ABOUT KAIMERA

BELIEFS

We believe that:

• The arts are a powerful tool that have the ability to provoke meaningful and durable cultural shifts;
• Developing work collaboratively and across disciplines is important in order to tackle the rapid changes our world is undergoing;
• Diversity is indispensable, whether of gender, race, ethnicity, culture, training, socio-economic background and beyond;
• International collaboration is a powerful tool to further cultural diplomacy and build mutual understanding across borders;
• Our responsibility as artists lies in inspiring the audience to ask their own questions, rather than providing answers;
• Exploring a heavy topic is not always best served by a heavy piece: humor is powerful!

REACHING BEYOND THE ARTS

The more complex the problems our global society faces, the greater the need to collaborate. The last few decades have seen experts from an increasing variety of backgrounds collaborate to address the world’s most pressing issues, from climate change to public health, from global poverty to education access.

We are convinced that artists as well need to reach beyond the arts in order to create work that is both relevant and credible to the larger conversation. Kaimera was born out of this belief.

We have had the opportunity to work with environmental, social and medical scientists, economists, physicists, psychologists, policy-makers and local residents and community members on over a dozen interdisciplinary performances and performance-events.

We believe that this collaborative approach fuels new ideas and new perspectives for artists and scientists alike, and more often than not, redefines the way they engage with their own work. In reaching beyond the arts, Kaimera contributes to a movement that prioritizes cross-disciplinary collaboration, striving to build upon this legacy by establishing coalitions of like-minded organizations, and advocating for cross-discipline work to become the norm, rather than the exception.

REDEFINING BIG SOCIETAL QUESTIONS

As 21st century citizens, we are asked to seamlessly flow between worlds that are real and virtual, contemporary and ancient, local and global. Kaimera tackles questions that are integral to our contemporary experience. They may pertain to such complex fields as ethics, justice, policy, physics or philosophy. Or they may deal with the essential mysteries of the human adventure: love, mortality and our insatiable desire for chocolate cake. These questions may affect us as individuals or as a society. What they have in common is that answers to them often feel out of reach.

Kaimera’s work doesn’t attempt to provide answers, but instead aims to inspire the audience to take ownership of these questions, redefine them, and approach them from a new perspective.

HOW WE WORK

CREATING SPACES FOR DIALOGUE ON AND OFF THE "STAGE"

Kaimera’s holistic approach to its work is aimed at creating spaces where people can gather in dialogue and engage with the topics at hand, every step of the way.‍

Collaboratory - From the inception of a piece, we bring together a wide range of collaborators and advisors with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to help steer the project. We call these individuals experts. An expert does not need to hold an advanced degree, they are someone who deeply understands the topic at hand. They may be a software engineer who specializes in data privacy, a psychologist whose work focuses on trauma, or a local resident who has a deep knowledge of the history and culture of their community.‍

Interdisciplinary - Our work is interdisciplinary to reflect the multifaceted reality of 21st century society: we create original performances and live experiences that blend theater, music, dance, multimedia, visual arts, technology, and more. This approach lets our audiences engage with the work using multiple senses, while giving them several points of entry into the piece. ‍

Accessible and participatory - We choose unconventional settings for our performances, such as abandoned locations, historical monuments, and public spaces. We do so for two reasons: first, it allows for greater, more diverse audiences, especially those who may not feel that traditional arts spaces are accessible to them; second, these spaces don’t come with pre-existing rules for engagement and behavior, thus opening up infinite possibilities for participation. ‍

Interactive and immersive - We have over a decade of experience developing forms of audience interaction and immersion, all aimed to push for engagement and participation. We believe immersion is a spectrum and shouldn’t be forced: it’s about giving opportunities for audiences to engage as much as they’re ready to.

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EDUCATING AND TRAINING

With over 20 years of experience in education, our team develops educational opportunities that allow for a deep dive into the central themes of our projects and the tools we use to create our work. These training sessions are catered to the participants, whether they are professionals in the field, students, or general audiences.

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WORKING ACROSS BORDERS​

We aim to have an international reach while maintaining strong roots in local communities. To do so, Kaimera is currently based in two continents, with headquarters in New York and Paris, and is developing projects in six different countries on four different continents.