Nomads’ Land I (2003)
Sketch for Nomads’ Land I (2003)
S1300199 / Bambuco Archive
In 2003 Bambuco’s participation in the Accroche Coeur Festival in Angers, France was made possible by substantial funding from the Australia Council and Arts Victoria. The festival director and staff had seen their work Flight in Leuven and were blown away. It was also Bambuco's first appearance in France, a key player in the European arts festival market.
Nomads' Land I was developed in direct collaboration with Cie Carabosse. Whereas previous collaborations had been more ad hoc, two members of Carabosse together with Simon Barley and Erik Pootjes conceived the idea for the Streets of Swings and Apartment works that were part of Nomads' Land I. The idea behind the project was that of a bold art intervention in which artists (aka nomads) would literally invade the city of Angers. The works included swinging fireballs, a band playing high up on the structure and 20 swings available for audience participation.
The popularity of Bambuco’s installations and their critical acclaim were instrumental in securing the future for the Accroche Coeur as a viable festival. Nomads' Land I also marked a move away from the single monolithic structure to working on seven separate sites while still keeping a large structure central to the work.
"We convey an image of an adventurous Australian arts company with employees from all over the world, who are developing a new artform. We can state with confidence that we are transforming the European idea of theatre de la rue." Simon Barley
Time lapse video of Nomads’ Land I (2003)
S300587 / Bambuco Archive