15th Extraordinary Congress

15th Extraordinary Congress is a 3-year-long project by Vlatka Horvat, commissioned through House on Fire – an international consortium of performance-presenting institutions across Europe, funded by the Cultural Programme of the European Union. Initially co-commissioned by LIFT and 14‐18 NOW, WW1 Centenary Art Commissions and subsequently presented in 12 European cities (London, Berlin, Brussels, Oslo, Malmo, Lisbon, Poznan, Toulouse, Paris, Bergen, Vienna and Amsterdam).

The project is realised as a series of durational performance encounters. Horvat recruited 6 participants/performers for each of the 12 versions of the work – all women of her generation born during socialism in different parts of Yugoslavia. In a 6-hour-long rule-based performance, they sift through their shared memories as they work to unpack and tell a story of the country in which they all grew up, but which no longer exists.

In the piece, the seven women sit at a table, exchanging stories and anecdotes, facts and rumours, reflections and thoughts about a country in which all of them grew up, but which no longer exists. Taking turns at telling and re-telling narratives about Yugoslavia, the participants – through an improvised exchange over several hours – attempt to sift through their shared memories of the place, and try to “explain” the reasons surrounding the country’s dissolution. Recounting events large and small, excavating bits of history from realms both political and personal, the piece unfolds a complex narrative in which contradictions and inconsistencies sit side by side – decidedly unresolved and open – in a state of tension, dialogue and play. The performance explores the ways in which we make stories out of large, complex political and historical events and the inherent and irreconcilable tensions which exist between versions of stories as they are told and understood in different contexts, and reflected upon from both a physical and temporal distance.

The project – at the heart of which is an engagement with other people via encounters with their personal and collective narratives and histories – involved collaboration with practitioners not only from the fields of art and performance but also with journalists, filmmakers, sociologists, human rights activists, conceptual architects, writers.

There have been 12 different versions of the project, each realized with a new group of women living in the city where the piece is being presented:

London – LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) at Battersea Arts Centre. June 2014.
With: Jasmina Cibic, Larisa Blazić, Nela Milić, Suzana Tamamović, Vanda Butković, Vesna Marić and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Claire Marshall.

Brussels – KAAI Studios. January 2015.
With: Aleksandra Janeva Imfeld, Ana Stegnar, Bojana Cvejić, Ivana Jozić, Maja Bekan, Vjosa Musliu and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Tine Van Aerschot.

Berlin – HAU (Hebbel am Ufer). June 2015.
With: Hana Stojić, Paula Muhr, Tanja Ostojić, Vanja Bućan, Vedrana Madžar, Vernesa Berbo and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Nina Kronjåger.

Poznan – Malta Festival. June 2015.
With: Ana Svetozarov, Azra Junuzović, Gordana Đurđev-Małkiewicz, Roska Vrgova, Stanislava Kostić and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Wanda Wasilewska. Translator: Anna Jelec.

Lisbon – Teatro Maria Matos at Espaço Alkantara. October 2015.
With: Anamarija Marinović, Jelena Bakić, Jelena Savić, Lidija Kolovrat, Marija Pavlović, Mateja Rožman and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Cristina Perez.

Bergen – METEOR Festival at BIT Theatergarasjen. October 2015.
With: Ana Pavlović, Azra Halilović, Jelena Spasenić, Lejla Sokolović Indjić and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Hilde Sandvik.

Malmo – INKONST. September 2016.
With: Nina Bozić Yams, Merima Dizdarević, Sanda Rebac Jugo, Sanela Selimović, Slavica Agatonović and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Agneta Nordin.

Oslo – Black Box Teater. February 2017.
With: Ana Golub, Azra Halilović, Dragana Kovačevićević Bielicki, Iris Hadžiosmanović, Naida Sudić, Nataša Zednik and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Camilla Eeg-Tverbakk.

Toulouse – Theatre Garonne. March 2017.
With: Ana Veda, Jovana Milić, Marijana Marendić, Mirjana Lončar, Selma Polovina and Vanda Marijanović. Moderator: Lucie Combs.

Vienna – Tanzquartier Wien. March 2017.
With: Anamarija Batista, Jana Dolečki, Jelena Kaludjerović, Maja Damnjanović, Nataša Mačkuljak and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Nuit Banai.

Amsterdam – Frascati. March 2017.
With: Aleksandra Popovska, Armina Pilav, Bojana Mladenović, Maja Lovrenović, Nevena Bajalica and Vlatka Horvat. Moderator: Marijke Hoogenboom.

Paris – Fondation Cartier, in partnership with Theatre de la Ville. May 2017.
With: Barbara Matijevic, Bojana Bauer, Jelena Rajak, Kristina Aleksandrovska, Mila Turajlic, Milena Jaksic. Moderator: Zoé Varié.

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