FRAKCIJA, a Performing Arts Magazine, was established in 1996 by a group of dramaturgs, theatre theoreticians, critics and artists based in Zagreb. From its first issue FRAKCIJA has been providing a theoretical and critical support for projects that were of marginal interest to the (not only Croatian) mainstream media, theatre criticism and official drama and theatre studies. Until 2000 FRAKCIJA has published one international issue every year, in collaboration with various production units, performing arts centres and festivals, such as Intercult (Stockholm), International Sommertheater Festival (Hamburg), Aarhus Festuge, Chapter Arts Centre (Cardiff) and DANCE festival (Munich).
In 2001 FRAKCIJA launched its new international edition, published four times a year (sometimes as double-issue), in both English and Croatian language.
Each issue is devoted to a particular subject, and the approaches used attempt to encompass the manifold areas and perspectives of theory and academic reflection, but also to include actual artistic practice. This new direction meant a change in the editorial policy of FRAKCIJA, now to be based on guest-editors and invited contributors, both scholars and artists.
After a successful breakthrough onto the international market with constant bilingual editions during the years 2001 and 2002, FRAKCIJA became continuously present on the international and interdisciplinary crossroads (and markets!) of the contemporary theatre and performance theory and artistic practice. In the next leg of its development FRAKCIJA intends to become a much wider cultural-political, artistic-theoretical and research project that will attract even a larger number of readership, both in professional circles as well as in the general cultural public.
During its first few years of existence (up until issue No. 9) FRAKCIJA above all critically analysed, followed and promoted new theatre production on the Croatian and international scene, only to later reorient itself towards the cooperation with authors of academic profile from around the world, publishing texts of different genres, ranging from scientific studies, essays and criticism to interviews with some of the most well known theatrical artists of the present day (Jan Fabre, Franca Rame, Peter Sellars, La Ribot, Robert Wilson, Milko Šparemblek, Dunja Vejzović, Ron Vawter, Lloyd Newson, Judith Malina, Ron Athey, Alvaro Restrepo). Many of today’s most acclaimed theatrologists, dramatists and theatre and performance theoreticians of different formations have either written for our magazine or allowed FRAKCIJA to publish fragments of their books that were yet awaiting an international release (see the list of contributors up to date at the end of this text).
As a magazine that continuously questions its editorial policy and consciously and untiringly works on its constant re-conceptualisation, recently FRAKCIJA turned over a new leaf, this time freeing even more space for those authors, scholars and artists, who combine academic approach with the influences of the new theoretical perspectives as well as with (still) “insufficiently-academic” themes such as radicalisms, affective work, energy of performance, vague/volatile/incomprehensible...
More actively and more creatively FRAKCIJA involves itself in an innovative creation of performing arts and the deliberation of new theoretic fractions on the international scene. FRAKCIJA is a reflector of the present state of performing arts and a site for artistic and theoretical initiatives and developing projects.
Frakcija is a contributing member of the cultural magazine network Eurozine.
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