#UKGeorgia2019: Arts and Disability Programme
On Tuesday, September 24, Parliament of Georgia hosted an international Forum Unlimited: Making the Right Moves, gathering speakers and policymakers on disability arts from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and the UK. The forum aims to share experiences and discuss development possibilities for an inclusive society through the arts. Unlimited Forum, as well as theatre performances, are a part of UK/Georgia Season 2019.
British Council has reported that ‘Unlimited: Making the Right Moves’ is an art and disability programme launched in 2015 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine with an idea that regardless of background or physical abilities, "there are no limits for those who dream big".
The culmination of the programme will take place tomorrow, on September 25. The Argonauts is a professional performance from Ben Duke, Welly O’Brien, Jemima Hoadley, and Ellie Douglas-Allan. Supported by the British Council, the performance will run a world premiere in Tbilisi. The Argonauts will perform at Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre on Wednesday at 8:00 PM.
The British Council in Georgia has reported that ‘the Argonauts’ performance was produced in just over 20 days during three residencies in Kyiv held between June and September 2019. The Argonauts is a fragmented re-telling of the story of Jason and Medea. Told through words, music, and movement. It showcases how “ten professional and non-professional, disabled and non-disabled performers from different countries can work together”.
The Argonauts will be presented within the frames of the Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre. In partnership with the UK/Georgia 2019, the festival consists of four other performances (111 (one hundred and eleven), Face In and Let’s Talk About Dis by Candodco Dance Company and Wayne McGregor Studio coproduction with Georgian choreographers).
UK/Georgia 2019 season is a specially curated programme of more than 60 events jointly presented by the British Council in Georgia and the British Embassy in Tbilisi, which will run from September to December 2019. UK/Georgia 2019 will include events in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and other locations across Georgia and will showcase the best that modern, diverse, global Britain has to offer in culture, sport, education, and business. The shared values of both the UK and Georgia are used to deliver the UK / Georgia 2019 season programme with a specific focus on diversity and inclusion.
The UK/Georgia 2019 is funded by the British Council and the British Embassy working closely with a small group of sponsors including Georgia Capital, Bank of Georgia, BP Adjara Group and Wissol.
By Nini Dakhundaridze