Designing a performing arts festival in one of the world capitals of theatre is an extremely attractive challenge, because it implies offering some “novelty”—if possible—as well as generating an energy that dialogues, temporarily and in a short period of time, with the everyday universe in which our artists produce and our spectators watch, attentively and with curiosity at all times.
FIBA is back with another revamp. If in the previous edition, summer became the new time frame, this year it is presented as the first edition of an annual summer festival. This entails a bigger challenge for those of us who make it and those who attend. But at the same time, and because of this, this time of the year is perfect for the Festival to become established as an annual event that welcomes Buenos Aires locals—and occasional visitors—to travel across a city invented by the talent of our artists who, through diverse urban performances and journeys, invite regular and occasional audiences to enjoy one of the most fundamental expressions of our culture: theatre and dance.
The neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires welcome our creators and become fictionalized through their new creations which, together with everyday stories, allow us to think of ourselves from different perspectives. This year FIBA deepens the reflection on genre, guided by local and foreign artists and intellectuals who have been working on this issue, and adds *new topics for discussion: theatre and environment, theatre and accessibility, theatre and technology, which will be joining more traditional, and in some cases almost ancestral, formats. This 13FIBA continues with the dynamic of getting off the stage, without forgetting about it, to reflect on the many different ways in which the performance can appear before the eyes of experienced and well-trained spectators, but also before those who are not Festival goers, but may become so.
Artistic Direction FIBA
Federico Irazábal
He holds a BA in Arts from the University of Buenos Aires. He is a teacher, researcher and theatre critic for different media outlets. As a critic, he has published articles on La Nación newspaper. He is the director of the magazine Funámbulos and has published the following books: El giro político. Una introducción al teatro político en el marco de las teorías débiles (debilitadas), Por una crítica deseante and Teatro Anaurático. As a teacher, he works at Pepperdine University (Malibu, United States) and Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires. He has been Executive Manager of the Consejo Provincial de Teatro Independiente and representative of the National Ministry of Culture at the Board of Directors of the Instituto Nacional de Teatro. He currently serves as Artistic Director of the Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires (FIBA).
Artistic Direction Ciudanza
Brenda Angiel
In recognition of her work, she has received prizes, grants and subsidies, which have established her as a leading figure among Argentine choreographers. In 1994, she created her company, performing at some of the most important festivals and theatres around the world. Some of them include the American Dance Festival, Holland Dance Festival, Harbourfront Center in Toronto, New Victory Theatre in New York, Next Wave Festival, BAM, Festival Iberoamericano in Bogotá, Lucent Dans Theatre in The Hague, Sibiu Festival in Romania, Festival de la Merce in Barcelona, Context Festival in Moscow, and Wuzhen International Theatre Festival in China. She has been Ciudanza’s Artistic Director since 2009 and served in that role in its first edition, in 1999.
