At the end of August, the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre hosted the annual meeting of members of the European project Small Size, a network of 17 theatres and cultural centres which have dedicated their artistic research to children and developed special professional knowledge in the area of performing arts for the early childhood years.

The network, which was established in 2005 with the support of the European Commission, facilitates meetings, the exchange of experience and knowledge and the development of joint projects for the dissemination of information and research findings. It is striving to strengthen awareness on the significance of theatre art for the youngest with aims which among other include the development of their creative capabilities and the comparison of different European cultural traditions.

At the meeting the artistic directors of partnership theatres also focused on theoretical reflexion and research of different aspects of theatrical creation for the youngest. This time the theme of the meeting was »simplicity« and the discussion on the topic was moderated by the renowned German theatrologist and professor Dr Gerd Taube.

The meeting, which was hosted by the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, was attended by over 40 participants from Ireland, Poland, France, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Spain, Romania, Austria, Sweden and Croatia. The participants also discussed the co-production project Wide Eyes in which artistic research is being used to create shows for the youngest. Wide Eyes represents curious children’s eyes looking inquisitively into the world. It also serves as a common point of departure for creators working in 17 partner institutions from 15 European countries as the creation process of their productions is marked by different meetings, exchanges of ideas and workshops. All 15 productions are going to be presented in the beginning of the year 2018 at the final project event in Galway, Ireland.