/Centre for Puppetry and Contemporary Theatre Forms (CeLSKI)

ABOUT THE CENTRE

The Centre for Puppetry and Contemporary Theatre Forms is a meeting place of science and art, theory and practice, history and contemporaneity. The Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek is the only academy in the region offering degree programmes in puppetry, puppetry directing and technology, and with the establishment of the Centre it becomes a comprehensive focal point of puppetry in Croatia and beyond — a place that shapes young puppetry artists and theorists, and together with them the performative, theoretical and critical trends. Alongside puppetry, as an ever-changing form of expression, the Centre opens itself to all contemporary forms whose focus is not the spoken word, and which, through the breadth and expressiveness of other elements of performance, build a path toward a total theatrical expression.

 

Mission

The mission of the Centre is the research and popularisation of Croatian puppetry, with an emphasis on contemporary possibilities, encounters and intersections with other media. In order to understand our present and future, it is necessary to shape history; and since a comprehensive history of Croatian puppetry still does not exist, we are simultaneously working on the analysis and systematisation of puppetry history, as well as on the critical and theoretical recognition of the present for the future. The Centre does not focus solely on puppetry, but expands to all contemporary expressions such as the new circus, nonverbal, dance, and postdramatic theatre, as well as other forms that move away from the word as the driving force of performance, in order to highlight the broad possibilities of performing arts as a total art form.

 

Vision

The vision of the Centre is to become a hub of contemporary thinking about puppetry and performing expressions in Croatia, a key place for publishing scientific, professional and practice-based texts, and a desirable partner in European research initiatives. It aims to establish itself as a focal point for thinking about puppetry and performing arts as expressions of the future, unburdened by rigid definitions and boundaries, and as a place of dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity, history and the present, with a view towards the future.

 

Goals

  1. To conduct professional, scientific and artistic research and networking in the fields of:
  • the history of puppetry in Croatia and the region, without which the history of our puppetry remains fragmentary
  • contemporary tendencies in puppetry and performing arts in Croatia and Europe as a reference point
  • visual aspects of puppetry and theatre as key, yet insufficiently researched elements of stage performance
  1. To develop critical awareness and tools in the context of puppetry and contemporary performing practices through:
  • organising workshops focused on the critique of contemporary expressions
  • emphasising the importance of developing critical awareness as a foundation for self-criticism and critical (self-)evaluation
  • providing space for the publication of critical viewpoints
  1. To enable collaboration between puppetry scholars and theatre scholars, as well as puppeteers and performance practitioners with experts from other environments:
  • through European projects and networking
  • scientific and professional conferences, discussions, round tables and similar venues that provide dialogue opportunities
  • visits to festivals in the region and beyond

 

COLLABORATORS
Prof. ArtD. Maja Martinek
Prof. ArtD. Hrvoje Seršić
Assoc. Prof. Art. Tamara Kučinović
Assoc. Prof. Katarina Žeravica, PhD
Assoc. Prof. Art. Nenad Pavlović
Asst. Prof. Igor Tretinjak, PhD
Matea Herman, Teaching Assistant
Toni Leaković, Teaching Assistant

 

PROJECTS

  • Scientific Conference “Visual Languages of Puppetry”
  • Online platform on puppetry and contemporary theatre forms
  • “Critical Polygon”, a project of the Croatian Association of Theatre Critics and Theatre Scholars and CeLSKI

 

CONTACT

Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek

Trg Sv. Trojstva 3, 2nd floor, office no. 32

CENTRE FOR PUPPETRY AND CONTEMPORARY THEATRE FORMS

Head of Centre:

Asst. Prof. Igor Tretinjak, PhD

itretinjak@aukos.hr

 

Office hours:

Wednesday, 12:00–13:00