Whether during his studies at the Zurich University of the Arts or in his work as a radio play director in Svalbard: engaging with new dramaturgical forms to reflect the transformational processes of our time has always been at the heart of Johann Otten's work. Born in 1991, Otten studied Art History, Geography, and Political Science in Freiburg and Berlin, before completing his Master's degree in Theatre and Dramaturgy in Zurich. He is currently working as a dramaturg for sustainability at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.
His work provides important impulses for the future of dramaturgy. The jury justified their decision to award Johann Otten with the scholarship by highlighting his intensive engagement at the intersection of art, theatre, and ecology. They emphasized that throughout his artistic career, he has focused on exploring new dramaturgical forms that address the transformational processes of our time.
On a warming planet with increasingly scarce resources, the exploration of the materiality of narrative tools is becoming an ever more important question within artistic processes.
Johann Otten completed his studies at the ZHdK in 2023 with the radio play project Drift. The radio play combines historical recordings from Nansen's failed North Pole expedition with current interviews from Svalbard. It illustrates how geopolitical tensions in the Arctic have shifted over time.