Further Information

This project is social - artistic tool to improve particular situations, individuals or groups. It combines sociology, theatre, mindfulness and psychology. The concept has already developed and tried out in different schools and institutions in Iceland, Estonia and Croatia. It is set of exercises which most are interactive and done in pairs or group. Exercises are combining theatrical methods, mindfulness and psychological elements. The final aim is to produce public event or performance with the same group through the process of exploring together particular issue or challenge. In the work so far artist has come upon issues like mental illnesses, addictions, poverty, heavy emotions like loneliness, etc. The whole process with public performance becomes a transformative tool and holistic experience. Psychologists have taken part in the process and the artist Martina Kartelo has as well worked with different marginalized groups where she became a witness of the necessity of these kind of human interaction in order to explore heavy and challenging situations or emotions to make something healthy and positive out of them. Among things which participants and customers will learn through this process are:

How to build up their self esteem

Public speaking

Verbal articulation and emotional awareness

How to operate with heavy and negative emotions and express them in healthy way

Development of creativity, etc.

How to become stronger and wiser in the face of adversity

Making stronger “emotional skin” and developing empathy

Developing critical thinking

Re - assessment of personal and universal values

The concept's founder and main leader of the project is theatre actress, performer, educator and drama pedagog, Martina Kartelo. Originally from Croatia, she is based in Reykjavik, Iceland since 2011. She is freelance artist so very often she is working on the projects abroad. She has BA in management and theatre acting. She has MA in performing arts. Since 2007 she has lived and worked in more than ten countries. She is fluent in English, French, Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian. Learning Icelandic. At the moment she is working on her second trilogy and its first part, which explores radical emotions, which are intense emotions. She is doing her research through line of workshops and performative acts in Reykjavik.

For this project she would lead and organize exercises. Depending on the length of the project and level of struggle the group focus on, she would collaborate with some local professionals.

For Martina theatre was always tool for dialogue. Dialogue about the things that matter. To indulge with the people and the world around her through creative interaction around something that is important and will make a difference. For most of her life she is living as creative being and making theatre. She is in love with humans and life as such. From that comes the motivation to create something like this and whose purpose is to serve the humanity. For some time now she is leading workshops and creating conceptual performances which she consider to be part of her "holistic theatre". Holistic theatre in which she believes is theatrical experience which will help us to evolve as human specie to next, better level. She wants to create interactive pieces which would become space of deep transformation where we can put all bad and heavy and gain something magnificent out of it. She has worked with marginalised groups as well as with terminally ill children. Theatre did and is doing this for her, so she wants to share this tool.

At this moment and in this stage project has been done in different schools and institutions around Iceland.Most of the time it was financed by artist, herself. Now she would like to be able to offer it to different schools, institutions and companies and invest the money in improving the quality of it. With the money collected Martina would offer this project for free in different places and institutions and offer people space to become familiar with this new concept. Workshops inside of the project can last between one week to couple of months. Amount of people can be between two up to fifty.