This was the Common Stories 2024 gathering in Brussels

Presentations of the CommonLAB 2024 projects

On 7 November 2024, the 9 artists of CommonLAB 2024, Nadim Bahsoun, Avildseen Bheekhoo, Diego Bragà, Azani V. Ebengou, Jin Xuan Mao, Agathe Yamina Meziani, Lucía García Pullés, Pankaj Tiwari and Inés Sybille Vooduness presented their projects at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles as part of the Festival Scènes Nouvelles. On stage: performances, readings, screenings and discussions. Some of the projects will be supported by CommonPROD in 2025.


The Good Practices Factory annual meeting

As part of the Common Stories annual meeting (7-9 November 2024), the Good Practices Factory held its annual meeting at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles. The meeting was attended by two representatives of the GPF groups from Bobigny, Cologne, Warsaw and Brussels, as well as the public relations and human resources teams from the Théâtre National and the artists from CommonLAB 2024.

The morning was devoted to a presentation by each group of the projects developed in Brussels, Warsaw, Bobigny and Cologne on the theme Radicality: a long-term transformation towards diversity? followed by intense exchanges with the artists and members of the other groups.
The morning ended with a presentation by Maak & Transmettre, a collective, creative space and knowledge-sharing centre that develops co-creation processes with various communities, in particular with women who, despite busy schedules and complicated life histories, have the courage to take courses to learn how to read and write. The encounter with these women gave rise to the workshop The Langage as Tapestry, based on tufting, an ancient textile treatment technique in which a thread is inserted onto a primary base using a gun. Invited by Théâtre National, members of collective and Nenen, Hafida, Fanta, Mariam, Rabia, Régine, Fatima, Karima, Anifatou and Laila were invited to create a carpet for the theatre, which inspired the visuals for the 2024-25 season. The presentation was followed by a hands-on workshop where each participant was invited to tuft.

Divided into three groups, the participants took part in the afternoon in three 45-minute workshops in the various spaces of the Théâtre National, focusing on two themes and some breathing space:
- Self-defense in a specific context moderated by Safia Kessas, journalist and film-maker and member of the advisory committee and Alena Sander, researcher and professor at University of Louvain;
- Common Stories, what’s next? moderated by playwright Youness Anzane;
- Embodiment and inclusivity through mindfulness practice by the osteopath Aurélie de Schoutheete.
The final hour provided an opportunity to summarise what had been shared on the proposed themes.


Back in pictures

During the third module of CommonLAB 2024 in Bobigny, Louise Monlaü directed Renewing the commons. Produced by the MC93, the film brings together four CommonLAB 2024 artists: Azani V. Ebengou, Jin Xuan Mao, Lucía García Pullés and Pankaj Tiwari. You can watch it below.

Common Stories is developed by Maison de la Culture de Seine-Saint-Denis, MC93, Bobigny (FR), Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Brussels (BEL), Alkantara and Culturgest, Lisbon (PT), africologneFestival, Cologne (GER), Riksteatern, Stockholm (SWE), in association with TR Warszawa, Warsaw (PL), Orient Productions – DCAF Festival, Cairo (EG), CulturArte, Maputo (MOZ), Les Récréâtrales, Ouagadougou (BF), co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.