[{"command":"settings","settings":{"ajaxPageState":{"theme":"hm_theme","theme_token":"naopHfW6D1TjtxIaNFPQfRvtz_szS81tyoWdYH86ctg","libraries":"eJwDAAAAAAE"},"ajaxTrustedUrl":{"form_action_p_pvdeGsVG5zNF_XLGPTvYSKCf43t8qZYSwcfZl2uzM":true},"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"2af85631393b514cbde3779a1f71d92618d53b94b54ea1960d28b2e2d121ff12"}},"merge":true},{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9664\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EA prison opera and digital transformation boost diversity of artistic voices\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFour professional Portuguese singers performed the main roles in a new opera based on Homer\u2019s \u201cOdyssey\u201d at a packed concert hall in Portugal\u2019s capital Lisbon in mid-June.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlso on the stage that evening were 16 amateur performers from the central Portuguese city of Leiria, where they are members of the city\u2019s \u201cschool prison\u201d population. The prison houses offenders in the age range of around 16 to 21 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat\u2019s more, a second group of Leiria inmates took part in the performance by video link from a stage that was located back in the jail 150 km away.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWelcome to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/870610\u0022\u003ETRACTION\u003C\/a\u003E, a European research project that tackles social exclusion through the use of opera. The people behind it are redefining what is often perceived as an elite activity so that some of society\u2019s most-marginalised groups \u2013 young offenders, migrants and the rural poor to name but three \u2013 can find expression for themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew artistic languages\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Through co-creation between professional and non-professional artists, new stories are emerging, new ideas being tested, new artistic languages being established,\u2019 said Fran\u00e7ois Matarasso, a freelance community artist working with TRACTION.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Imprisonment, migration, poverty and courage have been stories in opera before,\u2019 said Matarasso, \u2018But not as they are told by the people most affected, in the languages they speak and the music they sing.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETRACTION belongs to a group of European research projects that are exploring the intersection between creativity, society and technology - and the capacity of artists to reduce inequality in the digital age.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe opera is the work of a trio of Portuguese composers and is called \u201cO Tempo (Somos N\u00f3s)\u201d, or \u201cTime (As We Are)\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach of the composers, who are all friends, did two of six scenes, which take 90 minutes to perform. The libretto, a text to accompany the opera, is also by a Portuguese native.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Matarasso, the story is based on the myth of Odysseus (or Ulysses in Latin) and his wife Penelope. While Odysseus is the wanderer who makes choices and faces temptations, Penelope is making choices and facing temptations of her own while she waits patiently for the return of her husband from the Trojan War.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003ETRACTION is finding new ways of making opera in, with and for today\u2019s diverse and democratic society\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EFran\u00e7ois Matarasso, TRACTION\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It became a metaphor for the experience of prison, separation and the choices that people face,\u2019 he said. \u2018The story came out of co-creation workshops between the writer and composers in the prison \u2013 each spent weeks doing sessions with inmates.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile professional singers filled the opera\u2019s lead baritone, soprano, mezzo-soprano and tenor roles, the prisoners sang mainly as a chorus, Matarasso says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally for the inmates, three had solo spoken roles, five did solo rap numbers, one performed solo as a beatboxer and two featured in solo text readings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECapacity audience\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe capacity audience of 1 200 at Lisbon\u2019s Gulbenkian arts centre on 16 June included Portugal\u2019s justice and culture ministers along with the head of the country\u2019s prison service. A second performance was staged there on 17 June 2022.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It exceeded everyone\u2019s expectations and received joyous standing ovations,\u2019 said Matarasso. A couple of performances took place two weeks earlier in the Leiria prison, which was building on experiences in 2015 and 2018 when it was the location for performances of two Mozart operas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The arts are central to how societies talk to themselves,\u2019 Matarasso said. \u2018TRACTION is finding new ways of making opera in, with and for today\u2019s diverse and democratic society.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe gives the example of the Enlightenment, when European philosophers promoted art to be a redemptive moral force against religious constraints. The aim of art was \u0022to make virtue attractive, vice odious, ridicule forceful\u2019 according to Denis Diderot, a prominent French philosopher, writer and art critic during the 18th C Enlightenment period.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMatarasso compared that to the dictatorships of the 20th Century, which sought to control and direct art.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExpressing values\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Democratic states, founded on respect for human rights and diversity, would be wiser to recognise art as a territory in which values are expressed, shared and negotiated,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe performances of \u201cO Tempo (Somos N\u00f3s)\u201d featured a total of about 30 inmates, who are young men in prison for serious offences and who are serving sentences that typically last several years, according to Matarasso.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022\u0027O Tempo (Somos N\u00f3s)\u0027, performance June 3rd 2022, Leiria, Portugal \u00a9 Gil de Lemos\/SAMP\u0022 data-entity-type=\u0022file\u0022 data-entity-uuid=\u0022c2d1d161-acb6-4551-abb5-7fb669c08083\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/TRACTION%20Gil%20de%20LemosSAMP.jpg\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003E\u0027O Tempo (Somos N\u00f3s)\u0027, performance June 3rd 2022, Leiria, Portugal \u00a9 Gil de Lemos\/SAMP\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology that played a key role in making the opera performances possible was developed by TRACTION itself. Its \u201cCo-Creation Stage\u201d video connects locations and people in real-time, allowing multiple stages and participants in different places to perform together.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETRACTION, which began in 2020 and runs through this year, is also behind opera initiatives in Spain and Ireland involving urban and rural populations who don\u2019t normally encounter opera.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Barcelona, the trial involves people at risk of social exclusion, with the main and final performances to take place in October 2022.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Tallaght, a large and rapidly growing town in south Dublin, the trial will show how virtual reality can reach people living in remote and rural areas, and places the Irish language at the centre of a story of environmental responsibility.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Mikel Zorrilla, coordinator of TRACTION and director of digital media at Vicomtech in Spain, said he is determined that the project leave its marks well beyond 2022.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018One of our obsessions is to create a legacy after TRACTION - to share everything we learned and experienced with the community in the best way possible,\u2019 Dr Zorrilla said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team will export the principles, technology and methodological approach that worked for them following the completion of TRACTION and all the organisations within the project will continue the research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u2018We believe this is just a step forward of a long journey and others will take the baton,\u2019 said Dr Zorrilla.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDigital inequality\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETechnology is a central element of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/870726\u0022\u003EARTSFORMATION\u003C\/a\u003E research, which looks at inequality in the digital arena.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project is researching ways to improve the digital literacy of both artists and ordinary people, including ones from geographically isolated areas and with socio-economic vulnerabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EFor centuries, the arts have served as messengers of powerful social reflections on everyday problems of society.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EChristian Fieseler, ARTSFORMATION\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study includes a diverse range of activities such as workshops, exhibitions and residencies programmed across different European countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The artists and arts in general are also being part of what they have sometimes denominated \u201ca rough sea\u201d where there are always waves coming towards us, shaking us and sometimes not letting us take a break to breath, pause and re-think new models,\u2019 said Christian Fieseler of ARTSFORMATION.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA professor for communication management at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, he is working together with artists and citizens \u2018to develop their skills and capacities to respond to such a \u201crough sea\u201d of digital transformation.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFieseler argues that socially engaged forms of art are important.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReflecting on art\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This is how art acts as a reflective agent,\u2019 he said, \u2018That not only denounces critical social issues but also seeks to re-think new possibilities, new alternatives and a better quality of life for those who have suffered the rigours of misfortune.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA deeper understanding of the role of art in calling out abuses in society is another goal of ARTSFORMATION.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018For centuries, the arts have served as messengers of powerful social reflections on everyday problems of society,\u2019 said Fieseler.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In a technology-mediated world, the arts still have the same power to spotlight unfair and inhumane situations and have the capacity to re-define new perspectives to avoid dystopian futures.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBack in Lisbon, one audience-member in the Gulbenkian concert hall in June 2022 epitomises the way perspectives can change for the better, according to Matarasso.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe opera-goer, a kitchen worker living in Lisbon, was himself once a prisoner at Leiria who sung in its 2018 performance of Mozart\u2019s \u201cCosi fan tutte\u201d (\u201cSo do they all\u201d).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-3y550qzkjnxdvg43krscjpxqzviqcq1ouw7yrefaa0i\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-3y550qzkjNxDvg43KrSCjPXqzvIqCq1oUW7yrEFAa0I\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]