THE POWER OF MEMORY
The project consists of a research process, a musical installation, and the performance “Presence of Absence.” It deals with post-traumatic memory, specifically – the memory kept by family members, which relates to missing persons from their immediate surroundings. [2013]
Most often, the only thing that remains after the disappearance of loved ones is the memory, which is retained in various forms by those who were closest to them, thus saving them from complete oblivion. Art, especially theatrical art, is able to record and revive these endeavors through the living word and presence on stage. In this way, the thread of life continues, and no life has been in vain. By creating a performance based on exploring the meaning of that memory, our goal is to help families who have had this difficult experience transform it into a kind of meaning with which they can continue to live, as well as to help the process of facing the past in our region.
As part of the project, the theater installation “Missing” was realized in collaboration with Theaterlabor from Germany, which was presented at DAH Teatar and the Museum of the City of Belgrade, and at Theaterlabor, Bielefeld, Germany.
The process of working on the performance and musical installation was based on collecting documentary material through interviews with families of the missing, researching numerous documents and literature related to this topic, as well as researching myths of different peoples and cultures, which deal precisely with the presence of absence. This project has a positive effect on the entire community as a step forward in facing historical facts and truth in a way that gives importance to those who were once part of that same community but are unfortunately considered missing.
THEATER AND HUMAN RIGHTS
As part of the “Power of Memory” project and the celebration of International Human Rights Day, DAH Teatar is organizing the “Theater and Human Rights” program from November 30 to December 12, 2013, which includes the theater installation “Missing”, a Meeting
of women from the region, and the premiere of the performance and musical installation “Presence of Absence.”
Realization supported by:
The collaboration between Theatrelabor and DAH Teatar was supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation. The guest performance of “Presence of Absence” at the International Center for Children and Youth Novo Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina was supported by the organizations
Western Balkan Regional Program, Justice and Civil Society Initiatives (JCSI), and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).