20 years with Guixot de 8
So far we’ve done about 5.000 performances, among 850 different places. Half of them have been done around Catalonia, and the rest among 26 countries of the 5 continents.
Since June 1.991 we have been through more things than we could never had imagined. It’s difficult to explain briefly about the 5.000 performances we have done so far. Let’s try to tell the biggest spots we have lived, because they tell what Guixot de 8 has become. The first two years allow us to do about eighty performances, and to work on games so we could increase from the first 15 ones up to 23, that we brough to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1.993. This was our first show out of catalan borders. Geneva has become with years in the second city we have worked more times, after Barcelona. The following years we start working all around Spain: the Balear islands, Valencia, the Basque Country, and then all the rest of the state, except the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, where we haven’t worked yet. In 1.994 we start collaborating with the NGO Clown Without Borders, travelling to Split (Croatia), Mostar (Bosnia) and the desert of Sahara, in Tinduf, with the refugees of the Polisario Front. In 1.997 we participate in the final act of the Global March in Geneva, against child labor exploitation. The same year we also work during a week in the “Du Loup” theater, in the same ciy, with a big success among school students and families. In 1.999 we start working with the local government, “Diputació de Barcelona” in a program that relates students, culture and nature. We still keep working with them. The same year we participate for the first time in a street festival, the “Etno Sur”, in Alcalà la Real, Jaen, in Spain. The years coming we would work in many others as “Titirimundi”, in Segovia, “Fira del Teatre de Carrer” in Tarrega, or “Emoska Promenade”, in Slovenia, where we have been in all the editions done. These festivals allow us to be invited to Italy and Netherlands the years after. Then, in 2.000, we performance for the first time in the Prom Party in Geneva, which is a final school year party. We have been there every year since then. We also work there in the Science Night. The same year we join again the international cooperation work, but without any NGO behind. We travel to Villa el Salvador, in Perú, in 2.000 and 2.001. Then to Honduras, in 2.002. Finally to República Dominicana, in 2.003. In this country we worked during a week in the “Hombre Dominicano” museum, promoting catalan culture. This was organized by catalan government. But then we started a tour by our own, through villages around the capital city. 2.004 is the year of the “Forum de les Cultures”, in Barcelona. We work there during 6 months with 40 of our games. We are also visited in our workshop, for the first time, by a group of students. Then, it’s also the first year that we participate in the important festival “Encuentros Teveo”, in Zamora (Spain), where we still being invited. In 2.006 we are the invited group for the inauguration of the “Awesome Festival”, in Perth, Australia. In 2.007 we start working in eastern europe, in Hungary, in the “Mediawe Festival”, in Gyor, and years after in Pula and also in the “Sziget Festival 2.009”, in Budapest, dedicated to the catalan culture. The same year we work in Madrid, during Christmas brake, in the festival “La ciudad de los niños”. In 2.008 we are invited to the “Inventors Show”, in Vilanova i la Geltrú, and also for the first time we work into a mall, “La Illa Diagonal”, in Barcelona. Afterwards we will be invited to work in “Xanadú”, the biggest mall in Europe, located in Madrid. We are also specially proud to take part in the DRAP-ART Festival, about artistic recycling. We have a group of sculptural games placed in the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona. Two big events for 2.009. In one hand, we are invited to the “Europ’art’09”, an international modern art salon in Genève. In the other hand we participate in the “Korea Science Festival”. We made special small games to be there, based on simple physical principles. We start 2.010 with the order to recycle a broken sculpture in the “artistic wood” called “Prat Verd”, in the village of Malla, Barcelona. Since its base was a tree cut in four pieces, we have built another tree with iron branches all the way down to the floor, with eleven games attached to these branches. We take part in another artistic exposition, this time in Italy, in the show called “Ingegno e creatività” – Art Varese. We are also invited to “La Mercè”, the major festival of Barcelona, where we are back after a few years. We install our games in the Castle of Montjuïc. During these days, the people from Litmus Films finished their work recording, in order to make a documentary about Guixot de 8 for a Japanese TV channel. Updated January 2.011
Guixot de 8 is a team of people, with Joan Rovira leading them, who wants to create the best game in the world. Besides that, they come up with a creative and original way to enjoy playing during any kind of celebrations and with all kind of people.
In 1.991, after 10 years organizing the “Fira de la Pesseta” in Tona (Barcelona), Guixot de 8 is born as a company to give an answer to a request to make a professional performance of this fair in the town of Rubi. This original fair was, for sure, the first attempt in Spain and probably in Europe, to make a street performance based on new games made out from old materials.
If once the “Fira de la Pesseta” incited the creation of “Guixot de 8”, now is “Guixot de 8” who is sustaining this fair, and it still takes place every year in Tona, the nearest Sunday to the 30th of November.
WHAT DO WE DO? Since before recycling became on fashion, Guixot de 8 creates new games out of old wasted materials. During 20 years of history, we believe we have given a new live to about 10 tons of scrap, making up about 300 games, half of them unique and original ones, while the other half are copies of the first half, but made with different pieces, so they look different.
Right now, we have enough games to be performing in 5 different places at the same time. So far, we have performed in about 850 places, among 26 countries from the 5 continents. If you want to know more details about our history.
http://www.youtube.com/user/guixotde8#p/a
