The board of Q-teatteri ry has appointed Hanna Parry Artistic Director of Baltic Circle Festival starting from 2020. She has worked broadly within performing arts both locally and internationally in programming and production.
“The board was impressed by the level of artistic and professional quality of the applications. Hanna Parry’s local and international knowledge of performance and theatre and plans for developing the festival set a fruitful basis for cooperation. In addition, artistic goals and knowledge on production were taken into account in the selection process.”
– Annukka Pykäläinen, member of Q-teatteri board
Parry starts in her position during 2019. Hanna Nyman continues as Managing Director.
“I am very excited and inspired to be appointed Artistic Director for a fearless international festival. In its twentieth year, Baltic Circle provides an open minded, intelligent and discerning platform for the arts and for critical thinking. Emphasis on social justice and intellectual challenge form the basis of my curating work. My aim is to promote diverse forms of interaction and create space for sensitive perception and radical imagination.”
– Hanna Parry
At the moment Parry works as Project Manager in Academy of Artistic Thinking, a project lead by Cirko – Center for New Circus. She has international experience from London International Festival of Theatre and American Realness festival based in New York. In Finland, she has previously worked for example at Helsinki Festival and as senior producer at Baltic Circle Festival. She has a master’s degree in theatre studies from University of Helsinki.
Satu Herrala continues working as Artistic Director until the end of this year and is in charge of 2019 festival programme. According to the Q-Theatre board, Herrala has emphasised the active agency of art and artists. With her sharp instinct, she has brought into focus artworks which enable performance to take a stand in societal discussion and offer artists opportunities to interact with even broadening festival audience. Q-teatteri and Baltic Circle thank Satu Herrala for great years of collaboration.
“Hanna Parry has solid experience in ambitious and multidisciplinary festival productions both in theatre and in public space – she has even produced a performance by pigeons above the river Thames! She works by listening closely to the artists and envisioning courageously. I’m excited to experience the first programme curated by her on the anniversary of Baltic Circle in 2020.”
– Satu Herrala
The next Baltic Circle International Theatre Festival will take place in Helsinki on November 12 – 17, 2019. The programme will be published in September. The main organiser of the festival is Q-teatteri ry.