#APAC16

Theatre Forum and TheatreNI present All-Ireland Performing Arts Conference

I + We Them + Us

Town Hall Theatre, Galway 15–16 June 2016

#APAC16

Over two days, you’ll hear the views of artists, arts workers and activists starting with artist Rita Duffy’s keynote address. The opening panel discussion featuring Lian Bell of #WakingTheFeminists as well as artist and writer Dan Thompson, will be followed by sessions with awardwinning artist and director Mark Storor, Goldsmith’s College cultural policy lecturer Dr. David O’Brien, arts metrics consultant John Knell, artist and co-founder of Fun Palaces Stella Duffy as well as many other renowned practitioners. The conference will close looking to the future with National Theatre of Scotland’s outgoing Associate Director, Graham McLaren.

This year’s APAC programme is broken down into I. We. Them. Us. sections and different combinations of these. My aim as APAC16 curator is to encourage all of us to raise questions, to question ourselves, our underlying attitudes and what we really mean when we use these descriptions.

Ali FitzGibbon APAC16 Curator

Wednesday 15 June 12.00–13.00

Benchmarking Presentation

12.00–13.30

Lunch

13.30–13.45

Welcome

Theatre Forum and TheatreNI Chairs welcome delegates.

13.45–15.00

We. The artist as part of social and collective action

A keynote address from artist Rita Duffy on the role of the artist in advocating social change and justice followed by a panel discussion exploring these themes further.

Chair Senator Alice-Mary Higgins Panel Rita Duffy, Lian Bell, Dan Thompson

15.00–16.00

I. Personal autonomy

Learning from artists and makers with different approaches to getting over barriers and taking opportunities.

Chair Joanne Cummins Panel Dylan Quinn, Conor Mitchell

16.00–16.15

Coffee

16.15–17.15

Them. Us. Exploring how venue leaders develop practices that More than bricks and harness a building’s power as a hub of artistic and mortar community activity in both rural and urban settings.

Chair Anne McReynolds Panel Marie O’Byrne, Adam Knight, Stella Duffy

17.15–18.15

I. We. Them. Us. The Big Democracy Project

National Theatre of Wales (NTW) set up The Big Democracy Project asking some big questions and instigating action through art. Hear newly-appointed NTW Artistic Director talk about artistic autonomy.

Speaker Kully Thiarai in conversation with Eugene Downes.

19.15–late

Evening Programme

Reception followed by the Concept Album Talk, Now that’s what I call APAC16, and then dinner in the Black Box Theatre. At 23.00 delegates are invited to Bite Club on Abbeygate Street.

Heather Maitland presents the 2015 Benchmarking headlines to study participants.

Thursday 16 June 9.30–10.10

Us. That which can be measured?

Asking what do we mean by quality John Knell, leader of the Quality Metrics pilot project, delves into the challenges and discoveries of defining and measuring quality.

Chair Maria Fleming Presentation John Knell

10.15–11.15

I. We. Co-creation and blurring the boundaries in practice

From blurring boundaries between artist, participant and audience to finding routes to connect with audiences and communities, three artists offer their perspectives on co-creation.

Chair Noeline Kavanagh Panel Mark Storor, Phil Morrow, Joke Laureyns & Kwint Manshoven

11.15–11.30

Coffee

11.30–13.00

We? What’s this ‘we’ business?

Careers in the arts are harder to get into and harder to sustain. In light of such inaccessibility and precarity, how do we ensure our stages reflect diversity, gender, rural and ageing identities?

Part One Social Mobility – when the only way is not up

Thinking of some initial research findings on a UK Acting & Social Mobility Study, this session looks at the implications of access to training and career opportunities for an open, diverse and accessible theatre sector.

Speaker Dr. Dave O’Brien

Part Two Who becomes the sector in ten or 20 years? Are Replacing ourselves we future-proofing our sector through entry-level opportunities, training and internships? Discussing some of the steps taken, what challenges they pose and concerns about the sectors future.

Chair Loughlin Deegan Panel Jimmy Fay, Liv O’Donoghue, Rhona Dunnett Part Three Built to last

13.30–14.30

Lunch

14.45–15.45

I. We. Them. Us. Looking Ahead

15.45–16.00

Building a lifetime career in the arts should be a realistic ambition. How do we protect and support the most important part of a collaborative artform – the people?

Chair Emma Jordan Panel Kate Ferris, Noel Kelly, Jonathan Shankey Asking about what the next 100 years hold for the performing arts on the island, delegates will have their say about individual and collective actions the sector can take to imagine and realise the future of performing arts in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Chair Graham McLaren in conversation with delegates.

Feedback and closing remarks.

I. We. There is no individual act in the performing arts that doesn’t require collective effort to be realised.

Together each individual element, be it the artist, producer, venue manager or facilitator, forms a collective experience for ourselves and our wider society.

Them. Us. Them and Us distinctions can be viewed through many lenses - the makers and the presenters, the artists and the communities, the established and the emerging, male and female, haves and have nots, the artform and the state.

I. We. Them. Us. Our fifth all-Island conference examines how individual and collective purpose shapes our industry and artform and through this, cultural identity or identities for the future. Speakers, panellists and delegates will also take close looks at Them and Us distinctions considering social mobility, replacing ourselves and the longevity of a career in the arts, all the time looking for new ways of collaborating. The final session asks a key question: what do the next 100 years hold for the performing arts on the island?

Conference venue

Now that’s what I call APAC16

The APAC16 venue is the Town Hall Theatre, Galway. The conference opens at noon on Wednesday 15 June and closes late afternoon on Thursday 16 June. The Wednesday evening programme, including dinner, starts in the nearby Black Box Theatre and later moves on to Bite Club on Abbeygate Street.

Shuttle buses will operate between the venues.

On Wednesday evening, there will be an open platform with a twist. A variation on what is known as a concept album talk, delegates will propose a topic to fit the title and duration of one of the tracks in the compilation list below, also available on Spotify. They’ll address topics of relevance to the conference and present in various forms.

APAC Tickets

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

Standard Member Ticket €125/£98* Non Member Ticket €180/£140* Conference tickets cover access to all conference sessions, lunch on both days as well as the Wednesday evening programme, including dinner. No booking fee applies and remember, you don’t need a Paypal account. If you would prefer to book offline, call us on +353 1 677 8779 or email info@theatreforum.ie

Artist Tickets As in previous years, we’re committed to APAC being accessible to everyone in our sector, especially artists.

This year, we are offering a number of individual artist and practitioner tickets at €60/£47*. If you’d like to book an artist ticket, email info@theatreforum.ie * Sterling prices are approximate only and the exchange rate at the time of PayPal purchase will apply.

Contact us with your conference questions.

I’m in the mood for dancing, The Nolans – 3.19 Shining Light, Ash – 5.09 Teenage Kicks, The Undertones – 2.26 I do not want what I haven’t got, Sinead O’Connor – 5.45 Alternative Ulster, Stiff Little Fingers – 3.23 What A Shame, The Strypes – 2.24 Run, Snow Patrol – 5.57 Rat Trap, The Boomtown Rats – 5.11 I’ve Been Working, Van Morrison – 3.26 Last of the Independents, Rory Gallagher – 5.59 What You Know, Two Door Cinema Club – 3.11 Linger, The Cranberries – 4.35 Don’t Believe A Word, Thin Lizzy – 2.18 True Love Waits, Camille O’Sullivan – 5.39 In Pursuit of Happiness, The Divine Comedy – 3.30

Accommodation The main conference night is Wednesday 15 June. Some good Galway hotel and Airbnb accommodation options as well as train and timetables are detailed on www.theatreforum.ie

Theatre Forum Festival House 12 Essex Street East Dublin 2 DO2 EH42

TheatreNI Cathedral Quarter Managed Workspace Third Floor 109-113 Royal Avenue Belfast BT1 1FF

Tel +353 1 677 8779 Email info@theatreforum.ie @theatreforumie www.theatreforum.ie

Tel +44 28 9031 1806 Email projects@theatreni.org @theatre_ni www.theatreni.org