New European Theatre Action (NETA)
Archival article
New European Theatre Action (NETA) was established in October 2005 in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, with an aim to promote cultural co-operation between European countries by exchanging performances, artists, and technical staff, initiate co-productions, train experts, and engage in publishing projects.
NETA seeks to remove the obstacles which stand in the way of creating a "no-visa/no-border cultural space" for theatre and to enhance general cultural co-operation.
Since November 2007 the secretariat of NETA is based at the Ljubljana-based B-51 Cultural Society. In 2014 the NETA network comprises 69 theatres and festivals from 20 European countries.
In spring 2016 Damir Domitrović (1963–2016) passed away. Damir was one of the initiators of the New European Theatre Action (NETA). He was the spiritus movens of the B-51 Cultural Society since 1992 and led the Ex Ponto International Festival since 1993. The 23rd edition of the Ex Ponto International Festival that should take place in September 2016 is under question. }}
Mission and membership
The idea of setting up a professional European theatre network was first raised in November 2004 at the inaugural meeting of representatives of theatres and festivals from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Turkey, which was held in Bitola, Macedonia. Striving to overcome local, regional, and national interests in a sense of developing synergies on a European level, NETA members engage in international co-productions and exchange of performances, thus contributing to cultural diversity and intercultural exchange.
In 2010 there were 23 NETA Association signatories, from Albania (2), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2), Bulgaria (2), Croatia (2), Italy (2), Macedonia (4), Montenegro (1), Russia (1), Serbia (3), Turkey (1) and Slovenia (3). The Slovene representatives are Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica, Slovene National Theatre Maribor, and Eẋ Ponto International Festival.
In 2015 the NETA network assembles 69 theatres and festivals from 20 European countries.
NETA festivals and coproductions
NETA organises a festival that takes place biannually in different cities. Up to 2013 the festivals were organised in Podgorica (ME) 2005, Sankt Petersburg (RU), 2007, Trieste (IT), Nova Gorica and Koper (SI), 2009, Ljubljana (SI), 2011, and in Vratsa (BG), 2013. In 2015 NETA Festival will be organised in Bucharest (RO).
The most notable NETA coproductions were Ljubomir Đurković's Cassandra directed by Slobodan Milatović in 2009, Martin Kočovski's production Red based on the motifs of the novel My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk in 2010 and The Lexicon of the Mythology of Former Yugoslavia directed by Oliver Frljić in 2011.
NETA Art TV
NETA Art TV is a long-term project supported by the Creative Europe funding 2014–2020. A network of NETA members works on setting up a European internet television channel dedicated to performing arts and other artistic media.