That Café de las Artes is a hive is due in large part to the artists and companies that come to the theater, nurturing it with new ideas, inspiration and energy. Those people who arrive from very close or far away make Café de las Artes to be always boiling and giving off live, chaotic and cheerful sparks. Since the permanent presence of artists in the theater defines the structure, for the last years Café de las Artes has opened its doors to them, free of charge for the creation of pieces, exploration of new languages and shows of public processes.
In 2017, the artistic residence program was formally created to promote and support local, national and international companies focused on a production of theater, dance, circus, new technologies applied to artistic creation, theater of objects and other related arts or multidisciplinary creations. In these last two years artists and companies such as DeFracto (France), Grop Circo (Madrid), Mymadder (Santander), Léa Legrand (Belgium), Verónica Capozzolli (Italy), Squarehead Productions (Austria) Teatrae Theater (Santander), Losin ‘Form Alls (Barcelona and Madrid), among others, have enjoyed residencies at Café de las Artes.
The program allows artists to deepen in a process of creation and research until they go on stage and thus enable their professional career. In addition, a new activity was recently included to break the fourth wall with the public: the feedback sessions (based on Das Arts methodology, Amsterdam University) carried out by a group of spectators with different cultural and professional background, and aimed at providing feedback to creative processes and proposing questions and reflections to the artists.
These residences are not only a wonderful opportunity to approach the creative and artistic processes in the field of performing arts, but also a valuable way to establish bridges with other ways of living, looking and feeling and thus to open our mind.
