European Projects
Sign+Sound Theatre is a European project that promotes accessible artistic practices, using IBT techniques to offer both Deaf and hearing people a shared and truly inclusive experience.
GC De Zeyp - Coordinator (BE)
Accessible art and culture (FI)
University of Wolverhampton (UK)
Vo'Arte (PT)
Centar za kulturu Tresnjevka (HR)
European Network of Cultural Centres (BE)
European Association of Service Providers for People with Disabilities (BE)
Udruga Kazaliste, Vizualne Umjetnosti i Kultura Gluhih Dlan (HR)
European project promoting Deaf Theatre and inclusion in the performing arts, highlighting the pioneering method of Innovative Bilingual Theatre (IBT), in which deaf and hearing actors share the stage with an equally inclusive audience. With nine partners from six European countries, the project aimed to create artistic experiences in which sign language and spoken language coexist equally, allowing all audiences, with or without disabilities, to experience the performance fully and inclusively.
The project was based on the play Kukunor, written by Eero Enqvist (Finland) and adapted into English as Guardians of Dreams, presented simultaneously in five partner countries. The work explores the themes of borders, communication and connection between human beings, despite cultural, linguistic and individual differences, using sign language as an autonomous and central mean of artistic expression for the narrative.
During its implementation, the project organised workshops in Sofia (Bulgaria) and Lisbon (Portugal) to train artists, artistic directors and cultural organisations in the use of the IBT method, promoting collaboration between Deaf and hearing actors and encouraging the adaptation of the technique to different needs and contexts, including audiences with visual impairments or learning difficulties.
The project culminated in a conference in Brussels during International Deaf Awareness Week in September 2019, where the results of the workshops, performances and recommendations for European policymakers were presented.
Sign+Sound Theatre aimed to remove barriers and expand access to the arts, valuing the diversity of performers and audiences, demonstrating the transformative potential of an inclusive approach that fully integrates sign and spoken language in theatre.
