Organised in Helsinki on 18–26 November, the international Theatre Festival Baltic Circle brought together 2900 people for six premieres and several visiting performances. The 2022 festival was the last that Baltic Circle organised as part of Q-teatteri ry. Next year, Baltic Circle will continue working as an independent association.
A sense of togetherness intensified in the performances of the 19th Baltic Circle Festival, where new ways of sharing information were sought, demand was made to be seen, and social structures were ventilated. In the middle of an eventful November, the festival’s versatile program filled the stands.
“The festival’s performances highlighted demands for autonomy of the body and mind with voices, movements and narrative methods of different generations. Personal experiences of the artists made the insides of the old halls as well as the spectators thunder and there was a feeling of revolution in the air. The audience’s reception convinced us that the festival can increase the resistance to harassment, prejudice and exclusion with community and sharing of care”, says the festival’s Artistic Director Hanna Parry.
“The program of the opening weekend also became extremely topical, when the young Sámi artists Biret and Gáddjá Haarla Pieski presented their piece about belonging to a full audience across from the parliament building at the same time as the controversy over the Sámi parliamentary law began to heat up. Art could act as a significant bridge-builder in a time that fuels polarisation, if it were given a stronger voice in the social debate”, thinks Parry.
This year, the sold-out Baltic Circle employed more than 70 freelancers, gathered around 2 900 visitors, produced six premieres and several visiting performances. The festival also offered the audience clubs and a discussion program.
The next time Baltic Circle will organise a program is already in February 2023 in Kirkkoniemi at the Barents Spektakel festival. The 20th Baltic Circle festival will take place from 17 to 25 November 2023.
Baltic Circle, which was part of Q-Theatre, will continue festival work as an independent association, Baltic Circle ry, from 2023 onwards
Baltic Circle is a network and festival founded by Q-teatteri ry in 2000, which has, during its 22 years of operation, differentiated itself into a financially and artistically independent operator. From 2023, the festival’s operations will be transferred to the Baltic Circle association established on October 18, 2022. The board of the association, founded at the beginning of October, includes Juho Keinänen (president), Anna Talasniemi and Nea Leo.
“The festival has stood on its own feet both financially and artistically for years. Becoming independent as a separate association is a natural next step for the 22-year-old Baltic Circle. The festival will continue all its ongoing multi-year projects and the exit phase will be carried out safely and smoothly during 2023 with the support of the board of the Q-teatteri ry. In the future, the international theatre festival will have a board that exclusively supports its operations and networks, and an operational structure more suitable for festival work. In the direction of the audience, Baltic Circle will continue to brighten up the middle of the darkest November,” says Asta Teräväinen, Managing Director of Baltic Circle.