N.A.Toˇ – Nose Assembly for Tomorrowˇ

N.A.Toˇ is an international project that combines activism and clowning. It brings together activists, clowns and performers. They share and create surprising, entertaining and disobedient forms of civic activism. In addition to workshops, lectures and discussions, various performative and clown performances and happenings take place within and in connection with N.A.Toˇ.

N.A.Toˇ follows Florent Golfier's Atlas project. Florent, as an activist clown Atlas, guided people around various cities as part of guided walks. Atlas familiarized them with global problems that humanity has to deal with, and they tried to radicalise participants to start their own form of poetic protest. At one point during the walk, Atlas asked participants to put their noses on and join the clownocratic Nose Assembly for Tomorrow, which would make a clownish attempt to change the state of the world. Various meetings during this project and beyond led Florent to the decision to initiate the creation of a stable network of people involved in N.A.Toˇ.

The N.A.Toˇ network has been slowly growing through individual meetings since 2023. The N.A.Toˇ crew announces an open call for each meeting separately. Assemblies consist of workshops, discussions, lectures and plenums, and the N.A.Toˇ crew places great emphasis on the possibility of co-creation of the program by the participants. Selected parts of each assembly are open to the broad public.

N.A.Toˇ is governed by the principle of radical openness. Anyone can join it. Do not hesitate to contact us at nose-assembly@posteo.net

N.A.Toˇ toolkit

The N.A.Toˇ project is open-source and anyone can organize it. From the N.A.Toˇs 03–05, a clown-activist toolkit was created, which is free to download below. It consists of a pdf of the full version of the N.A.Toˇ toolkit, which is designed to be viewed on your phone, and four themed DYI zines, which you can print, fold and carry with you everywhere.

Clowning intervention of N.A.Toˇ 3 in Budapest, 2023, photo: Ondřej Holba

Articles about the project

N.A.Toˇ as an ERASMUS+ project

Assemblies N.A.To ˇ 3–5 were organised by tYhle together with the Theater der Unterdrückten Wien (AT) and INspirál Cirkuszközpont from Budapest (HU) z Budapešti (HU) in 2023–2024 as part of the Nose Assembly for Tomorrow project supported by the ERASMUS+ programme. In addition to individual meetings N.A.Toˇ, a clown-activist DIY toolkit and an inspirational newsletter were created as part of this project.

From the N.A.Toˇs 3–5, a clown-activist toolkit was created, which is free to download below. It consists of a pdf of the full version of the N.A.Toˇ toolkit, which is designed to be viewed on your phone, and four themed DYI zines, which you can print, fold and carry with you everywhere.

N.A.Toˇ Newsletters

N.A.To ˇ #3 – Exchange of good (clowning) practices / INspiral, Budapest, Hungary

The third N.A.Toˇ took place from 8 to 12 November 2023 in Budapest. It was hosted by INspirál Cirkuszközpont. The event focused on exploring different methods that could be used by activist clowns. After a long plenary discussion, it resulted in the intervention of several clown groups in the Budapest metro.

  • Workshops
    • Workshop of the Theatre of the Oppressed by Kiara Gezels and Antonia Dimas (Wien)
    • Clown workshop by Goldi, the clown (HU)
    • Workshop Rhythms of Resistance by Florent Golfier-Brechmann (tYhle) and Abel (RoR Wien)
    • Soundpaing workshop by Florent Golfier-Brechmann (tYhle)
  • Discussions
    • Seminar with artist Anna Ádám (HU)
    • Plenums of N.A.Toˇ
  • Clown intervention in the Budapest metro

Implementation team of N.A.Toˇ #3: Kiara Gezels, Florent Golfier-Brechmann, Ondřej Holba, Csenge Kelecsényi, Jakub Liška
Production: tYhle, INspirál, Theater der Unterdrückten Wien

Photos from the meeting N.A.Toˇ #3 Budapest

N.A.Toˇ #4 – Queering spaces through clowning – Queerfeminist theatre methods / Vienna, Austria

The fourth meeting of N.A.Toˇ took place on 4–7 April 2023 in Vienna. It focused on exploring how socio-ecological concepts of queerness and queering of space can inspire activist clowning. The host organization was the Theater of the Oppressed Vienna.

  • Workshops
    • FLINTA-clowning workshop led by Leo Lisa Begeré and Anja Monden
    • Fight club with failures and mistakes led by Anna Ádám (HU)
  • Discussions
    • Seminar on the concept of Queering Spaces led by Leo Hosp
    • Plenums N.A.Toˇ
  • Action
    • Clowning Queering Walk
    • Clown Open Stage

Implementation team of N.A.Toˇ #4: Kiara Gezels, Laura Golfier-Brechmann, Emilia Forck, Csenge Kelecsény, Julia Mollnhuber, Alma Tiemann
Production: tYhle, INspirál, Theater der Unterdrückten Wien

Photos from the meeting N.A.Toˇ #4 Vienna

N.A.Toˇ #5 – Training Camp for Radical imagination / Visalaje & Ostrava, Czech Republic

The fifth meeting of N.A.Toˇ took place on 16–21 July 2023 in the Beskydy settlement Visalaje near Ostrava. During the meeting, the participants were divided into four affinity groups, which focused on working on various aspects of the connection between activism and clowning.

  • The Merging Methods group focused on connecting the methods of the Theatre of the Oppressed and clowning.
  • The My sphere group focused on group clown work and group expression of emotions through voice.
  • The Clown invasion group focused on the strategies of clown movement in public space and on the elaboration of communication using the soundpainting method.
  • The Care & feminist challenges group reflected on the toxic mechanisms of the current patriarchal system and put together specific tips and examples for its change.

During the meetings, the groups worked partly independently and partly shared their progress and inspired each other. In addition to the work of the groups, the program consisted of plenums and an evening open program.

During the meeting, the participants organized the Clowning invasion event in the streets of Ostrava, which opened the topic of finding home in the form of a colorful clown strike.

Organizing team N.A.Toˇ #5:: Koen de Jong, Antonia Dimas, Kiara Gezels, Florent Golfier-Brechmann, Laura Golfier-Brechmann, Ondřej Holba, Csenge Kelecsény, Barbora Liška, Jakub Liška
Production: tYhle, INspirál, Theater der Unterdrückten Wien

Photos from the assembly N.A.Toˇ #5 Visalaje / Ostrava

Podpora

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

N.A.Toˇ #2 – Impulshaus, Maria Schutz, Austria

The second N.A.Toˇ took place from 4 to 9 July 2023. It was hosted by Impulshaus. The meeting took place in a former school in the beautiful Austrian mountains, and it had a strong community character. In addition to the workshop program, an essential part of N.A.To #2 was community life associated with collective cooking, cleaning and trips around the Maria Schutz area.

  • Workshops
    • Clown workshops Gravity strike I. & II. by Florent Golfier
    • Clown workshop by Ondřej Holba
    • Rhythms of Resistance workshop by RoR Wien
    • Theatre of the Oppressed workshop by TdU Wien
    • Open-space: skills sharing
  • Lectures
    • History and philosophy of clowning by Ondřej Holba
    • History of Kreative formung and Theater Brett in the context of Charter 77 by Ludvík Kavín
  • Discussion
    • Round table on artivism by Babora Liška and Jakub Liška
    • Plenums of N.A.Toˇ
  • Comunity life: cooking, relaxing and trips to nature

Organising team of N.A.Toˇ #2: Laura Brechmann, Florent Golfier, Ondřej Holba, Barbora Liška, Jakub Liška Production: Roman Zmrzlý

Photos from the meeting N.A.Toˇ #2 in Maria-Schutz

Support

Project N.A.Toˇ #2 was implemented with the financial support of the European Union through the National Recovery Plan and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic as part of Výzva č. 5/2022 – Mobilita II.

N.A.Toˇ #1 - Terén, Brno

The first assembly N.A.Toˇ took place on 23–26 March 2023 in Brno. It was hosted by Terén – Field of Performing Arts. The program of the four-day camp consisted of seminars, workshops and plenums, a program created by the participants and a happening in the streets of Brno.

  • Workshops
    • Rhythms of Resistance workshop by RoR Wien
    • Clown workshop by Pierre Nadaud (JAMU)
    • Clown-activist workshop by Florent Golfier (tYhle)
    • Clown-activist workshop by clown Röschti (Lauritz Mori, CH)
    • Activist workshop from Limity jsme my!
    • Open-space: skills sharing
  • Discussion
    • Can a clown be an activist?
    • Plenums of N.A.Toˇ
  • Happening in the streets of Brno

Organising team of N.A.Toˇ #1: Laura Brechmann, Florent Golfier, Ondřej Holba, Barbora Liška, Jakub Liška
Production: tYhle, Roman Zmrzlý
Special thanks to: Terén – pole performativního umění, Pomezí o.s., Theater of the Oppressed Vienna (TdU Wien), Rhythms of Resistance Brno and Vienna, Supporters of the crowdfunding campaign, Tři Ocásci and Good Karma Catering.

Photos from the meeting N.A.Toˇ #1 in Brno

Support

Project N.A.Toˇ #1 was implemented with the financial support of the European Union through the National Recovery Plan and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic as part of Výzva č. 4/2022 – Rozvoj kompetencí pracovníků KKS: projekty mezinárodní umělecké a odborné spolupráce v ČR.