The festival presenting and promoting various currents of creative quest present in alternative theatre. It is directed to establishing a situation of meeting and exchange of experience: besides artistic presentations it includes open presentations of methods of work, film projections, workshops, presentations of artistic centers, lectures, seminars, as well as concerts and exhibitions. Each year a certain subject is chosen, especially interesting for both the organizers and invited artists, being at the same time an attempt to diagnose or formulate a question about an important phenomenon in art. It dies not mean yet that the subject determines selection of artistic proposals - quite contrary, one of the main guidelines of the OKNO festival is its openness, diversity, encounter of various experiences and various ways of thinking. The festival is associated with the complex program of informal artistic/cultural education: The University of Theatrical Quest.
History
OKNO started in October 1997, mainly as a forum of presentation of young Szczecin-based theatrical groups (the original name of the festival was: Meetings of Young Theatre OKNO). In next several years the following groups performed (and some of them debuted) in Kana: Gardawan Theatre, Meda, Jedenastu Snów Theatre, Kresu Nocy Theatre, Vogue Dance Theatre, Manasrytm drummers' orchestra, Dikanda folk band, and Karton Theatre. Also some acclaimed Polish groups have been invited to perform there: Porywacze Ciał Theatre, Stajnia Pegaza Theatre, Wiczy Theatre, 36 zł Theatre, Usta Usta Theatre, Biuro Poszukiwań Teatralnych. Since 1999 there have been some international elements included in the festival, and 2002 marked the first "subject dominant". The criterion of selection of theatres were no longer simply subjected to the original idea of the festival - the distinction between "local" and "visiting" groups has been removed. The focus was put on artistic quality and original innovative "youthful" language. At the same time OKNO became an opportunity to establish foreign partnerships (Germany, Scandinavia), opening the festival to new phenomena in European art. Up to now OKNO have covered the such subjects as: hip-hop; dance; performance; anti-consumerism/multimedia; "Unconventional actor: craft, mutiny, utopia"; "Tradition, space, therapy, center", and "Actor-Object". In recent years the following groups (among others) participated in the festival: Hanna Hartman (Germany), Patrz Mi Na Usta Theatre (Berlin-Gdańsk), Teatrzyk Okazjonalny (Gdańsk); Arti Grabowski (Krakow) SMULLOTRON (Sweden); Chóry Gertrudy Stein (Łódź); Suka OFF (Będzin); OVAL & SO (Germany); Janusz Bałdyga (Warsaw); Unia Teatr Niemożliwy (Warsaw); ZAR Theatre (Wrocław), Studium Teatralne (Warsaw), Schola Teatru Węgajty (Węgajty), Trubadurzy Chrystusa Pana (Węgajty/ Poznań), Jacek Hałas (Poznań), Farma v Jeskyni Theatre (the Czech Republic), Theaterlabor im Tor 6 (German), Imre Thormann (Switzerland), Atsushi Takenouchi (Japan); CHOREA Theatrical Association (Łódź); Novogo Fronta Theatre (the Czech Republic); Buda Folk Band (Hungary), büro für zeit + raum (Germany); Akhe Theatre (Russia); Elena Sthykova (Russia); Ville Walo & Kalle Hakkarainen (Finland); Krepsko Theatre (the Czech Republic), Stella Polaris Theatre (Norway), Schindelkilliusdutschke (Germany); Portnes Komplot (Denmark), Johannes & Anna Bergmark (Sweden).
