Shaping Networks. Shaped by Networks On collective strategies for the performing arts in Flanders and Europe JORIS JANSSENS HONG KONG, 5 MAY 2016
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About Flanders Arts Institute •
Flanders Arts Institute is the supporting institute for the arts in Flanders -
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Merger of VTi (performing arts institute) with the centres for visual arts and music We started in 2015 Our core functions • • •
Field research and documentation Professional development Development of international relations
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Our history is firmly rooted in the developments in European performing arts since the 1980’s. -
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VTi started as a centre for international development, documentation in 1987. It grew out of the VTC (Flemish Touring Circuit), a touring netwerk of independent venues. Strongly connected to European history of international networking.
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We have a lot of research material about the (international) collaboration and netwerking in Flanders and Europe -
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International touring and coproduction. Interconnections between local developments and international developments Link with professional development.
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So what will we talk about this morning? •
Some truths and myths about IETM, the International network for contemporary performing arts -
Some facts & figures about IETM today. Strong stories about the early days
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About how international collaboration changed the performing arts: the case of Flanders. -
The context in the eighties • • •
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Artistic Organisational Cultural policy
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About how these changes challenge (international) networks… -
How did IETM react to this? Provocation: what could this all mean for the networking of creative producers in Asia?
Some trends in the production, presentation and networking of performing arts since then.
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01 SHAPING A NETWORK — SOME TRUTHS & MYTHS ABOUT THE IETM
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What is the IETM? A “membership organisation which exists to stimulate the quality, development and the context of contemporary performing arts.” •
Membership in 2015 -
532 active members •
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including 17 Associate Members (funding agencies, arts councils, cultural institutes)
… coming from all performing arts disciplines They cover all functions in the ecosystem: •
venues, festivals, companies, producers, independent curators, research and resource centres, networks, governmental bodies…
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Geography -
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88% of the membership is based on the European continent Countries with the largest membership: •
France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia
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Activities -
Two plenary meetings each year in a European city Smaller meetings around the world •
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Eg Satellite Meeting Gwangju & Caravan Meeting Seoul (2015)
And also •
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Collection and distribution of information on international opportunities Commissioning research and publications Advocating the value of the performing arts sector on diverse platforms 8 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
Where and when did it start? The summer of 1981 at the Inteatro Festival, Polverigi, Italy
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Villa Nappi, Polverigi FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
Inteatro Festival Started by Roberto Cimetta Polverigi is a small village in the middle of nowhere in Italy. In 1977, Roberto Cimetta, an Italian director and playwright, created the Inteatro festival Polverigi there, in the setting of Villa Nappi, which the local mayor allowed him to use. The Villa Nappi was home to companies of all kinds, from all parts of world. Cimetta gave artists as a place to meet to rehearse and audience. He also invited his international colleagues there, in the summer of 1981. They talked about setting up a network and meeting on a regular basis, to share experiences about supporting the work of artists. The first ‘real’ Informal European Theatre Meeting was organised by ONDA in Paris, later that fall.
Théâtre Gérard Philipe , 15 October 1981
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Number of people conceiving IETM at the Villa Nappi in Polverigi in summer 1981
Number of people at the first ‘real’ IETM meeting in Paris in October 1981
Number of people claiming to have been at one of these two gatherings
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Why was IETM such a success? What needs did it cater for, in what context? How was all this organised? •
The context for international collaboration -
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International collaboration by intergovernmental organisation Performing arts landscape dominated by large festivals •
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Knowledge exchange in predigital era -
Festival of Fools, Kaaifestival, Festival de Nancy, Copenhagen International Festival
East-West division in Europe: the ‘iron curtain’.
Detecting talent: •
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The structure: informal, but closed -
The combination of a ‘nose’ for talent and a ‘network’ How to organise a festival, visa issues, policy issues
Empowering members for advocacy •
What arguments for supporting contemporary performing arts?
Membership •
Practical know-how •
Eg Wiener Festwochen
New alternative festivals popping up •
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•
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Cultural ‘entrepreneurs’: festival directors (sometimes producing artists) Not the artists
Informal structure • • •
Everyone could organise a meeting Bureau managed by Flemish Theater Circuit (1984) Not-for-profit international organisation based in Brussels in 1989
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02 COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIES FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS — THE CASE OF FLANDERS
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The impact of international networking? Flanders and Brussels as a case study What has been the impact of international networking in Europe since then? This can be a tricky point to make. The impact of networking, of meeting people, of knowledge exchange is often quite difficult to prove in terms of cause and effect… But what we can do, is have a look at some developments in the contemporary performing arts in Europe since then. We will take Flanders and Brussels as a case. Flanders is a very good example of how international networking has really shaped the development — almost out of nothing — of a very dynamic contemporary live arts scene ànd of an innovative policy for supporting contemporary performing arts. In this chapter, I will first sketch how these developments took off in the eighties and early nineties. Second, we will have a look at some major trends and crucial transformations in the international touring and coproduction since the nineties. International networking initiatives, such as the IETM, did have an effect on the emergence of a transnational system for producing and presenting contemporary performing arts.
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Flanders is the northern, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. In Belgium, the competence for cultural policy resides not with the federal Belgian State, but with three communities: the Flemish community, the French Community and the (small) German Community. Flanders Arts Institute works within the context of the Flemish Community and the data we collect are focused on work supported by the Flemish Community, which is also very active in Brussels.
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The situation in Flemish performing arts in the eighties
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The ‘Flemish Wave’ of the eighties Rosas, Fabre, Vandekeybus, Needcompany, Alain Platel, Meg Stuart, Luk Perceval, Ivo van Hove,…
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Funding for dance back then Flemish community funding for dance in 1985 The 1980’s in Flanders showed a remarkable artistic dynamics. Remarkably, at that moment, there was no developed policy framework for contemporary performing arts‌ Klapstuk Festival Rosas
Royal Ballet
Funding for dance back then Flemish community funding for dance in 1985 Support for contemporary performing arts in that time was‌ peanuts. But the peanuts have proven to be very important. While there was almost no project funding in the mid-eighties, emerging artists received small support from the International Department, which helped them to connect to international networks‌ Collaboration is the key to the development of the local scene in Flanders in those days.
Bottom-up & collective strategies … were important for the “ex nihilo” creation of a performing arts landscape in Flanders in the eighties In the absence of a contemporary arts policy framework, the generation of the eighties managed to spark off international careers. Almost out of nothing, a number of gifted organisers and entrepreneurs developed a landscape for contemporary performing arts, through a number of collaborative strategies, both domestic and international. Different functions in the ecosystem were tackled collectively: production, touring, presentation, international promotion, documentation and advocacy.
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Collective artist-run self-organisation - Schaamte, les Ballets C de la B Coproduction and presentation: new arts centres and festivals - Vooruit, STUK, Kaaitheater, Klapstuk, Monty, CAMPO (Nieuwpoorttheater) Collective strategy for touring and international promotion - The VTC (Flemish Theater Circuit) became VTi (Flemish Theater Institute) Advocacy and lobbying - Vlaamse Directies Podiumkunsten (employer’s advocacy umbrella) International networks and coproduction partners - Networks: IETM, ONDA, EFAH,… - Hebbel Theater, Théâtre de la Ville,… 22 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
How did policy makers react to this?
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40.000.000
Funding for contemporary dance on the rise Flemish community project funding for dance: evolution 1985-1992 30.000.000
Platel 20.000.000
Vandekeybus
10.000.000
Rosas 0 1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
Major policy innovations since 1993 Flemish community project funding for dance: evolution 1985-1992
There was a major shift in 1993: the opening to different disciplines, and multi-annual funding. The critical thing is this : since then, the Flemish laws are really fit to support bottomup initiatives, evaluated by peers, allowing for multiannual planning.
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Theatre Decree (1975) -
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Performing Arts Decree (1993) -
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Only annual subsidies for theater companies New disciplines: dance and music theatre New types of structures: arts centres Multiannual envelopes and projects
Arts Decree (2006, 2013) -
New disciplines: visual arts, music, architecture New structures: workspaces and management bureaus Rosas Grants for individual artists Functions: development, production, presentation, participation and reflection 25 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
Shifting the balance Ballet, contemporary dance structures + projects
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1% 1% 2% 2% 2%
3%
4%
First Level 2%
2%
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Second level 3%
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5%
Third level
5% 6% 7%
11%
Royal Ballet Rosas Ultima Vez Les Ballets C. de la B. 44% Eastman Damaged Goods Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui Kris Verdonck Workspace Brussels Meg StuartTom Peeping Action Scénique Ultima Vez Soit Kobalt Works Kunst/Werk Les Ballets c de la b Deep Blue/Field Works Projects > organisations Projects > artists Rosas Grants > artists 26 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
Trends in international collaboration since 2001 Source: http://data.kunsten.be
In its current research, Flanders Arts Institute is mapping out the international dimension of the performing arts, including performances abroad as well as international co-productions.
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The distribution of Flemish performing arts shows abroad The number of international coproducers involved in these productions The position of artists in the system
The position of the artists in the system is also a major topic for research.
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# productions per year Source: http://data.kunsten.be Before focussing on developments in the international arena, we will give an overview of the number of productions per season. This has increased year after year. The graph distinguishes between new creations that year (blue), and productions presented earlier (grey). We call the latter ‘re-runs’. The number of new creations each year remains stable. The increase in the number of productions on the bill each year is mainly due to these ‘re-runs’.
Reruns
Creations
Performances abroad Source: http://data.kunsten.be How much where these productions shown outside of Belgium? The number of international shows has been on the rise since 2001.
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Performances abroad Source: http://data.kunsten.be
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Intercontinental touring since 2001 Source: http://data.kunsten.be
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Number of foreign coproducers Subtitle http://data.kunsten.be Source: Many performing arts productions are made today based on a partnership between companies and sometimes various festivals, art centres and other domestic and foreign partners. This graph shows how many foreign organisations have collaborated each year in theatre, dance and music theatre productions.
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Origin of foreign coproducers Source: http://data.kunsten.be
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Type of foreign coproducers To support, or to be supported You can make a distinction between two types of partners. The red bars are foreign companies that partnered with Flanders' supported art centres and/or festivals. The bar rises slightly. The growth is mainly in the blue bar: these are foreign coproducers who contribute to productions by Flemish companies (co-production contributions, residencies, etc). The growth appears to be especially here: the capacity of Flemish performing arts production is being maintained because more and more overseas partners can be mobilised.
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The number of performers each year •
The next two slides deal with the position of artists in this emerging ‘transnational’ system for production and touring. • •
First, the graph on the left shows that the number of artist has risen. The graph on the next slide suggests that the rise is due to fragmented employment. The rise is to be situated in two ‘categories’ of artists: •
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Those who have only been involved in one Flemish productions in a 4-year timespan, and ‘freelancers’ working with different organisations. The number of artists working with only one company does not rise. 35 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
8000
Fragmented employment With how many companies does an artist work? 6000
4000
One offs... More than 5 3 to 5 2 2000 Working with 1 company
0 1993-1997
1997-2001
2001-2005
2005-2009 36 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
03 CHANGES IN AND CHALLENGES FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
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Shifting practices The development of a transnational system for the production and presentation of performing arts
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These trends show that prototypes have been shifting: -
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Companies have become flexible production units. Freelancers from different disciplines and countries join forces to make a production. They assemble a transnational network of coproducers, where they show the work.
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Production capacity and mobility of artists has increased a lot since the 1980’s, due to a.o. -
The impact of international networks, The development of national policies, The development of EU policy,
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But how sustainable is the growth? -
More productions More shows abroad More artists Funding is under pressure, but more foreign coproducers are engaged to maintain the growth. • • •
Annual growth ratio of 11% (average) This is exponential growth Doubling time: 6,15 years.
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Science fiction of international coproduction What if the annual 11% rise of the number of coproducing partners would continue?
YEAR 2020 2026 2032 2038 2044 2050 2056 2062 2068
N째 coproducers 1090 2180 4360 8720 17440 34880 69760 139520 279040 39 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
How sustainable is the growth? We have some sorting out to do‌.
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Plug in and play! Thomas Friedman’s optimistic view on changes in the world economy. • •
The playing field is being levelled. Three stages of globalisation: -
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Globalisation 1.0: Nations Globalisation 2.0: Companies Globalisation 3.0: Individuals
More opportunities for individuals to ‘connect and collaborate’ globally.
What kind of art does this system produce? Richard Sennett’s bleak view on the work culture of global capitalism, which clearly resembles practices in the arts field… •
The precarious position of flexworkers in the knowledge economy. -
Freelancing > difficult socio-economic conditions This system asks for a certain kind of artists •
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Not only artistic skills, but also social skills
Difficult to develop a consistent artistic body of work 42 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
Challenges for international networks •
Economic pressure: both internally and externally -
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Individualisation -
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Freelancing has an impact on socio-economic position of artists. Freelancing has an impact on the art being made.
Internationalisation & globalisation -
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The ‘coproduction bubble’: how sustainable is our way of working? The legitimacy of arts funding is under pressure in a lot of countries in Europe. Political agendas increasingly driven by economic interests.
Ecological sustainability Inequality in the transnational system for touring & coproduction
Digitalisation
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Sorting out for (international networks)? •
Is the aim and function of a network still relevant? -
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Who are the possible partners of our network? -
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The need to seek more connections on a local level > outside of the arts. Why connect globally in a changing world? What is your interest?
Resources of the network? -
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Many more potential partners, also individual players, but also more vulnerable partners
Connecting to the local and the global -
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IETM sees itself as a ‘biodegradable’ network
Funding under pressure: how to relate to economic political agenda’s? What is ‘membership’? What does solidarity mean? Who can put what on the table?
Formats & processes -
Live meetings and retreats? Digital formats? Formal or informal network? 44 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
How did IETM respond to all this? •
Expansion of the network -
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Opening up the network to companies and to individual artists -
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The type of partners has shifted 180°: focus on smaller companies
Knowledge exchange on survival strategies. New topics: focus on different meanings of sustainability -
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Starting op new networks, eg. Culture Action Europe, Balkan Express,… Connecting to other continents via Caravan meetings, Satellite Meetings, …
Focus on capacity building: demand from network & political agendas. Other topics: advocacy of the value of the arts, ecology, the refugee crisis,…
New formats, next to live meetings -
Live meetings remain the backbone, but have another function. IETM Campus and staff exchange are new formats for capacity building. 45 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
But what about the Creative Producers Platform? You are bright people taken initiatives in sometimes difficult conditions. There is a similar energy in the region as in Europe in the eighties. But the world has changed. And so have the performing arts. For older and larger networks it’s difficult to change. Can you inspire us with new ways of working together and sharing? The discussion is open. 46 FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE
WWW.FLANDERSARTSINSTITUTE.BE For more information: www.flandersartsinstitute.be joris@kunsten.be