Meet the Associate Artist: Christiane Jatahy

Holland Festival and De Balie have made a programme with a central role for the work of author, theatre director and filmmaker Christiane Jatahy, who is this year’s Holland Festival associate artist.

Since 2019 Holland Festival has had the pleasure of working with a different associate artist each year. The associate artist represents the voice of the maker, is a source of inspiration and serves as a conversation partner for the programme team for more than a year. New and older work by the associate artist is presented, and a new, specially tailored project in the city is developed. Conversations with this maker in turn lead to further choices for other artists and performances at the festival. In this way, Holland Festival’s audiences are introduced to this maker’s oeuvre and their ‘universe’.

In De Balie Christiane Jatahy will have a conversation with journalist / presentator Aldith Hunkar and Nina Jurna (Latin-America correspondent for the Dutch newspaper NRC) at De Balie about the art and stories that shaped her artistic practice. Where is the line between reality and fiction? What is power? What structures govern society? These are central questions in her work, which explores the intersections between artistic disciplines. She will also elaborate on the projects she is involved with at the festival.

Associate artist Christiane Jatahy

Christiane Jatahy is described as a ‘harsh and acute observer of the violent cruelty of our world’ (Golden Lion jury report, Venice Biennale). She aims to effect connection, dialogue and social change through her work. Her artistic signature involves a cinematic way of working on-stage, in which she uses cameras to create both distance and nearness, thus altering our perspective. The part of the festival programme to come about in consultation with Jatahy embraces the eclectic nature of her work. We have invited a range of (mainly Brazilian) makers - from theatre makers and choreographers to musicians and DJs. Some of these are regular collaborators of Jatahy’s, while others inspired her ideas about art and the role of art in society. Together, they present an intriguing view of what is currently happening – on the stage and beyond – in Brazil and the rest of the world.

More information about Christiane Jatahy