Gudrun Schmidinger
Collective Action (a solo show) is a one-woman rally about the need to move past hyper individualism, towards solidarisation and communality. Inspired by podcast dudes, cottage core, affordable rent and real life magic, Gudrun Schmidinger is on a quest of defeating political apathy, taking the audience on a persona packed, banger blasting journey. After all, in these crisis ridden and tumultuous times, the world needs more… scratch cards.

WUK.performingarts: Wednesday, 29.11 + Thursday, 30.11

19:00
Elsewhere by The Needles (Nina Sandino, Daniela Hernandez, Andrea Vezga, Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)
The precipices of one’s own wardrobe, the wild world of supply chains, the bizarre balance of power between global north and south: The performance collective The Needles enters the spheres of virtual fashion – a universe full of digital rituals and cyberpunk avatars, where cotton is a currency and indigo an elixir of life. Digital fashion is a continuation of social media filters on platforms such as Instagram or TikTok and a signifier of increasing alienation. But do technologies that merge our physical and digital realms really challenge our understanding of mutual care? The performance Elsewhere plays with our craving for instant rewards and the need for new and old rituals while at the same time exploring the history of forced labour in the neoliberal world order and its roots in colonialism.

20:30
Neither Fish Nor Meat by Jannis Neumann
The title is a literal English translation of the German saying ‘weder Fisch noch Fleisch’ referring, often with a condescending undertone, to someone or something that is hard to classify: half-baked, immature. As a hybrid being between human and seal, Jannis Neumann attempts to learn more about this zone of vagueness, constantly looking for nuances, tensions, and different perspectives. In Neither Fish Nor Meat, he presents an embodied dialogue with his own physicality, identity, upbringing as a queer child, and society’s ideas of masculinity. Ancient myths of beautiful but terrible Tritons, luring siren songs and seal-like selkies who can shed their pelt are interwoven with stereotyping, queer narratives, and stories of petroleum as a post-modern prosthesis for virility, thus creating a loose fabric negotiating fins and genitals, social norms and sexuality.

Tickets are available through the website of Wuk.performingarts and brut Wien.

About Bears in the Park and the Huggy Bears Mentoring Programme:

Since 2016, Huggy Bears has been a pillar of innovative performance art, supporting emerging artists in Vienna. Each year, the mentoring programme provides three or four individuals or collectives with comprehensive support in areas from production to administration, equipment and dramaturgy. In a series of different presentation formats as well as regular feedback sessions within the group, the young artists’ projects develop into very special pieces. At the end of the nine-month programme, the mentees get to present their performance projects for the first time on a big stage in Vienna. This year, the Huggy Bears Days will be held as a co-operation between brut Wien and WUK performing arts. The mentoring/supporting program “Huggy Bears” is funded by a program grant for the residencies from the BMKÖS and byStadt Wien MA7 as supporter of the initiative Bears in the Park. You may learn more about the program, here.