MEXICO
This project, begun in 2004, resulted in participation with a series of cultural festivals highlighting the depth and variety of Mexican artistic talent, encompassing music, dance, film and theatre. In 2005 the festival played at The Riverside Studios and Artsdepot in London and at The Roxy Art House and The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh where it was awarded a prestigious Fringe First.
2007 saw British director Cal McCrystal working alongside three of Mexico's leading clown actors Adriana Duch, Darina Robles and Adrian Vazquez. Together they created a new show Cállate! which played in Mexico City before transferring to The Assembly Rooms as part of The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The production then toured to Zimbabwe where it was performed at HIFA 2008.
July 2007 also saw two Mexican actors, Emilio Savinni and Arturo Tovar being awarded Developing Artists Scholarships, along with Zimbabwean actor Blessing Hungwe, to take part in a professional production of Tales From Ovid which was presented at Dartmouth College in the USA as part of their Summer Arts Festival.
In 2008 and 2009 a number of Mexican writers presented their work at The Edinburgh Book Festival and some 20 Mexican students performed Shakespeare on the Edinburgh Fringe.
In 2010 the project culminated with the performance of the opera Montezuma at The Edinburgh International Festival.
Through Developing Artists over 100 Mexican artists have had the chance of working on the international stage.
"I appreciate a lot all the support Developing Artists gave to Cállate in order to act in Edinburgh and be part of HIFA 2008. The experiences I had there are a very important part of my professional and personal life."
Darina Robles
"So many opportunities opened up for me after my Apprenticeship."
Arturo Tovar
KOSOVO
Whilst The National Theatre in Pristina is developing apace there is no similar counterpart for the Serb communities within Kosovo. The Serbian youth (16-25's), particularly in enclaves such as Gracanica and Caglavica, have very few positive activities to occupy their time and to develop their creative skills. Developing Artists sought a solution by advising on the development of a small drama group within the Serb enclaves through a series of educational and practical workshops with the aim of improving their understanding of all aspects of theatre production and company management. The project was conducted on the ground in collaboration with the UN Development Programme in 2009 and 2010.
PALESTINE
In 2009 charity director Giles Ramsay visited Jerusalem, Ramallah and Nazareth (in conjunction with The National Theatre of Palestine) to consult on a series of workshops with Palestinian and Israeli artists.
