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"Bridges" performers run through one of their collaborative pieces.

Usually when we think of art, we think of one person's vision. That person could be a painter, a choreographer, a playwright or a director. Their idea is transferred to a canvass, or in the case of theater, to a group of actors and staff charged with carrying out the artists' vision.

 think that model needs to change. For three years now, Pangea has hosted what it calls "Bridges" - an intensive program in which artists from different backgrounds work together on a performance. The actors have as much say as the playwrights. Artistic Director Dipankar Mukherjee says Bridges is about coming up with a new way of creating art.

The "Bridges" project provides a pretty heady environment for performers, filled with discussions and workshops in addition to rehearsals. For three weeks they've debated the responsibilities and privilege of being an artist, and the've created work. The results of their collaboration is onstage this weekend at 

"Bridges" curators Dipankar Mukherjee, Meena Natarajan and J. Otis Powell!

The results of their work border on the abstract, which curator Meena Natarajan says is to be expected since they've had so little time to collaborate. But the process they've undertaken will stay with them in future projects, and perhaps lead to new work, and new insights.

Still, the idea of "democratic art" seems cumbersome. Is it practical to make art as a group? Curator J. Otis Powell! says it is:

As is often the case with art, these performers are trying to create a microcosm of what they want to see in the world. And for that, they're willing to be patient, and keep working.

Arts and Culture

State of the Arts Blog

Marianne Combs

Author

What happens when you give actors the power to say "sorry, but I'm not interested in reading that line?"

Can art be democratic? Pangea World Theater thinks so.

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