Samoan-New Zealand Artist Lemi Ponifasio Takes Lead on 3rd Red Bridge Project

The Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, the Philharmonie Luxembourg and the MUDAM modern art museum have announced that Samoan-New Zealand artist Lemi Ponifasio is taking the lead on the third edition of their "Red Bridge Project".

Initiated in 2017, the Red Bridge Project is a cross-disciplinary collaboration designed to build bridges: on the one hand, between three cultural institutions in Luxembourg located on both sides of the "Red Bridge" (Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge) connecting the city centre with the Kirchberg district; on the other hand, also between artistic disciplines, audiences and different social groups. Promoting the exploration of new working methods, the Red Bridge Project enables each of the participating institutions to expand its boundaries.

After the Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (2017/18) and the South African artist William Kentridge (2020/21), Lemi Ponifasio is the artistic director of this season's Red Bridge Project. His vision is to invite the diversity of Luxembourg communities to the project, working with his company MAU and the three institutions in dialogue and the creation of new art.

Samoan-New Zealand director and choreographer Lemi Ponifasio is known for his radical theatre proposal "cosmovision" and his collaborations with communities and indigenous cultures. Ponifasio founded MAU in 1995 as the philosophical foundation and essence of his work, the name he gives to his work and also the people and communities with whom he works. "MAU" is a Samoan word meaning the declaration to the truth of a matter as an effort to transform.

The opening production of this edition of the Red Bridge Project is Jerusalem, performed by MAU on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 October 2023 at 20:00 (both days). Jerusalem is described as a utopia caught between ideal and reality, life and death, beauty and malice, freedom and control... The performance will be preceded by a talk (in English) with Lemi Ponifasio, at 19:00. Tickets cost €20 (€8 for under-26s).

Programme

13 & 14 October 2023 @ 20:00 (Grand Théâtre): Jerusalem

2 & 3 February 2024 @ 20:00 (Grand Théâtre): Love to Death

14 June 2024 @ 19:30 (Philharmonie): Sea Beneath The Skin (by Lemi Ponifasio)

29 June 2024 (MUDAM): The Manifestation

9 November 2024 @ 19:30 (Philharmonie): Credo - I Believe (by Lemi Ponifasio)

Further information is available on the Red Bridge Project website: https://redbridgeproject.lu/en/