Sustainability as a creative process (interview with Nina Jacques)

The principles of sustainability, sensitivity to the environment and awareness of the critical limit for human survival on Earth have finally massively penetrated from scientific studies into the public space in recent years and - especially in the case of the European Union - are gradually beginning to be prescribed in legislation in the form of the so-called Green Agreement , which was approved by the European Commission in 2021 as the legal framework for the climate. Whether as a bottom-up process, as a result of international cooperation or hand in hand with measures leading to economic efficiency, sustainability is also integrated into the functioning of cultural organizations in the Czech Republic. The National Theater in the Czech Republic is a pioneer, especially in the field of energy sustainability, as the first and only state-established theater stage.

Sustainability is a long-term process in which we all learn to work more environmentally friendly. At the National Theatre, we are now working intensively on the transformation towards a more sustainable operation and especially in the production of more sustainable productions. It is a complex process, but we are starting to have the first really visible and measurable results. But where we are real pioneers is a significant and permanent reduction in the consumption of natural gas, electricity and water, as well as the use of renewable energy sources (solar energy and energy contained in the Vltava water). With this goal, an energy management project was launched in 2006, which operated on the principle of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC). The basic motivation for its implementation was economic savings, because the operation of our several large buildings is incredibly expensive. Of course, it is difficult to find and analyze a solution for a more ecological operation, but for us, a single person from the technical and economic administration who devoted time to it was enough. The company ENESA a.s. she then calculated the guaranteed operating savings for us, and the National Theater paid back the investment in the relevant technologies for a period of ten years. In the beginning, there is therefore no need to have a huge initial capital for investment, which is a frequent concern of cultural organizations.

Recently, in the theater environment, the epicenters of debates about the role of artistic and cultural organizations in the context of the climate crisis and the theory of undergrowth have become, for example, the Center for Experimental Theater, especially its group HaDivadlo, or the Institute of Arts - The Theater Institute, which, thanks to its international contacts, applied tested principles abroad sustainable mobility into its Go and See program to support individual trips abroad, joined the Declaration of Prague's cultural institutions to declare a state of climate emergency 2019, formulated the Sustainability Manifesto for theaters involved in the Night of Theaters and took a responsible approach to the production and recycling of waste even when organizing the world's largest exhibition of scenography, the Prague Quadrennial 2019. What level of sustainability are you currently focusing on at the National Theatre?

In addition to energy management, we mainly focus on the production processes of productions, because they are and must be at the center of our interest as a theater institution, and here it is also important to achieve real change. Our four ensembles produce more than 25 premieres a year. For this reason, it is necessary to start thinking about production in a completely different way. The goal is not to play in jute bags or just recycled things from the fund. The point is to not waste, to use sustainable materials and to circulate materials in a meaningful system of reuse and storage. It is necessary to realize that repertory theaters have demanding construction requirements - the scenography is often in operation for 10 years and is constantly being torn down and built. In order to be more efficient, we need to constantly educate ourselves, communicate with each other and look for solutions tailored to our operation. So for me, sustainability is mainly a creative process that takes time and care, not the frustration that we've been doing everything wrong so far - that turns a lot of people off. Time and care, to be more specific, are manifested in this process in the way that there is a need to connect scenographers with production, operational architects and stage operations much more. We discuss each proposal together and look for possible savings, recycling of materials, purchasing from more sustainable sources and so on. Everyone involved in the creation and production process has to listen to each other, but that makes the work all the more satisfying in the end.

In Central and Eastern Europe, due to the experience with a totalitarian regime, we are relatively sensitive to interventions and restrictions on free creative processes. To what extent is it the ethical and social duty of a public cultural institution to adapt to the climate emergency situation?

According to all the science, the climate crisis is so serious that if we don't do something within two years, we can say goodbye to our life on the planet, however we defend our lifestyles. For my generation, I think it's a matter of course. At the same time, I am lucky that there is no one in our theater who would question the effort for sustainability - so it is not a question of why, but how. Voluntariness is another question. We have verified that this principle does not work. A lot of artists do not have a sustainer