Motus, Prague, provides a home for the living arts both in the Alfred ve dvoře Theatre and outside of it, a place for the public to gather and encounter the work of innovating artists. It remains open to independent creators who want to surprise and engage audiences on new levels. Every year it provides space and support for the creation of four to six performance works, selected from submissions to an annual open call. In addition to helping create and to present new performances, live art works and other creative acts, Motus, Prague presents selected projects from other Czech cities, European and international projects, runs debates and workshops, and initiates events beyond theatre: cultural development activities for an open, democratic society.
Motus, Prague, has been in operation since 2001 both within the Alfred ve dvoře Theatre and outside of it. For more than 10 years, it has been helping to produce and present the devised performance works of independent innovating artists and groups.
Past programming directors and managing producers of Motus are Šárka Havlíčková, Daniel Voráčková, and Maria Cavina. Nowdays, Ewan McLaren is artistic director, Vladimíra Lenertová ia managing producer, Milena Fabiánová - operations manager, Eva Malá PR manager, Vladimír Burian head technician, Petr Šourek chairperson of the board.
In 2004 Motus received the Producer's Activity of the Year Priští vlna / Next Wave Award for supporting the work of new and innovating artists, the program of the Alfred ve dvoře Theatre, and for founding the New Web organization.
The theatre was originally opened in 1997 by mime, choreographer, director, and professor Ctibor Turba as Divadlo mimů Alfred ve dvoře (Alfred in the Courtyard, the Theatre of Mimes).
Motus, Prague is the platform around which many prominent Prague-based independent artist groups have been formed since 2001, including: Krepsko, Handa Gote Research and Development, Secondhand Women, Wariot Ideal, Stage Code, Boca Loca Lab, and DoMA/At Home. Individual artist/creators working at the Alfred ve dvoře have included Ioana Mona Popovici, Petra Tejnorová, Andrea Mlltner, Anna Polívková, Petr Šourek, Martina Musilová, Howard Lotker, Dušan D. Pařízek, Jakub Folvarčný and many others. Works created by those artists repeatedly represent Czech culture and innovation abroad, from Berlin to Budapest, from New York to Venuzuela, from Aarhus to Zagreb.
Motus, Prague first founded Czech Republic's premiere festival of new and innovative performance, the Small Inventory and the New Web organization, a network of independent venues, promoters and artists throughout the Czech Republic, the Visegrad countries, and beyond.
Motus, Prague also develops and presents events "beyond theatre": recently the Prague’s version of Mammalian Diving Reflex's Haircuts by Children. Motus was a co-initiator of Auto*Mat's annual A Different City Experience event for imagining Prague without cars. Every its team members run the Mexican Day of the Dead event for families in Stromovka’s Park. Motus also hosts many different workshops for artists and the public.
Objectives:
- to create prestigious creation opportunities for the most promising professional scenic, choreographic and/or live art artworks by independent artists and groups, with an emphasis on devised performance and crossover between genres and fields
- to remain open to new and unknown creators and artists of such works
- to run the annual program in the Alfred ve dvoře theatre, Prague
- to interconnect such projects with Prague and the Czech Republic‘s broader social and cultural life outside of theatre, to open such work to the world, beyond the regular audiences for so-called “alternative“ theatres
- to encourage and support independent artists to create innovating new works in a broader European context and of the highest European standards, with a special focus on the new EU countries of the former "Eastern bloc"
International cooperation:
- Motus, Prague has been a member of EEPAP since May 2012.
- In April 2012 Motus, Prague co-hosted the Prague Quadrennial's international Symposium on Devised Performance.
- Since 2011 Motus has cooperated with the L1 Dance Association of Budapest on Visegrad projects: Flying Low Workshop 2011 Budapest, and Laboratorium of Dance Criticism 2012 Budapest.
The most important awards:
In 2004 has Motus received the Priští vlna / Next Wave Award for founding the New Web touring network, supporting independent artistic groups, and rocking the boat in general.
In 2011, two works created by artists in residency at the Alfred ve dvoře Theatre were nominated for best production and best dance piece by Divadelní noviny, The Czech Theatre News: Kateřina Jungová and Martina Musilová's Corpus Vulgaris/The Common Body, and Handa Gote Research and Development's Clouds.
Plans:
Motus, Prague is working to strengthen ties with independent artist and independent production houses in the new EU countries of the former "Eastern bloc". Its new goal is helping to create a small network for the coproduction of Central and East European artworks of the highest standard.
