Quicklinks:

• Emily Ansenk, Holland Festival
• Charlie Cush, Brisbane Festival
• Ross Manson, Volcano

Emily Ansenk, director of Holland Festival discusses how one of Europe's most prestigious performing arts festivals maintains its post-war founding mission of international cultural exchange—despite visa challenges, political tensions, and shifting global landscapes. From amplifying underrepresented voices to challenging assumptions about artistic value across cultures, the festival proves that artistic dialogue matters more than ever.

The Holland Festival was founded because of the after-war period when we were rebuilding the country and the cultural infrastructure didn't exist anymore. One of the main reasons was to bridge different countries through art—an exchange of international artists and audiences. That's still going on 79 years later. Our programming is always international, like 99%. We invite artists globally—especially from outside Europe—to hear their stories and perspectives, or we connect them with Dutch artists and stimulate them to work together. Crossing borders is about getting to learn, to listen, and to acknowledge that everybody has different backgrounds but also shared values.

We call ourselves arts and artists driven, which means we go through a lot to make sure artists can not only visit but show their work on the best stage, in the best context. We make sure they can do workshops, masterclasses, stay in Amsterdam for more days—it's not just in and out. And almost everything, we make sure it comes through, despite visa challenges or this strange world we're in.

Our audience is actually quite spoiled because they've seen so much. But they're also very open, which is nice. They kind of trust you. Even if they don't like something, they say, "OK, it's typical Holland Festival. I give you the benefit of the doubt. It wasn't for me, but tomorrow I'll see something I really like." They don't mind if you fail.

As a festival, you never have a neutral position because you invite artists and make sure their voices are heard. We speak up as festivals and put statements out there. It's very complicated because people don't like you to be very political as a cultural institution. But whatever we do is political, whoever we invite. It's a balancing act. What we don't do is invite artists because of who they are—we invite them because of the work. Our curation is the most important. We don't invite because it's the good thing to do. The art is profoundly the main reason. And because we've always been very topical, very on top of time, it's natural—artists reflect on the world around them.

I think nowadays it's very important for festivals to collaborate. No one can really do a one-off anymore—you can't present large-scale works and say, "This is exclusively for me." That just isn't sustainable. It's too costly, and it limits the reach of the work. So, working together is essential.

By collaborating, festivals can invite artists jointly and co-produce new works. It's necessary to provide artists with the space, resources, and financial support they need to develop new ideas. That kind of support structure is crucial.

Festivals are also unique spaces where experimentation is possible. The audience comes with an open mind—they’re ready to go on an adventure with you. That creates a very different atmosphere compared to traditional venues like theater houses or concert halls.

As festivals, we need to be conscious of this position and the kind of freedom it gives us. And with that awareness, we should support one another and use our collective strength to elevate the art and the artists.

In a world of shifting borders, Brisbane Festival finds connection through shared creativity. Charlie Cush, CEO of the Brisbane Festival, reflects on reflects on how trust, imagination, and resilience keep cultural exchange alive—proving that common ground can be the most powerful place we meet.

For me, “crossing borders” is less about geography and more about creating platforms where ideas, cultures, and people can meet on common ground.

In today’s world, borders are both porous and complex, sometimes we cross them by stepping onto a plane, other times through a laptop screen or a shared vision.

At Brisbane Festival, we’re always finding ways to connect artists and audiences across time zones, languages, and lived experiences. Whether it’s bringing international work to our city or fostering long-term relationships at home, these acts of exchange expand our collective imagination and help build a shared cultural vocabulary.

The engine that keeps it turning is the belief that cultural exchange isn’t a luxury, it’s essential. When barriers arise, whether through funding pressures, border closures, or political tensions, we return to the power of relationships.

Trust and mutual respect built over time allow us to find creative pathways around the obstacles. Sometimes it means adapting how a project is delivered; sometimes it means slowing down and investing in deeper, more sustainable partnerships. Artists are inherently resourceful, and their determination to connect is a constant reminder of why this work matters. It’s that shared resilience that keeps the wheel moving.

While the way we connect may continue to evolve, what gives me hope is that the heart of our work remains unchanged: it’s still about building relationships between people.

At its core, international cultural exchange is not a trend or a technological shift, it’s a human practice. Artists have always sought each other out, finding shared language through their work long before borders, policies or digital platforms came into play.

Even as the world changes around us, the act of bringing artists together to collaborate, share stories and spark ideas remains fundamental to what we do.

That direct exchange, person to person, artist to artist, is what fuels lasting partnerships and genuine cultural dialogue. Technology can support that, but it doesn’t replace it. What gives me hope is knowing that, at its essence, our sector is built on connection, and that is something that endures.

A defining moment for me was delivering Brisbane Festival in September 2020, at the height of the pandemic. With borders closed and the world feeling isolated, we made the decision to present a live festival, safely, responsibly and with a strong local focus. It became a powerful demonstration of the role art can play in bringing people together, even when physical connections across borders weren’t possible.

The program celebrated the extraordinary artists within our own state, providing vital employment and creative opportunities at a time when the sector was under enormous strain. More importantly, it gave the people of our city a shared moment of joy and connection at a time when we all needed it most.

That experience reaffirmed for me that cultural exchange isn’t just international, it begins at home. Art has an unparalleled ability to create community, to offer hope and a sense of belonging. Even when the world feels closed, art keeps the door open.

Volcano Artistic Director, Ross Mason, doesn’t just talk about crossing borders—he’s built an entire artistic practice around it. From creating theatre in Nunavut, Rwanda, and Canada to navigating funding and touring challenges, this is what it looks like when experimental theatre meets global urgency—and when “workarounds” become the art form itself.

I have a first degree in biology, which is weirdly my initial artistic training. I actually gave a talk at the New York ISPA in 2024 and made the point that, in Nature, diversity is health. Ecosystems depend on it. And that idea of health requiring diversity—which in our human terms means mobility and collaboration across difference—that's central to my entire point of view as an artist. There are many kinds of borders: cultural borders, national borders, disciplinary borders. And I keep all of those different kinds of borders in mind and reach out across them.

I think of the many artists who’ve worked under fascist regimes. Yes, there's a core belief that drives us, but there's also the need for safety. Navigating this is, I think, a very individual act. I feel enormous privilege being a Canadian artist right now—even more than many of my American colleagues, which is something I never thought I’d say. I live in a country that funds artists and isn’t, currently at least, flirting with fascism. That’s not the case everywhere, and I don’t take it for granted.

Coming from indie experimental theatre, I’m used to navigating constant obstacles—there’s never enough money, and you’re always inventing form. That mindset has shaped how I handle projects today. In Nunavut, for instance, there’s no tradition of theatre, at least as i know it—there’s storytelling, there’s film, but theatre isn’t really a thing. My Inuk co-creator, and the project’s lead artist, Tatanniq Idlout, thinks theatre will be welcomed in the communities she knows, so it becomes about training the artists we’re working with, and also doing the work that’s needed in a place shaped by cultural devastation and trauma from Canada’s colonial history. The money is not easy to find, but also not impossible - and we just received a major grant that green lights the whole project (an Inuktitut-language version of Waiting for Godot).

Other projects are tougher. The new Rwandan collaboration (I Have a Drum!) is in demand on four continents. However, commissions aren’t as readily available, or large, as they sometimes have been in the past, so we're doing lots of little workarounds to cobble together the money. And we’re not there yet. Then there’s Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha—Joplin’s extraordinary Black opera—with 42 people on the road. It’s the opposite of a workaround; it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to tour. But the goal is to change the American opera canon, to insert, where it belongs, an historical Black opera actually created by an all-Black team. Audiences love it, but we need some major institutions to take that leap, to put Joplin in the canon. That’s the challenge. We're exhausted. Because there’s only four of us. But we keep going. And there are a few partners that have been amazing (Chicago’s Harris theatre and Toronto’s Luminato Festival and TO Live, for example - with a few more to come, I hope).

None of it works if there isn't trust. That's the biggest thing. All of these works are built on years-long relationships. With Kiki, my other half in Rwanda, we'd show each other's work in each other's countries and teach in each other's countries. That was the beginning. Only after we did that for about 10 years did we decide to create a show together (The Book of Life, which toured to three continents). Now we're on our second show. And if you're in the position of the dominant culture, listening and understanding that it's your job as an artistic collaborator to open up other parts of you. Because that's exactly what the problem is—white supremacy is the erasure or demotion of other parts of you, positioning them lower on a manufactured hierarchy. Once there is trust and listening, it's really fun. I learn so much. I feel like, holy crap, I get to work in these places with these people.

It's always artists. I remember years ago, when I first started travelling really far from where I grew up, I'd meet an artist and it would be like, "Oh, we're the same species." Even though we grew up continents apart in entirely different circumstances, there's a bond that is instant. It happened in East Africa, it happened in China, it happened in South America. That's just the truth, and that's very reassuring.

Quicklinks:

• Martha Hincapié-Charry, Plataforma Berlin 
• Thomas Hummel, Baltic Sea Philharmonic 
• Ronee Penoi, ArtsEmerson 

How do you see the performing arts specifically acting as a bridge to foster connection and understanding between diverse communities?

Today, more than ever, I believe the performing arts play a vital and regenerative role in maintaining the cohesion of our social fabric.

This is due not only to the increasing and often challenging presence of technology in our working lives—through phenomena such as AI—but also to its deep integration into our everyday lives and communities, reshaping our dynamics and choreographing our relationships.

Live arts—corporeality, the possibility of being face-to-face, of interacting—remind us that our sensoriality (our "software") and our bodies or skin (our "hardware") are not alien to us. The performing arts bring us back to our humanity. They allow states of vulnerability and empathy to emerge. They remind us that we do not merely have a body—we are bodies.

Movement is our first language. Our bodies are the space where our differences can enter into a state of reflection, enabling dialogues in which confrontation can transform into communion. These are basic concepts that are sometimes easy to forget. The performing arts bring us together, move us closer to one another, and offer tools to explore our differences by engaging our pre-verbal selves.

Can you provide a specific example of how your organization used the performing arts to create a “transformative bridge” in a community facing social or political challenges?

When I moved to Berlin, I encountered an almost insurmountable gap for Latin American creators. With very few exceptions, there were no platforms where our work could be spotlighted or enter into dialogue. In a city widely regarded as diverse and inclusive, we were invisible—present, but unseen.

Creating an independent, intersectional festival became a way to build bridges—spaces for reflection and recognition for artists working in their home territories across Abya Yala (Latin America) and within the diaspora (living in Spain, Portugal, Berlin, and Germany), all framed by a decolonial perspective.

Plataforma challenges perceptions that are often discriminatory or exclusionary. It calls out those who look the other way—or who simply have not had our bodies or contributions on their radar.

The social challenges faced in the Ibero-American region (which includes Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in the Americas, as well as Spain and Portugal) are profound—and not unlike those faced in the so-called Global North. In Europe, it may be possible to theorize about geopolitical phenomena, but for us—natives of colonized territories—these are not metaphors. Our voices and bodies must be present in international discourses and communities, just as much as in local dynamics.

The real challenge for me has been to create transformative bridges where none existed—or where they existed as vertical structures. I have found myself building horizontal bridges—the kind I would have preferred to cross myself, not as a minority, but as an equal.

What unique challenges and opportunities arise when facilitating international collaborations aimed at promoting understanding through the arts?

The challenges are as significant as the opportunities.

Focusing on the body and its plural expressions—in dialogue with the transdisciplinary nature of the performing arts—offers a prism of perception and sensation rarely found in other public or collective spaces.

International collaborations become meaningful when both visible and invisible borders, along with hierarchical relationships, dissolve—when exchanges are based on mutual contribution.

The most pressing challenges involve social justice and representation—not just on stages, but within the power structures where decisions are made. Other challenges arise when wealth redistribution is overlooked, or when the rise of hate speech toward migration and forced displacement influences programming decisions.

At Plataforma Berlin, it has been groundbreaking to focus on the interconnectedness and interdependence of ancestral knowledge and the future of human and more-than-human bodies. Issues such as climate chaos and the interaction between visible and invisible worlds are given space.
Being able to reflect trans disciplinarily on the existential crises of humanity—our relationship with nature, the transmutation of colonial wounds—has enabled the emergence of spaces where art heals and regenerates.

Raising awareness of the reciprocal relationship we must hold with the planet, while spotlighting Indigenous artists from Mexico, Bolivia, or the Amazon rainforest, is part of Plataforma’s DNA.

Reciprocity is not possible without climate justice, equity, and dignified conditions for artists. Nor can it flourish where allyship and inclusion are performative rather than foundational to institutions or artistic efforts.

How can performing arts organizations actively create spaces for dialogue that transcend cultural and political boundaries?

Organizations with cultural or political agendas must listen more deeply—to artists, both local and migrant—to their contexts, needs, and visions, which are not always aligned with those of institutional infrastructures, even if they share the same environment.

Artists often exist in precarious, vulnerable conditions that remain invisible. Supporting well-funded processes that bring visibility, growth, and tools for breaking the glass ceilings imposed by precarity or limiting cultural policies is not just important—it is urgent.

In Berlin today, the cultural and political landscape is experiencing an unprecedented crisis. Cancellation, censorship, budget cuts, mental health struggles, suicide risks, and a pervasive sense of instability are threatening the performing arts ecosystem. Mid-career artists are leaving the city, considering career changes, and losing faith in the future of the local arts scene. Is the Berliner dream crumbling?

Over the past two years, it has become increasingly clear that funded infrastructures have failed to create a sustainable future for artists. Independent cultural workers lack the foundations needed to support and project long-term processes.

Do people now turn to the performing arts to access the dialogue and perspective they no longer find in politics? Are they seeking to be moved, touched, to transcend their own perceptions and reflect on familiar or foreign issues? Are they willing to shift from comfort into confrontation—to question internalized paradigms? Or are they merely seeking entertainment?

How can performing arts organizations be transformative—making a tender, jolting, or life-changing impact—when political landscapes are eroding local cultural dynamics?

Can you provide a specific example of how your organization used the performing arts to create a 'transformative bridge' in a community facing social or political challenges?

One inspiring example is our Baltic Sea Philharmonic’s "Baltic Sea Music" project. Uniting musicians from across the Baltic Sea region, the initiative celebrated a shared musical heritage while highlighting the diversity of its cultures. A newly commissioned work, blending folk traditions with classical elements, formed the heart of the project. Alongside concerts, the program included workshops, masterclasses, and outreach activities that connected artists with local communities. 

What unique challenges and opportunities arise when facilitating international collaborations aimed at promoting understanding through the arts?

Facilitating international collaborations in the arts presents both unique challenges and valuable opportunities. Differences in language, communication styles, and artistic traditions demand adaptability and cultural sensitivity. Logistical hurdles—such as coordinating across time zones, managing travel, and navigating funding constraints—can further complicate the process. Yet, these collaborations also open doors to fresh artistic perspectives, innovative practices, and lasting global networks. They provide a platform to showcase diverse cultural expressions and, most importantly, foster mutual understanding, empathy, and cooperation across borders.

How do you see the performing arts specifically acting as a bridge to foster connection and understanding between diverse communities?

In my experience, successful bridge-building happens at every stage of the artistic process. It is reflected when the artists create the work, in how the work is culturally held at a host institution, and how the work is marketed, received, and engaged by audiences. Diverse communities are made up of individuals with biases, curiosities, ambitions, and wounds. Being in an industry that is centered on ‘liveness,’ and being in-person with one another, we have a unique opportunity to see each other’s humanity differently. While we can’t control what the outcome might be when we introduce diverse communities – whether backstage, in the audience, or in the rehearsal room – but beginning with inquiry and respect goes a long way. Starting with a few trusted individuals and identifying cultural blind spots is key (i.e. there are taboos during Chinese New Year, or that smudging for Indigenous artists is meaningful in a new space).

Can you provide a specific example of how your organization used the performing arts to create a 'transformative bridge' in a community facing social or political challenges?

Often Indigenous peoples in the U.S are thought of a racial category, and not as citizens of sovereign nations. This is part of the ongoing erasure we see in the U.S. of Indigenous history and peoples. Given this, it was a meaningful moment for ArtsEmerson to welcome Wampanoag Nation’s work ‘We Are the Land’ in fall 2023. This work not only bridged Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences, but also deepened solidarity between Black, Indigenous, and Afro-Indigenous peoples, as Black and Indigenous communities have been intertwined in Boston’s history long before 1776. In the work, Wampanoag tribal citizens shared over 400 years of history from pre-contact to present day. We hosted free Play Reading Book Clubs so anyone in Boston could gather (with a teaching artist and other Bostonians) to read and study the play in advance at a local library. This brought buy-in and excitement that we are positively accountable for one another, and in uplifting each other’s histories. Native people are still here- and nothing says that like a curtain call of Wampanoag people! These are the same people who are named in the Thanksgiving myth. This work was done only a few years after the Wampanoag were threatened with losing their federal tribal status – a present-day land grab- so this affirmation and visibility was key. Bridge-building can often look like American myth-breaking.

It is also worth noting that this work initially came to be because of the curiosity of Theatre Royal Plymouth in Plymouth, UK. Their eight years of work with Wampanoag Nation encompassed deep-learning and process-pivoting in the face of centuries of assumptions about Native people, ingrained colonial practice, and harm. That ‘We Are the Land’ happened in both Plymouth UK and then hours from Plymouth, Massachusetts – and is still touring - is a testament to the individuals in all of those institutions and communities who wanted to build a future that looks different from our past.

Quicklinks:

• Stephanie Jenke, Gasteig Muenchen GmbH
• Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, ASU Gammage
• Simon Wellington, Performing Lines

How would you describe your leadership style, and how has it evolved over the course of your career in the performing arts?

I would consider it a modern leadership style—one that takes an integrative approach toward team members and forms a foundation for agile project management where appropriate. The goal is to recognize connections and seek new perspectives to improve the team's work processes.

What role does mentorship and community-building play in your leadership approach, and how do you foster the next generation of leaders in the arts?

Mentorship in my opinion should be aimed at giving the individual team members room for their development and needs. It supports the team in recognizing and developing their own goals and actions. This keeps the team connected to their work and allows them specially to use their strengths. I want to encourage my team to take responsibility. The promotion of skills is crucial here, as is the facilitation of good networking. Learning from each other also plays a major role as well as the realization that lifelong learning is a great enrichment.

In a rapidly changing world, especially with new technologies and shifting audience expectations, how do you ensure your organization remains innovative and relevant?

It is a mixture of open ears and open eyes, market observation, permanent surveys, involvement of young team members and experts from outside, good networking and a large pile of creativity and a colorful bouquet of ideas. The fundamental attitude that change also offers opportunities for new things, for self-reflection and further development, is decisive for successful interaction.

Could you describe your leadership style and how it has evolved over the years of your career in performing arts?

I believe that leadership is not vertical, but horizontal. I take into account all of my staff, from senior staff to mid-level managers to junior staff. Leadership is about listening - listening to your community, to the artists you're working with, and to your colleagues, then formulating a direction from all of that.

It has evolved over the years. When I was a very young leader running my first theater in my twenties I believed I had to have all the answers. I used to say I was the ‘arbiter of taste for my community’. How young and dumb was that? I have changed greatly over those years.

Now, I have a multiplicity of generations to consider - from Boomers to Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Being a leader today is about juggling and understanding how all those generations function, what's important to them, and how to interpret vision and direction across multiple generations and platforms.

My style is absolutely participatory. Everyone has something important to say. A leader has to understand that decisions impact people differently.

What role does mentorship and community building play in your leadership approach, and how do you foster the next generation of leaders in the arts?

Mentorship is profound and profoundly important. I myself had a great mentor in Sheldon Stanfield. Mentorship isn't just taking someone under your wing; it's also about providing opportunities.

I mentor several people, predominantly women of color, but also young men of various backgrounds. I believe it's critical to pay forward everything you've had. I think of this industry as a tribe, and as an elder in that tribe, my job is to impart information, open doors and opportunities for them, and let them fly.

How do you ensure your organization remains innovative and relevant in the face of new technologies, AI, and shifting audience expectations?

We bring in guest speakers at all our staff meetings and consultants to work with each team. We recently had a webinar on how AI impacts box office marketing. I depend on information from various sources, including ISPA, Broadway League, and APAP.

Everyone on my team belongs to their national organization, like ISPA, APAP, INTIX, IAVM or USITT. They meet with colleagues, hear what's happening, and bring that knowledge back to share.

We're also working with artists who are involved in AI, AR, and VR, like Lars Jan and Peter Flaherty. They're teaching us along the way. We look at artists we've loved for years, like Bill T. Jones, as well as newer artists like Camille Brown, and see how their work interfaces with new technologies.

We have artists that we have loved for a gazillion years, like a Philip Glass or not half a billion years, like a Grupo de Rua or the brand-new artists that are coming up. We look at the kinds of work that they're doing and how it interfaces. We work with ASU students to say, “We want you to work with these artists so you also understand how much the world has changed.”

We did a program called “Avatar: The Last Airbender” with a live symphony orchestra. I wasn’t familiar with it, but my team said, 'There’s a big audience for this.' So, we added one show, and it sold out in 10 minutes. We added a second, sold out again in 10 minutes. Then a third, same result. In 20 minutes, we sold 9,000 tickets to an event combining animation and live orchestra.

Here's an art form that I didn't grow up with that is clearly important to the communities we're serving and artists that we're working with who are working in that art form. So, we began to look at our programming as well. Will we continue with our very popular and very strong Broadway series? Of course. Will we continue with our commissioning club? Will we commission work from young artists, mid-range artists and senior artists like Kristina Wong? Yes, of course we will. And then we have this whole new slate that says, 'We don't even know what it is.' We've got to educate ourselves, but support those artists, we're doing that as well.

We cannot be afraid. It's here. We cannot be afraid. There's no going back. So, it's how do we integrate it into what we love, believe in, and want to move forward with.

We are brave enough to face the future. We are brave enough to do this work. We are brave enough.

Can you describe your leadership style and how it has evolved over the course of your career in the performing arts?

I’ve got quite a lo-fi approach to leadership. I like to set vision and strategy and work with the team on how to deliver that, but I like to make sure it's an inclusive approach that people are engaged and involved in. I also have a participatory style, so I often like to have a project, rather than just watching everybody else delivering everything.

I think that leadership style evolves over time, not job to job. I started my arts career in Hobart, working in small companies, often given opportunities that I wouldn't have had in larger cities. When you're in those small companies, working with just a few peers and colleagues, you often don't recognize yourself as a leader. Leadership confidence needs to grow over time, especially when you're younger and you're put in those positions, you feel exposed and you worry about making mistakes. There are more confident people who maybe don't experience or acknowledge all of those things, but it took me a while to really acknowledge myself as an individual leader.

I think I've always been good at managing up but when I went to Tasmania to run the Theatre Royal, it was the first time I led as the sole CEO. The vision, the strategy, and overall direction of the whole organization were entirely my responsibility for the first time. So that was a really interesting time to step up, take responsibility and find comfort within that.

The opportunities you get, the experiences you have and the people you work with, really shape the kind of leader you become. I’ve had the privilege of working with some exceptional individuals who have taught me so much. Their insights have unlocked new ways of understanding the context in which I operate, influencing how I approach problem-solving, tackle challenges, communicate, and collaborate with my team.

If you think about the essential tools you develop over time, listening and communication are perhaps the most crucial, especially when leading. In my current role at Performing Lines, with a team spread across Australia—in Perth, Melbourne, Hobart, and Sydney—it’s essential to engage even more in clear and consistent communication.

What role does mentorship and community building play in your leadership approach, and how do you foster the next generation of leaders?

It's more important now than ever, right? Since Covid, we've had so many people leaving the sector. Or people who are struggling to find sustainability in their careers. So, it's on us to try and create that, provide support and training, and help build or strengthen the pathways.

If we train people, we've got to try to ensure that there's a job for them, or that there's a chance of a job for them. How do we place them in positions where they can thrive and have the best opportunities? We run a producer training program at Performing Lines that's been evolving over a couple of years. Some participants have been successful in securing longer-term work following their placements, and we’re trying to identify opportunities within our own organization as we increase capacity over the next year or so. It’s important for participants, our team and stakeholders to see a pathway from our investment in that training and have confidence that we are developing producers with the skills and the talent that we want to see working on our projects.

Everybody's got such a different approach to mentorship. I've done both formal and informal programs and I think everybody should have somebody that they can talk to and throw things against the wall in confidence.

There are pivotal people I've worked for and lessons they've taught me that I draw on all the time - whether it’s operational, managing people and communicating, or unpacking a problem.

In a rapidly changing world, especially with new technologies and shifting audience expectations, how do you ensure your organization remains innovative and relevant?

It doesn't matter whether you are a producer, a presenter, what your role is within our sector, you've got to respond to the ways that people are making and consuming art and culture and then of course, where they're making and consuming it.

There's always a tension between artist led, audience led, experimental versus popular, and so forth. But these debates will always exist and it doesn't matter what the technology or the context is, we've got to keep responding to new innovations, to what people are interested in, to our diverse community, and ensure they are represented.

You find relevance in diversity. Representation is important, because it’s about who you create with, who you create for, and what everyone brings to the experience. At Performing Lines, we are deeply committed to providing a platform for new and underrepresented voices. Diversity is definitely a key marker of relevance for us.

Innovation for me is all about curiosity and being adventurous, but constantly reassessing what we are doing, how we're doing it and who we're doing it with. Being open to talking with a variety of people, and engaging with new partners, expands your knowledge of what’s happening in the world—what people are interested in and how contemporary culture is shifting.

And I think you have to embrace technological advancements, whether it's AI or just digital systems or equipment. We've always done it and we know things will continue to change. We know jobs will change, the relationship to how we create will change. If we don't, then we're going to be left behind. 

Quicklinks:

• Natalie Lue, Vancouver Civic Theatres
• Magnus Nordberg, Nordberg Movement

What do you do to foster better communication and collaboration between different generations in the workforce, addressing potential generation gaps? What are the initiatives in your region that encourage mentorship and knowledge transfer between older and younger performing arts professionals? How does the varying approach to work-life balance among generations impact your organization’s culture?

We have at least three generations represented on staff here at the Vancouver Civic Theatres (VCT). Our longest serving colleague has continued to make an invaluable contribution for over 45 years on the front of house team. At the same time, post-pandemic, we have been in constant recruitment mode and have onboarded many who are relatively new to the workforce.  It makes for a very dynamic environment with a mix of staff who don’t have a smart phone or only communicate on their smart phone; those who prefer conformity to a formal, classic dress code to those who want to express their individuality not only through piercings and tattoo art but also through what they wear; those who thrive on punctuality, deadlines, strict adherence to policy versus those who see a meeting start time as a suggestion and procedures as negotiables. Work–life balance is also a construct that resonates more with previous generations where work equaled success therefore work superseded having a life outside of work. Now we have gig-economy workers with side hustles blurring the line between work and life while commitment to one organization just isn’t an option anymore.

So, we strive to communicate more regularly on various platforms (yes, we call staff on their landlines). And while health and safety come first, we’ve also looked at our policies and procedures through a broader, more inclusive lens. Mentorship opportunities are formal and informal with an emphasis on team building exercises that include every area and level of our staff and are structured around exploring potential solutions to issues that impact our organization. And mutual respect and reciprocal support is garnered from programs such as our P2P initiative within our training of our front of house employees. New staff are paired with experienced peers so that they not only learn the job but benefit from the experience and lessons learned from their more seasoned colleagues.  It in turn is a constant refresh for the experienced peers as well as a way for new ideas or considerations to be raised by the incoming staff.         

Can you think of a situation where your organization faced a significant loss of funding (or a venue or a collaboration partner) and describe how you navigated this challenge to find alternative resources or solutions to continue your artistic projects?

The Vancouver Civic Theatres (VCT) is made up of four city owned and operated theatres: the Queen Elizabeth (2,765 seats), Orpheum (2,672 seats), Vancouver Playhouse (668 seats), and Annex (191 flex seats).  While most programming is based on a rental grant model (arts and culture groups receive a grant specifically to present in our theatres), the VCT also presents on its own and rents to commercial clients. Having to lay off approximately150 staff and close all four theatres after delivering a banner year in 2019 with over 850 events, 800,000+ attendees, and generating an unprecedented Capital Reserve contribution and net surplus was catastrophic.  

While the theatres were closed during the pandemic we did find a little ray of hope. The Orpheum is an almost 100 year old vaudeville house, then cinema, and now live performance space that boasts a grand heritage lobby. When Vancouver City Hall launched micro-weddings ( 30-minute ceremonies that are intended to be short events for couples, officiants, and witnesses only) outdoors in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the VCT saw an opportunity and advertised the Orpheum lobby as the ideal place to have wedding photos taken. These bookings brought in  a trickle of rental revue, but more importantly, provided some work for a few staff.  Due to popular demand, the micro-weddings are now a permanent indoor program at Vancouver City Hall and the VCT continues to receive wedding (and now proposal and engagement) photo shoot bookings in the Orpheum. 

How is climate change impacting the financial and artistic models of the performing arts industry, and how are organizations innovating to reduce their environmental impact while also ensuring accessibility and equity for all audiences?

Our response to the climate change imperative is a combination of government regulations compliance and aspiration to a leadership role in at least stopping if not reversing the environmental damage we’ve contributed to in the past. This is a multi-year commitment that will have a significant financial impact on our operations and will require a complete rethink of the life cycle of creating and presenting work.

The business decisions will be difficult. For instance, waste at the theatres is primarily through our concessions operations.  On any given night, all four theatres could be operating at near capacity which means over 6,000 patrons purchasing food and drink from multiple locations.  It’s fast pace service in a very short period of time - an hour before the show and less than 20 minutes if there is an intermission (not including receptions and catered events). In 2022 alone we generated approx. 68,500 empty plastic bottles which represents almost 10% of our concessions revenue. The same year, Vancouver city council introduced a series of by-laws to reduce or eliminate single use plastics including plastic bags, plastic straws, foam cups and containers, plastic utensils, and plastic cups. Although the requirements around plastic cups were repealed in May 2023, we have continued to explore how we might reduce the number of plastic bottles. Considerations could be installing refillable water bottle stations or making self-serve pitchers of water available in the lobbies.  But post pandemic, audiences are suspect of anything that is not packaged and sealed. And the impact of complimentary water service would clearly make quite a dent in our sales. As well, those refilled personal water bottles have the potential to be projectiles in the theatres during some of our more animated music events.  

Another practice that has been embraced as having a positive impact on the environment is that many organizations have stopped printing hard copies of house programmes.  Instead, they are encouraging their patrons to access the programme on their smart phone, if they have one (see my answer to the first question). Pre-show announcements, however, generally ask patrons to turn off their phones during performances.  We’ve taken the complaints that it’s hard to read the programme on phones, that programmes are souvenirs of the patron’s experience at the performance, that with more challenging work the programme provided context and insight to what they are hearing or seeing and in formatting for smart phones, a lot of that doesn’t exist anymore. As we work to bring more and new theatre goers to our spaces, we have to consider if what we do is environmentally friendly and patron friendly. 

While we look for those operational solutions, we’ve noticed other promising responses in the touring and staging of events with creative teams taking their projects on tour but using local production crews and local performers in each of their stops. Sets and lighting design are pared down without losing production value. And sets are rented from other companies rather than built new in each locale. This is something opera companies have embraced although the resulting challenge is the considerable cost of shipping and maintenance of the sets.  

One of the really interesting projects that the VCT has become involved with is the Sustainable Arts and Green Ecosystems (SAGE)  initiative launched by the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) earlier this year.  Recognized as an innovative cultural institution, MOV is among the museums and galleries committed to shifting to new models of sustainability and climate action, focusing on the design and building of exhibitions and other types of staged environments in the cultural sector.

SAGE  aims to engage the museum, gallery, and theatre sectors to collaborate on initiatives and solutions to advance the environmental performance, reduce greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions, and design and manage for circular materials use.

The work informs exhibition development through the five elements for circular and low carbon solutions: planning, design considerations, material selection, building staged environments, unbuilding/disassembly.  As a result, the belief is that recycling is actually the last resort, not the first objective.  For more information on the project, visit  https://museumofvancouver.ca/sage

What do you do to foster better communication and collaboration between different generations in the workforce, addressing potential generation gaps? What are the initiatives in your region that encourage mentorship and knowledge transfer between older and younger performing arts professionals? How does the varying approach to work-life balance among generations impact your organization’s culture?

We strive to collaborate with artists from different generations as much as possible and support both more established and younger creators. To engage with less established artists, we've fundraised to conduct coaching projects, offering support to those with fewer financial resources. In our recently concluded project, "Music and Movement Management," where dance and music artists received hands-on production support for 12-16 months, participants spanned different generations. We also executed a smaller coaching project, facilitating interactions between young and experienced dancers to share knowledge. These initiatives showcase how generations can learn from each other, challenging and evolving established ways of working. Recently, we engaged with dancers during their education, delving into discussions on sustainable work models, structuring work-life balance, and involving choreographers and producers to share experiences—highlighting the fruitful exchange of ideas across generations.

Can you think of a situation where your organization faced a significant loss of funding (or a venue or a collaboration partner) and describe how you navigated this challenge to find alternative resources or solutions to continue your artistic projects?

Nordberg Movement, our organization, has not been eligible for substantial support, as agencies and production offices are rarely recognized in European funding systems and limitedly in Sweden. Despite this, during the pandemic, we were fortunate enough to secure funding for artists and their work. Anticipating the end of this pandemic, we prepared by establishing a temporary structure and team, requiring extensive planning. Although faced with uncertainty, smaller companies we work with demonstrate resilience to cuts and adapt creatively to the challenges. Artistic leaders exhibit remarkable skills in scaling operations up and down, showcasing adaptability developed over time.

How is climate change impacting the financial and artistic models of the performing arts industry, and how are organizations innovating to reduce their environmental impact while also ensuring accessibility and equity for all audiences?

For independent artists and companies, environmental impact is a widely discussed topic. In the independent field, artists are reducing the use of heavy rigs, reusing materials for costumes and props, and minimizing transportation during touring. Touring organizations, like Dancenet Sweden, opt for train travel within Sweden to reduce their carbon footprint. Some artists choose to work locally, while others plan tours more strategically, scheduling performances closer in time and geographically. However, these decisions are influenced by circumstances and financial constraints. Despite the desire to reduce touring footprints, viable solutions are still evolving. The challenge of making performing arts accessible beyond major cities is a common concern. Riksteatern in Sweden is a great example of an organization that, through trains, distributes work which would never have previously reached cities around the country.

Quicklinks:

• BaoBao Chen, Small Island Big Song
• Paul Clay, Factory International
• Cindy Hwang, InPulse Creatives, LLC
• Katherine McVicker, Music Works International

What is the 1st touring project you worked on after COVID?

After two years of lockdown, we (Small Island Big Song) hit the road for a 4-month tour in January 2022, when a lot of people were still afraid of touring. I remember when we arrived in the US there were 1.7 million COVID cases a day in the US alone. So, coming from other regions of the world like Taiwan, Madagascar, Mauritius and Australia with really limited cases, deciding to tour the US was a big gamble for us.

We still had people considering dropping out a few days before the flight, because it felt like too big a risk. This is something we had to manage right from the start. Getting everyone on the flight, willing to join the US tour, was challenging. But we managed a successful 4 month tour across the States, then to Europe straight after. We also performed in Taiwan in December, 2022, and last month we went to Australia. So, we actually managed to tour four different continents in the last 12 months.

It was really interesting getting to know the different regulations of these countries. In the US things opened back up quite quickly, whereas Asian countries were some of the last to open up to international visitors. So, there were still COVID regulations we were trying to manage.

Is there something you wish you knew before your 1st show after COVID?

For the US tour I was talking about, we kept feeling that it was quite a gamble, putting all our funding and energy into preparing something that might quickly fall apart. But I think we didn’t realize how much support we would be getting.

We eventually met up with COVID and it circled around the group after 3 months into our US tour. I remember, the first positive case within the group happened in NH, then the protocol was to quarantine for 5 days before leaving with a negative test, so we had to leave them there with a caretaker and push on. We still had shows ahead in MA, VAI and CA.

With each leg more cases appeared, eventually our 12-person touring party went down to just four artists, one tech and me managing it all, with artists and caretakers scattered in various ‘positive camps’, and with our big closing concert in LA coming up!

Our approach was that, we couldn’t deny the audiences the opportunity to connect with these artists, their stories, songs and culture from so far away along with the big picture environmental issues our show confronts. With the presenters' support the show went on, and with the audiences' support closing with standing ovations.

As if it was a film timed to the perfect ending, everyone finished their quarantine, all testing negative, the flights lined up and we all came back together, ending the tour to a wonderful house in LA.

This is a long story, but I really felt our group got closer because of this experience. And I remember at one of the shows, I had to go on stage alone, because the artist who typically accompanied me for the speech got COVID. I explained this to the audience, and I felt really touched by their reaction. I cried that day because the audience really cared for us.

If we didn’t hit the road, just stayed at home fearing that touring is too hard, we would not have experienced any of this support from audiences, from presenters, from each other. I felt grateful and proud that we turned a crisis into a bonding experience.

Have the ways of international touring changed for the better due to the pandemic?

During the 2 years when we were producing the concert that went on tour, we had to navigate how to work remotely, because for our project, almost everyone lives in different regions spread across the islands of the Pacific and Indian Ocean. We have about 10 different artists from 7 different time zones and different wi-fi speeds. During the whole 2 years of quarantine, we kept producing and creating this new performance work, along with a new music album. We had to work out a new way to involve everyone. What we decided to do was every 2 weeks, we had a Zoom meeting with all the artists. We would gather online, talk about the show, about the songs, but also talk about our lives, our families, and our meals. It became a very beautiful space of sharing, having everyone’s company for the whole 2 years’ time.

I think the performance we produced through this process is not something one can do in a couple months’ time, we saw a house being built, kids grew up, seasons changed, and we accompanied each other through difficult times. These inspirations naturally became part of the creation and a strong sense of understanding amongst each other.

The month before the tour started, we worked out a way to do virtual rehearsals through videos, a bit like karaoke. We actually adapt this virtual rehearsal routine for all of our tours now.

What are the opportunities and challenges for touring internationally now?

In terms of opportunities, the past US tour was mainly a residency format at performing arts centers and universities. We had many memorable and profound engagements which included both virtual and in-person engagements. For instance, with the support of Stanford Live, we virtually connected with first nation artists before our arrival to jam and discuss ideas about collaborating on a song for our performance at the Bing Concert Hall. With Penn State, we had various virtual programs including talks on indigenous culture. During APAHM, and an up-cycle instrument-making workshop, which led to a mini concert during our week-long residency on campus. We also had many presenters who requested to screen our documentary as a virtual pre-engagement, which helped build the anticipation of our in-person engagement.

I felt enriched co-curating these virtual programs with the presenters, because we never had such long and deep engagements before COVID. It’s becoming a norm with lots of possibilities because the way we engage with audiences was reshaped and rethought during the pandemic.

In terms of challenges, a lot of the COVID regulations have been taken away. What I’m worried about for the next tour is the extreme weather, because we tour the US a lot during winter. This is the subtext of Small Island Big Song - climate change. What can I bring to this issue as a performing arts producer, creating an extraordinary work with people speaking to this issue, a defining issue of our era. This is why we are working full gusto on our next show with the most respected voices of the ocean to premiere in 2025. We welcome any co-commission interests!

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What is the 1st touring project you worked on after COVID?

It was a piece called Atmospheric Memory by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, which we presented at a festival in 2019. We made it with partner organizations globally, and the first post-Covid presentation was at the UNC - University of North Carolina in December, 2021. Restrictions had been released here in the UK, but we had terrible trouble getting into the US. We couldn't get work visas for the UK team to get in. So, we sent the UK team to Canada to put the show together with the Canadian artist team. We later brought in some new American staff to assist, and the Canadians and Americans installed the show at UNC.

And then, just to keep life really interesting, it closed just before Christmas in North Carolina, around the 21st of December. This gave us a real problem because although the border was open for Canadians to cross between Canada and the US, it was still a requirement that they take a PCR test both ways. So, if any of the Canadian team members we sent to do the get out on the show closing on the 21st of December had tested positive, they would not have been allowed to go back to Canada for Christmas. We looked at all kinds of ways to solve that problem, and eventually, we did our first major art installation hybrid de-install! The Canadian team worked online, and the American team worked in person, and everyone worked brilliantly together.

Is there something you wish you knew before your 1st show after COVID?

I think the thing I would've loved to learn was that it was going to be impossible to get a US work visa in 2021! The show was in November, and the earliest appointments we could get in the UK for a visa were in April of the following year. We applied in June of 2021, and we got appointments for April 2022 for a show opening in November 2021. So, it would have been good to know that the US visa system was taking more than a little while to catch up.

One of the positive things that has been happening here in the UK is that touring companies and the Arts Council have been sharing experiences post Brexit and Pandemic, to learn lessons and share experiences as a group.

By sharing experiences, people don't have to learn lessons multiple times, and everyone can benefit from someone else's experience. This network session has been very useful and happens every couple of months. It started as a monthly event, but now it occurs less frequently as things are settling down.

Have the ways of international touring changed for the better due to the pandemic?

We have started flying fewer people and are working in partnership with organizations when we travel our work. Whenever we travel, we try to cover as many points as possible. For instance, in February, I was out of the country for about a month, I spent time with current and potential partners in the Middle East, I went from there to Hong Kong because we had a new show opening there. Then from Hong Kong I went to Taiwan to deliver some international producer training and stayed on to meet with partner organizations. Instead of traveling back home and then flying out again, we consolidated all these trips into one package and made the most out of it.

Most of the work that we've done historically has been in collaboration with partner organizations around the world. These co-investors have supported our work, and we have presented it back to them. I think there have been two or three big takeaways for us during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Firstly, people are now more focused on the environment and are actively seeking ways to reduce their carbon footprints when traveling. Secondly, the idea of partnership has become even more crucial, and people want to establish closer relationships with organizations like ours.

This development aligns with our core values and objectives. We are engaging in more sensible conversations globally with other partner organizations. For example, we recently signed an MOU with Serendipity Arts Festival, which is expanding into New Delhi for a new building and festival, much like ourselves. We are also in the process of signing a similar agreement with TPAC in Taipei, which is also constructing a new building. Additionally, we're having ongoing conversations with other organizations, such as PHI Contemporary in Montréal, which is also expanding into a new building. This approach allows us to learn and share work in a connected way, which is incredibly exciting for the future.

What are the opportunities and challenges for touring internationally now?

Yeah, I can think of some challenges. We’re just reaching a point where the world is reopening properly, and having recently been out in Taiwan and Hong Kong, I noticed that the pace of change in that part of the world and in China has been slower and more cautious than in the UK. This has hindered touring and presentation work. Additionally, the huge increase in energy prices, the ongoing credit crisis, and conflict in Europe have made shipping and moving things around the world much more expensive, making it more challenging for presenters.

The current situation has resulted in people having to rethink how they make and tour their work.

However, one of the great things about working in this industry is that people tend to focus on finding solutions rather than dwelling on problems. The outcome is always about how we can make it work because we're obviously not going to stop doing it.

So, how do we make it work knowing what we know now? Where are the short cuts? How and where can we make this work? What does the future look like for this? And that's really exciting, when every problem is an opportunity.

Thank you so much, and as we all look forward to the Manchester 2023 ISPA Congress this June, is there anything else you’d like to add?

I can tell you that Manchester is fantastic in June and July, and the sun shines all the time. Ok, the bit about the sunshine might be a slight exaggeration, but it is a great, vibrant city. There's so much happening during that period, with the Factory opening around the same time as the festival, which follows directly on from ISPA. The energy and buzz in the city are always amazing during this time of year. It would be criminal to miss out on what I believe will be an extraordinary moment in time.

See you in Manchester!

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What is the 1st touring project you worked on after COVID?

The 1st touring project I worked on was bringing Joshua Bell to Ithra Theater. At that time, I wasn’t the music programmer at Ithra yet. I was just an agent trying to bring Joshua to perform. He was supposed to come in March, 2020, and we rescheduled it a couple of times. We were finally able to settle the date in the end on January, 2022. That was the very first touring project right out of the pandemic and I was with him for it. It was a nice way to get back into this idea of touring with just 2 performances.

But even the preparation for just that was a little nerve wracking, because there’s still all these uncertainties and we’re still in the middle of the pandemic. My biggest concern was with all the transits and I was fearful that he and his pianists would get COVID. Saudi was still quite strict at that moment, requiring vaccinations and COVID tests, and the theater was very strict as well. So, if you test positive, then they would have to cancel the whole thing. Joshua wanted to make a stop in Dubai and I had to go pick him up. I felt like I was picking up a delicate package and making sure it arrived safely and was safely delivered back home.

Is there something you wish you knew before your 1st show after COVID?

I think we all wish we knew about COVID before it happened.

But with the pandemic, I think we need to think more about how much we can protect our artists. What are some stricter measures that we can put into place to protect the artists, and for the venues, programmers, and festivals to protect themselves?

Some of these systems in place were quite outdated, but we just kept pushing along using the same models and formats. And I think sticking to these outdated systems were really hard during the pandemic. Looking back, there were definitely things we could have done better and planned much further out.

And to be honest, even after the pandemic, this issue remains one of those conversations we keep having, but I don’t think people’s behaviors have changed that much.

Have the ways of international touring changed for the better due to the pandemic?

It certainly has changed. Is it changing for the better? I'm not sure. I do think that everyone is still trying to recuperate and digest. I think the way the pandemic hit was like a wave and everything comes down to individual governments' policies of what can and cannot be done.

For example, places in Asia were the last to open up. They were the first to take the measures to make sure everyone was safe. And because of all these safety measures, they were also the last to open up, which impacted all of the tours.

If you’re looking from the perspective of artists trying to tour out to Asia, all the presenters, promoters and festivals are now just rescheduling all the cancellations. Some of the conversations I’ve had are already about scheduling programming for 2025!

Because they’ve had all these programming commitments from before to digest. So,  everyone’s readiness to do things is very different from region to region, country to country, because of how the government has handled the pandemic and its policies.

Because of all these differences, we don’t have a unified system and everyone’s steps and procedures are going to be different. So, I’m not sure if better is the right word to describe the change. It feels more like we’re still just trying to recover and regain and it is going to take a little longer.

I do think it also comes down to funding. Funding plays a big part in what presenters can present moving forward.

For example, in America we rely heavily on the development department to fundraise and to secure government grants. They’ve bled a lot during the pandemic, and the government subsidies are starting to run out. I was talking to a US presenter recently who had a commissioning program and they said that entire program was gone because they don’t have the financial capacity anymore due to the pandemic.

Whereas in other parts of the world, like in Asia and Middle East, everyone shut down for 2 solid years, but no one lost their jobs because these organizations are state-owned. For them, it’s not about making the money because these people are all government employees. So even if the budgets have shrunk, the projects will continue to go on; the commissioning will continue.

So, I think we will see a lot of local projects in the two or three upcoming seasons because of the basis of funding. I think it’s an opportunity for less developed markets to really develop and support their own artistic community, whereas they were previously focused on bringing in big international names.

Audiences are still going to crave international exchange because it is an important part of a healthy ecosystem, but these changes allows growth for local artist communities. We are probably going to see better projects coming out of certain parts of the marketplace that we’ve never seen before.

What are the opportunities and challenges for touring internationally now?

Opportunities are, of course, new marketplaces. I think there’s a huge shift, especially sitting where I am. Everyone is focusing on the Middle East, specifically the GCC region and Saudi Arabia because these countries are opening up tremendously quickly and it’s a pace you don’t see anywhere else. So, everyone is bombarding into this marketplace.

There are lots of international touring opportunities to create and to collaborate in areas and places that people may never have thought about before.

The biggest challenge I think is understanding a marketplace - how to move artists across borders safely and the cost. The cost hasn’t really come down, especially for companies that require freighting. I think making international tours financially viable remains challenging. Moving everything around is just not as cost-efficient as it was during the earlier stages of the reopening.

Will you be joining ISPA in Manchester?

Yes, I’ve already registered! I look forward to visiting Manchester for the 1st time! I’m staying over the weekend to join the Manchester International Festival, visit the Yayoi Kusama exhibit, and maybe catch a football game!

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What is the 1st touring project you worked on after COVID?

Well, I can tell you that very easily because we were probably the only American agency that had an artist tour in October, 2021. We had a tour for a talented piano player named Emmet Cohen. We were able to rearrange the routing so that he could travel by ground and he didn't have to go through all the airports. There were a couple of long car rides, but basically that avoided the need for him to get tested every single day. And it was a huge success because people really wanted to go out and see shows, and there weren’t many opportunities available. I thought that was kind of a victory and it lasted for almost four weeks.

Is there something you'd like to share with the companies that are resuming touring after COVID?

During COVID, I realized that we really can't just have all of our revenue in the touring part of our company. It caused us to diversify into other things. I wrote a course called “Anyone Can Book a Gig”, which was to help artists become more able to book their own shows, to understand the industry better and to advocate for themselves, and I would not have had time to write that if I had been doing our usual booking of over 40 artists.

Another thing we did was to look at territories outside of Europe to develop further. I've been working in Africa for over 25 years and recently starting working in Latin America. One of the biggest problems with working in places like Africa or Latin America is the lack of infrastructure.

So, we used the time to create two cultural arts networks to share information, create cultural exchange opportunities, and to expand possibilities for professional development. That was another positive that came out of that because we had the time to build communication with cultural professionals on both continents.

We're doing some great work now in Africa and Latin America.

I also think the pandemic caused us to reflect on what is it that what we do, who we are and what our value is. I believe our value is our experience, our knowledge and the talent of the people that we work with and those at MWI. We are trying to find new ways to offer our knowledge to people that isn't just based on a transaction, meaning booking a show.

It's more about developing communication with promoters, so that people can collaborate with each other, share resources and create new opportunities – be they education, professional development, marketing resources or the creation of communities of like-minded cultural stakeholders.

When I first started working in the industry in 1987, it was a very vertical model. The industry is not like that anymore. We have to adapt to the current reality of the music business that now includes new technologies, expansive streaming platforms,    and social media vehicles that help artists get their music out to a diversified market and grow their careers themselves. Artists also have to advocate for themselves because it's not always easy to get professionals to take you on when you're first starting out. Since we had time to think about all of these things during COVID, it better prepared us to come back to the live performance industry with better understanding of how to make a more sustainable ecosystem for our company and for our clients.

Have the ways of international touring changed for the better due to the pandemic?

I think touring has changed for the better in that we were all affected financially by COVID. People have to understand the impact of the pandemic across the entire industry. Artists and managers tend to think that things stay the same. And so, if we got paid $30,000 before the pandemic, why can't we still get that money? They have to understand the business ecosystem of culture. It's not just the artists who lost money, it's not just the agencies. There are a lot of festivals and promoters who don't exist anymore.

We have to think more in terms of working in partnership with people, especially in the jazz industry and the non-commercial cultural arts field because they are not just based on ticket sales. Certainly, the finances have to work for everybody, but you also have to think deeper about how you go about making sustainable tours for people.

And it's about asking, you know, what is the ticket price that people can afford to pay now? What is the capacity that we should be looking at?

We want to build sustainable models with promoters so when we book an artist, it is a win-win for both sides. So, I think it's caused the dialogue between the agent and the promoter to open up a bit and to say "we understand what you're doing, please understand things from our side and see how we can find a situation that works for both sides." It requires a lot more negotiation, a lot more understanding and time.

I used to say that the best thing that could happen in the jazz industry would be for me to be a promoter for a month and for someone to be an agent for a month so both sides can understand, what the dynamics are. The Europe Jazz Network does not allow agents to join the Europe Jazz network and I always thought, that's crazy because you're eliminating half of the discussion.

What are the opportunities and challenges for touring internationally now?

I think the opportunities are that there's been a real change in the way people consume culture and decide how they want to spend their money. This requires the agent to talk more with a promoter about what will work for their season, festival or series and whether we have those artists that can fit an existing audience or expand a new demographic. We can also send content from our artists to help the promoter to test the market first with a new idea or genre. People don't want to sit and stare at a small screen for streaming anymore, but it still going to be a tool and one that can be used strategically. So, it involves managing risk and it's working together from the marketing side. If you're getting public money from a government, it's really your responsibility to serve all aspects of your community. It's really kind of opened up the dialogue from my perspective.

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If you are interested in exploring more about programming post-pandemic and the digital debate, join us at the New York 2023 ISPA Congress! We have a special session on the urgency of digital programming. We hope you will register to join us!

Quicklinks:

• David Howse, ArtsEmerson
• Govin Ruben, TerryandTheCuz
• Fiona Winning, Sydney Opera House

Please tell us about your organization and your role in it.

I am David Howse Executive Director for ArtsEmerson. Since 2010, ArtsEmerson has been a leader in the Boston arts community, working at the intersection of artistic excellence, racial, social, and environmental justice, and civic engagement.

ArtsEmerson is Boston’s leading presenter of contemporary world theater dedicated to connecting us more deeply to ourselves and to each other. In my role as Vice President of the Office of the Arts at Emerson College, I am fiscally, administratively, and programmatically responsible for seven cultural venues in Boston’s Downtown Theater District, from a black box theater to a 1,186-seat auditorium - the Cutler Majestic Theatre.

How do you balance between highlighting local talent and showcasing international artists?

We are unapologetic about our commitment to international artists - it is what both endears us to our community and distinguishes us from our local colleagues. In addition to balancing international and local, we also program in six core areas, also referred to as “tent poles.”

Embedded in our DNA is a robust community engagement component that springs from our commitment to developing strong community partnerships.

Through our “curation by listening" processes, developed in dialogue with these partners, we created initiatives that are free and open to the public with multiple authentic points of entry to ArtsEmerson for communities that are traditionally under-represented in Boston's cultural institutions. ArtsEmerson has a strong history of modeling civic leadership through our community-based initiatives, partnerships, and collaborations.

When naming ArtsEmerson “Boston’s Best Theater” again in 2015, Boston Magazine wrote, “Most impressive, ArtsEmerson realizes its global vision while remaining audience-focused and community centric.”

We engage the stories of our international artists as a lens through which we can better understand our local issues.

How do you envision future curatorial strategy for your organization?

By being more inclusive and community-centered, and more reflective we can present more dynamic content. I am really inspired by the response of our audience --we are looking for works that speak to topics our audience is interested in. That’s what keeps us going. When that line of communication stops, our purpose is stunted. We have to listen deeply to the things that we are learning from the audience, particularly to those who have not always felt welcomed in these spaces.

What suggestions do you have for projects looking to tour right now?

First, relationships, relevance, and artistic rigor really matter. I may not have suggestions, but I have questions: Who are you engaging on the team? Are they reflective of the audience that you seek to engage? Whose narratives are being privileged in the story? Are the questions that your work is asking similar to questions being asked in society? Whose voices are on the table definitely matters, and at the same time artistic rigor still matters. This is what distinguishes a good project.

For many organizations broadcasting events presented a real growth opportunity in terms of reaching larger and more diversified audiences. Can you tell us how your audience changed during the pandemic? Is it possible to keep virtual attendees involved, once we return to in-person events?

ArtsEmerson is not unique in terms of how we experienced the pandemic. We still remember the day in March, 2020 when the lock down happened. Certainly, the sadness of that transition was shocking to all of us, but our programming very quickly pivoted and emerged through digital programming. Our digital events were full of activity, motion, movement, and even included a donor gala!

Though we are not seeing the same response to digital programming now, I see it as an opportunity to engage those who have not always felt welcomed in in theater spaces because people who traditionally were never coming to the theater joined us virtually. Though not a replacement for the live, in-person experience, where we are in proximity with others, the online viewing audience is really interesting to us because we know that many of those online viewers have never actually stepped foot into the theaters that they are viewing online. Communities of color are strongly represented there, and the cultural and financial barriers are lower.

Therefore, we are trying to find balance. We’ve invested in digital equipment to make sure the quality of our virtual programs is top of game. While we prefer people to be in the theater, we recognize that conversation can happen even if theater is experienced in the solitude of one’s home. We are keeping our “additional venue,” which is the digital platform. Not only are there more audiences across the world we’re able to reach, but audiences of color are actually viewing at much higher rates.

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Govin Ruben, Director
TerryandTheCuz

Please tell us a little bit about the upcoming Congress and your role in it.

I’m Govin Ruben and I am the Co-Chair of the New York 2023 ISPA Congress; which will be the first fully in-person congress since January, 2020, where we will be gathering under very different circumstances. It's both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, but that's a good thing, I think.

What do you think is the most exciting thing that you could share about this upcoming Congress?

I think there's a sense of anxiousness that things aren't going to be the same, or that things shouldn't be the same. Most of the delegates attending the Congress will try to predict what people want, need or like NOW -- because we've all been impacted by this big thing but have experienced it in very different ways, and we've all come out of it wanting, needing or hoping for different things.

Being part of the programming committee has been great. We have been guided by the key question on how to appeal to a delegation who are desperate to come together and participate in vigorous discussions given the circumstances and urgency of our times.

On the one hand, I am nervous because we don’t want to disappoint, but on the other hand, how can one disappoint? After two and a half years nobody knows what to expect. That unknown is what's going to be the most exciting thing about this Congress.

What would you say is the biggest difference between this upcoming Congress and the previous Congresses you have attended?

I think the biggest difference is people are going to be more open to new ideas and willing to do things a bit differently. I'm not saying they're hungry for change, but they might be willing to flirt with it just to see what happens.

The recent elections in Italy is a good example. For the first time in a long time, Italy has gone far right. I think this is a direct result of the pandemic and people going, “well, we've been voting for these guys for years, let's just try something else.” These choices may not always be right, but they're different and evidence that people are willing to change the way they do things.

So to conclude, we are going to have over 400 people in a room who might be willing to try new things or explore new ideas. Some may still want things to be the same way, but even then, they must surely know that their audiences have changed and that things have shifted.

How do you balance regional specific voices and broader international industry issues in curating the upcoming Congress?

Our membership is affected by and are experiencing very different things depending on where they come from. A bigger membership means more representation and the need for more voices to be heard. I think the planning committee represents that, and the committee has had lots of conversations about what topics to include and, more importantly, who is best to talk about them.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, there are global concerns that affect us all. Topics on leadership and economic models that need to shift, sustainability and the environment, and the continuing trend of violence and war give urgency to question the role of the performing arts during and for these times.

Whilst many of us are plagued by these issues, how we discuss and approach them in the context of the various regions represented by the membership may be different. My hope is that by engaging speakers and panelist from different parts of the world, walks of life, cultural backgrounds and identities; the Congress will bring diverse perspectives and solutions to the similar issues faced by all of us.

For those coming to the ISPA conference for the first time or after a hiatus, what do you think they can expect or what do you want them to expect?

Every time I think of coming to an ISPA Congress, I feel like an athlete going to the Olympics. You get excited about sharing your projects or ideas and the January New York Congress is the pantheon where everybody who is anybody from around the world comes for that exact same reason.

For three days, you are in a room with the greatest theatre minds, presenters and producers of their time and place. After two and a half years of being virtual and meeting people over zoom, the idea of being able to shake someone’s hand, to sit down and have a cup of coffee or whiskey, to feel the winter chill of New York in January whist engaging in dynamic conversations, being inspired by talks and watching live performances in the city that never sleeps, these are the moments that remind you that we live and breathe for the arts.

It will be exciting to hear really smart people share new ideas, amazing artists pitch wonderful works and old friends and colleagues’ yarn about their experiences over the last two years. I have always looked at ISPA’s congresses as an emotional and mental spa where one gets creatively rejuvenated! It’s definitely helped me broaden my horizons and has significantly affected my work and practice.

What are some burning topics you want to discuss at this Congress?

I think we are at a point where talk of change is very real and there is a sense that people are willing to give it a proper go. Thus the interesting discussions, in my opinion, are the ones around deconstructing leadership and systemic change in a room full of people who are in leadership roles and working within traditional systems.

It'll be very fascinating to see how much or how far they're going to be willing to have or seriously consider this discussion, because considering it may actually mean that they step aside or shift how they do things; which may literally make themselves redundant to create space for others.

From an artist’s perspective, this will be intriguing. Are people going to just keep talking? Or will they finally act? In Malaysia there is an age old saying that people who talk about change the most are those who change the least. So, I am looking forward to see how things pan out with this particular ‘Burning’ topic.

How do you envision future curatorial strategy for ISPA’s Congresses?

I think when it comes to curating, one can go down two paths. One is having the membership shape the programming, which means you are looking at who is in the room and trying to curate or steer the congress towards something that will make them happy. Or the second path, where you take a chance and try something different; and let the program curation take the lead, where you have the membership try things that are new to them.

I believe in the Congresses before 2020, the first type of curatorial strategy was used a bit more. Whereas now, I think we have the chance to adopt the second. I don't know if it will work or not, but it may be the best time to give it a shot because the collective membership may be willing to try new things and consider fresh perspectives.

And I think given the circumstances and times; this particular Congress will be able to push the envelope a bit more, to be curious and dabble with that unknown. As I said earlier, I don't think people are necessarily hungry for change, but are definitely very, very willing to at least flirt with it.

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Please tell us a little bit about your organization and your role in it.

I am Fiona Winning, the Head of Programming at Sydney Opera House. The Sydney Opera House sits on the unceded aboriginal land of Dubbagullee, or what’s commonly known as the Bennelong Point. It is truly an extraordinary venue in terms of architecture and engineering. And the interdisciplinary collaboration during the construction of this venue, in a way, informs how we work in presenting ambitious arts projects.

Our programming has two main components, the resident companies working here year-round and other programs that my department curates annually. The curated program from my department composes about 45% of the overall programming and breaks into six distinct areas led by different producing teams: performance, music, talks and ideas, kids and families, digital, and First Nations programming. Pre-COVID, we had around 1.4 million people who attended our performances and there is a gap between the visitors who come to see this beautiful site and the people who come into the building, buy tickets and see the work. 

How have you balanced highlighting local talent and showcasing international artists during the past 2.5 years? 

I want to take a moment first to talk a little bit about our venues, because we have really different kinds of venues. We have an extraordinary concert hall which seats 2500, Joan Sutherland Theatre, which seats 1500, four other smaller venues, and a function center. The diversity of our venues gave us room to present diverse art works and form different kinds of relationships with artists - engaging with smaller local new works in the smaller studio theater and staging major contemporary music artists in the grand concert hall. 

During COVID, Australia’s borders were closed for a long time and we went through some back and forth with traveling policy, so it had been tricky and there was still a distrust to organize everything since everyone is tired of canceling, rescheduling and canceling again. We are just seeing a recovery - a blast of activity happening and the audiences are not quite back.

The closed period meant working closer with local artists and we actually loved it. It was one of the upsides of this whole period. Before COVID, we didn’t really have a commissioning budget, and we were very much focused on presentation. 

But during COVID, we were able to convince our donors to invest their donations in local artists so they have new works to present when we reopen. We raised a million dollars from our family of donors and it was really meaningful for us to be able to invest in local arts organizations and independent artists, to deepen our relationships and show their work. So the donor focus really shifted during the pandemic.

For instance, we typically have a lot of international headliners at the Vivid LIVE contemporary music festival, but our last festival in June, curated by Ben Marshall, had a higher percentage of local artists. And we still have a higher percentage of local artists across the whole program. 

The difficulty for us is, how do we sustain such a shift when we reopen? We did reprioritize and pivot, so to speak, during the pandemic, and we’re really delighted with the outcomes of that. The hardest bit is sustaining those changes we have achieved.

For many organizations broadcasting events presented a real growth opportunity in terms of reaching larger and more diversified audiences. Can you tell us how your audience changed during the pandemic?  Is it possible to keep virtual attendees involved once we are back to in-person events?

It’s definitely something we’re really struggling with and don’t really have the answers to yet.

We have done digital programming at the Opera House for around 15 years but it didn’t have its own programming department. We had a record and broadcast studio which historically supported our digital output and the digital programs came out of the existing programs.

Six months before the pandemic, we did a restructure and we appointed Stuart Buchanan as the head of digital programming. We wanted to look at digital programming as its own thing and talked about making a clear strategy and building a separate team. He delivered the strategy in February 2020, so we actually had a plan that reflects our aspirations for our digital programs, though the pandemic wasn’t necessarily part of it. 

The strategy included plans to amplify what we do through digital platforms, to create new digital work, and to incorporate a digital creative learning program working with schools and education institutions. When the pandemic hit, Stuart had a team ready to record and broadcast content. So we decided to present work with artists performing in the empty Joan Sutherland Theatre, which was evocative in and of itself. We turned the theater into a digital studio, and four nights a week, we programmed work that people could tune in to watch - cabaret, music, dance, talks and kids and families work. So we really tried to talk to different audiences and build a body of work that people could actually sit down with their families to watch. After that, we made them available on demand, which gave us an even bigger audience. I think we had over 7 million views and downloads during the first seven-month lockdown period here. Almost 90% of people who engaged with the digital series said they would attend Opera House events in the future as a result.

It was so great that we kept our connections with our audience, and build a bigger audience during this period. Internally, these digital programs also gave the technical, production, programming, and marketing teams meaningful work when we couldn’t open our venue. It prepared our team at the Opera House for reopening in terms of figuring out the health and safety policy and precautions. This allowed us to both remain relevant to our audiences and engaged amongst our staff and team.

There are two really big challenges for us now:

1. We are committed to generating a better level of digital output that’s more accessible to people with disabilities. How do we keep producing accessible content?

2. And how do we navigate the different licensing negotiations for digital content? There isn’t a universal standard and the labor-intensive negotiation is massively different from project to project.

What suggestions do you have for projects looking to tour right now?

Availability of venues is a really massive issue. I would suggest projects work with a group of presenters from the outset. There is a loose network between the major performing arts centers here, the PAC, where we collaborate to bring touring work here. It’s always better for the producers or touring managers to find these networks to work with.

How do you envision a future curatorial strategy for your organization?

Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary will be October 20th next year and we are presenting a series of events from the evening of our 49th birthday through to our 50th. Coming out of COVID, this has been a great opportunity.

Leading up to the 50th anniversary, we just came out of a decade of renewal for our infrastructure. We actually closed our concert hall right before COVID for refurbishment and continued the renovation process through the pandemic. Apart from refurbishing the two bigger spaces, we also created a function center and the center for creativity. These are public participatory spaces running year-round where we host workshops, performances, and lifelong learning programs. 

The 50th anniversary indicates fundamental changes about what the audiences expect and the diverse ways of presenting arts. Part of our challenge with a building called the Sydney Opera House is to communicate the breadth of what we do.

Like I mentioned a lot of people come to visit the site and marvel at the architecture but many of them think the only thing happening inside is just opera. There is a misconception about the diversity of art we present and a misunderstanding of this being an elite-exclusive space. The message we want to send is that the Opera House is for everyone and the 50th anniversary is a great chance for us to send this message. 

We received special support from our state government to do ambitious programs otherwise impossible coming out of the pandemic. For example, we are presenting free Forecourt concerts featuring First Nation work Wanha! Journey to Arnhem from North of Australia; we’ve commissioned Sydney Symphony Orchestra to collaborate with Ngaiire, an extraordinary contemporary artist; we’ve also commissioned artists to design a lighting show for the sales to tell the history of the design and our performances.

What we hope to show with some of these events is an invitation to diversity, giving people the opportunity to experience what happens inside the house in different ways. And of course, layered on top of all that is a continuous desire to work with great artists across art forms.

The 50th anniversary allowed us to come out of COVID with a bigger ambition than we might have been able to do because of the extra support. I hope this lays the ground for the next decade of programming that responds to both the artistic trends and audiences’ desires and expectations.

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If you are interested in learning more about the integration of arts and technology, don’t miss our virtual Hong Kong 2022 ISPA Congress, To Connect Beyond. We have a special session on Arts Tech: A New World of Connectivity featuring speakers from South Africa to Hong Kong, China. We hope you will register to join us! 

Quicklinks:

• Mark Ball, Southbank Centre (UK)
• Nelson Chia, Nine Years Theatre (Singapore)
• Joe Solway & Alban Bassuet, Arup
• Pamela Tatge, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (USA)

What is your and your organization’s definition of hybrid events?

I will speak about my recent experience at the Manchester International Festival just because I've only been here at Southbank for eight weeks.

In terms of my definition of a hybrid event, I think it's where you're bringing the live and the digital together to become more than the sum of their parts, so that you are really looking at how the affordance of creating liveness within a digital environment enhances, creates new types of audience experiences.

I can give a couple of examples of that, the first two are artistic and the third one is similar to ISPA Congress.

So on the artistic side, at Manchester we worked collaboratively with a number of artists and organizations, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Philharmonia, Punchdrunk and a really fantastic digital company with the amazing name of Marshmallow Laser Feast, to create a version of Midsummer Night’s Dream that entirely lived within a virtual platform that replicated the forest in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

We used software called Unreal Engine, which drives all of the coding and the architecture for the Fortnite gaming platform and used it to build the virtual environment. For audiences there was always a live moment within the virtual environment when performers in a studio in Stratford fitted with motion capture sensors all over their bodies and performed against a green screen, so that their live presence could be integrated live into the virtual forest.

So you were watching on a screen a live event with live performance in a wholly virtual environment, one that was unbounded by the laws of physics, and that took on the fantastical dream like qualities of Shakespeare’s famous forest. It became a genuinely hybrid event where you are using liveness with technology to create something which is new, and which has an ability to reach beyond the usual live audiences for that type of work. This project, Dream, and got very significant engagement from audiences, with tens of thousands of people engaging online with it during each performance.

The other thing which we did in Manchester was a project with the actor Riz Ahmed, who pre-pandemic we were working with to produce a theatrical staging of his new album The Long Goodbye. The week of its final rehearsal, the pandemic started and we had to cancel the live event, but instead, we created, another piece of hybrid theater, where the actor was performing live in a theater in San Francisco, but using a phone and a handheld camera and live editing between them to create a powerful, DIY filmic love experience where Riz moved through the theatre’s spaces to create a theatrical kind of retelling of the album. It was under 25 minutes long, and it really played with the possibilities of both film and live performance within a live event, but it was much more DIY because the actor was just using this [a phone]. It was streamed on the MIF website and, partly because he is a big star now, got an lot of attention and an lot of people tuned into it [At the recent Academy Awards, Riz Ahmed’s film based on the album won the Oscar for the best live-action short film].

And then finally, another example: Manchester International Festival in 2021 happened physically, but we always used to host a big, middle weekend for the festival called Arts Weekend, where about 150 venue and festival leaders would fly from around the world to see the festival’s body of work. We decided that we couldn't do that for obvious reasons in 2021 and to move the whole experience online. We turned it into a project that we called 24 Hour Arty People to play on the film 24 Hour Party People, which is about Manchester. So, the 24 Hour Arty People was a 24-hour dive into the festival.

It was staged in a television studio. We were using full television broadcast technology, including live edits. It ran for 24 hours continuously, in order to capture essentially three different international time zones, from the west coast of the US, to Europe, and across China, and it was hosted live for over 24 hours by four hosts. And essentially it became a kind of rolling TV channel, but all of those people, and more in fact, than would've come to the arts weekend. And because of the nature of the platform, which was essentially a modified version of Zoom, there was a strong level of interactivity.

So, what was an interesting outcome was how we were able to really extend the reach of the physical event, to people who would never have travelled to Manchester. We had a lot more engagement from places like East and West Africa, and East Asia, more than we would've ordinarily done.

How did your pricing change to accommodate a hybrid event?

So, we didn't charge for the professional events, because we wouldn't have charged for people to come to the festival. There would've been by invitation. We did charge for The Long Goodbye event, but we significantly lowered the cost. I think we charged five pounds for a ticket, with an option for people to pay what they could. And with Dream events, all of the ticketing happened through the Royal Shakespeare Company. They also charged, but it was a much lower ticket price than they would ordinarily have done. Because of the capacity to engage with work on a screen, both of those events were much shorter, about 20, 25 minutes each. So, in a way, the pricing also reflected the duration.

Plus, since we were naturally reaching much broader audiences, different cultures, and different locations, setting a price point that might have been valid in the UK context, wasn't really relevant.

What were the logistic challenges of producing a hybrid event?

When we did the 24 Hour Arty People it was running for 24 hours. So, a part of the challenge was that there was a lot of time to fill, we needed a lot of content. So, we did actually have some pre-recorded films that weren't long, but were maybe 10 minutes each that we would feature, across all the three different time zones. The same film was shown three or four times, but we were confident that people wouldn't have seen it more than once because of the way the time zone shifted. I think the other logistical challenge for Dream project was that technical experimentation required a lot of investment - the technology in terms of setting up the studio, all of the motion capture and in building the virtual environment, using the Unreal Engine. So, it was expensive to make.

Don't underestimate the costs, think carefully about actually how fit for purpose the content is when people are watching online, and obviously consider time zones.

Do you think you and your organization will continue your hybrid practice into future programming (post pandemic)?

Yes. It’s interesting, the immediate reaction when thinking about getting back to normal is somehow to do less digital work. For me that feels counterintuitive.

I think the future of audiences' experiences will now have to encompass hybrid, because actually artistically it allows you to do things that you can't do either within the purely live space or that you can't within a purely virtual space where there is no liveness, such as streaming purely live content. It allows a level of artistic innovation which is continuing to push the experience of making and engaging with performance and is continuing to find new ways of connecting to audiences.

When we were building The Factory and COVID started we decided that we were going to build a virtual version of The Factory on the Fortnite gaming platform. So, we built an architectural render of the factory on an island in Fortnite and commissioned a virtual artist to create a playable quest-based game that allowed people to explore all the spaces of The Factory but using the familiar tropes of gaming We'd never done it before. We had no idea what the engagement would be. We looked at the numbers in the first week and the number of the active players who actually chose to go to the island to take part in the game was 1.5 million. So, when you are occupying those kinds of spaces, you've got an ability to reach audiences in a way that is going to be so important for the future of culture.

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What is your and your organization’s definition of hybrid events?

It's only quite recently that I come to realize what hybrid means to me. On the surface, we're talking about hybrid as a mix of something live and something virtual or online. But there’s more to that.

I was talking about it with the ISPA program committee, reflecting on the recent New York 2022 Congress. Granted the main event was the live congress happening in New York, complemented by the hybrid presence. And as such, as a hybrid audience, I felt like I was peeping into someone’s party. That made me think, can we also consider hybrid as a case where we are trying to build a meaningful relationship between the live audience and the virtual audience?

And what does a meaningful relationship mean? I think different people have different ideas, and I don't have an answer. But I'm thinking for example, as an online audience whether what I’m doing or saying can have an impact on the live audience as well. We understand live-ness is very strong and when I meet you face-to-face, it always turns out that we just don’t think about who is online anymore.

So how do we equalize that two presences? How do we have a meaningful dialogue and a meaningful relationship between the live and the virtual? Well, say we're having a live conversation here, but there's also an online presence that is commenting. People are commenting through a voice or a chat interface or something, and the live audiences are also responding to the online comment, and sometimes one party can impact the other. That sort of approach could possibly equalize how people influence one another.

So in short, hybrid for me is about finding ways to establish a meaningful relationship between the different dimensions of audience.

Did you engage both in-person and virtual audiences?

Yes, we did in a way. We tried different formats, we had prerecorded things, like a short film we made and video on demand of our productions that we offered to the audience. These are the kinds that are not entirely interactive.

We also had a small celebration for Nine Years Theatre’s ninth anniversary last year which we did online. It’s a zoom celebration and we were very nervous about it. But it turned out quite well, and people had fun.

In terms of performance, we presented Three Sisters, a collaboration with SITI Company from New York, where we experimented with hybrid. This was forced by circumstances as the American actors couldn't travel to Singapore. It is always a bit more difficult with performances because they are built on conventions, or receptions are built on conventions.

For the Three Sisters hybrid performance, the feeling I got was that live audiences found it a bit more difficult to digest the format. When rehearsing, my live actors had to react to a prerecorded video, which was very difficult. The actors found a way and got used to it eventually. But when we presented it on stage, live audiences needed time to get used to it. The audiences were like, why are they speaking to video, are people in the video actually online?

I think the grasping of new conventions definitely undermined their live viewing experience a little, since it’s not so easy to get on board with this idea. And online audience had a different experience. They’re watching something prerecorded so it kind of cancels out. They also have the chance to see close-ups, to rewind, fast forward or just listen to it. So it’s a different experience which is not immediately comparable.

So some things are easier, like online event, small celebrations, meet ups, prerecorded things, since there is a convention to these kind of forms. But in terms of a performance, that is a bit more challenging. We have different answers for hybrid for different event formats.

What were the logistic challenges of producing a hybrid event?

I’ll talk about the Three Sisters’ production in particular. It was not just the challenges of digital technology, whether we knew how to use it? Do we have enough resources to get the right people with the expertise to help us do it? Those were monetary kind of challenges, which could be solved with extra funding.

The real challenge, was the fact that we were making work separately, physically apart. Making two separate works, then join them together afterward. I think that separation and coming together were something we had no previous experience with, and nothing to learn from.

I'm sure people have done it before, but it's just something we were not used to. On top of that, in the experience of Three Sisters, the two companies involved, Nine Years Theatre and SITI Company, share similar kind of training specific to live performances: to make us be very aware of the relationship between live bodies in space and time. That's what our training is about.

When we are together in a space, suddenly space and time become so significant for us and our bodies will just move in a way like we understand one another. Then that was totally gone. So with a hybrid version, space and time had to be seen differently and we didn’t have enough time to learn. I could see a lot of hybrid work nowadays, but I'm not sure how many of us, how many artists, organizations have the luxury of actually exploring the work over long period of time. Because you need to find out, what does it mean when perception of space and time changes.

Live-ness and digital have always had tension in their relationship. And it is just now that we're forced to look at it more carefully. But do we have the time as artists and the resources to explore it before we create the work? Very often, we just have to create the work.

How did your pricing change to accommodate a hybrid event?

To be honest, after Three Sisters, we have not done anything that is a combination of live and online. Moving into 2022, in Singapore, people can get back into live theater now. In terms of offering things digitally, the general feeling is that we don’t dare to price it too high. Because people are not that enthusiastic nowadays. People are still talking about digital fatigue and digital content is not in high demand as before. There was a period where organizations and companies were studying the audience sentiments. But the time for that was so short that we don't really have enough data.

We don’t have enough data from online consumption. We know how many tickets were sold and how many people watched, but audience responses can be very different.

So when people ask me if online work, such as making video on demand, is effective. I say, we’re still in the midst of it, we haven’t gotten anywhere and we are already feeling fatigue.

So it's a weird situation and there's just not enough substantial data to move on or to say something meaningful.

In 2020, people were craving to watch something, so they will pay to watch it. But once live theater comes back, they're like, thank you very much, but I'm going back to the theater. So with all these sentiments, we are not pricing digital content very high now. Monetization of digital content has not been easy.

Do you think you and your organization will continue your hybrid practice into future programming (post pandemic)?

Like I’ve said, I really want to consider what is a meaningful relationship between the digital and the live. Moving forward the word hybrid may not be that important anymore. And digital elements are taking many forms nowadays – AR, VR, the metaverse… Imagine the New York Congress, what if moving forward, we also have VR elements. So some people can choose to get a VR goggles and dive into a congress metaverse. They put on the VR goggles, they can be there, and we can see David (Baile) waving at us. It's going to be a very different experience.

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Alban Bassuet, Associate Principal | Arts + Culture (New England)
Arup

What is your and your organization’s definition of hybrid events?

Joe Solway: Performances have gone from just in-person experiences, pre-pandemic, to fully remote experiences during the pandemic. At this moment, we’re now just beginning to explore the concept of a hybrid model that engages both in-person and virtual audiences.

Alban Bassuet: A main takeaway from the last two years is that the remote experience needs to be as interesting as the in-person experience. During the pandemic, many arts and culture organizations had no other choice than to host streaming events, with some successes in certain instances and ultimately ensuring continued engagement with their audiences. However, these were also less engaging events experienced through the screen that were utilizing traditional recording techniques.

With new remote event demands, we have the opportunity to make it more immersive, interactive, and engaging to audiences.

What can an organization do to make it more engaging?

AB: We are looking at this from many different perspectives. One way is to use 3D technology so that we can stream 3D performances that give remote audiences agency and presence. Agency is when you go into the hall virtually, you have the ability to move, or to turn your head and hear the spatial change in the sound. We have developed tools allowing virtual users to pan through the space and experience its acoustics using a basic computer mouse or a VR headset.

Second is a sense of presence, so the performance that you're listening to feels nearly real and has the sensation of it occurring right there in front of you. As a firm, we're looking at different ways of conveying that. A lot of the agency and presence come from the recording techniques that captures how sound moves through the space.

We are also thinking of the gamification of performance, with interfaces allowing users to pick locations in a hall, or even to build a virtual acoustical space which could be an especially great way to engage with younger audiences.

What were the logistic challenges of producing a hybrid event?

AB: In the simplest terms, the main challenge often comes down to documenting and broadcasting an in-person performance for a virtual audience: setting-up microphones and pan, tilt, and zoom cameras around the performers, which are starting to become very common on performance stages, and adjusting the orientation of performers for better camera shots. In-person audiences are also becoming more aware of remote participants and tend to be more forgiving with the increasing presence of technology on stage. As we move into our hybrid future, recording could be conducted with more sophistication such as utilizing 3D cameras and microphones to stream immersive events, and at the upper end involve large background LED screens to mix composite VR/AR videos. All these challenges and possible solutions make us think differently as venue designers about new performance spaces, how to integrate technology in future halls, provide configuration flexibility, and to connect both in-person and remote viewers.

How did your pricing change to accommodate a hybrid event?

JS: With our new hybrid reality, there's the ability for new sources of revenue because you can provide the unique experience for a broader remote audience. This shift potentially expands your audience for people that couldn't afford higher price in-person tickets but may be willing to pay at a lower price point for a unique virtual experience.

AB: On the financial aspect we start to see the influence of the creator economy in the performing arts. Established musicians are streaming performances directly from their home, like pianist Julian Brocal for example, with his successful Jardin Musical. Brocal streams 50-person events from the attic of his home in Brussels, often inviting other renowned musicians to join performances while monetizing in-person and remote audience directly on his organization’s website. Streamed performances obviously increase the audience potential but also provide access to events otherwise not available to certain communities or persons with disabilities. Cryptocurrency, blockchain, and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are also becoming more influential in arts and culture. For example, NFTs could open new revenue streams for performing arts organization by monetizing on the value of a unique live performance as CDs did several decades ago.

Do you think you and your organization will continue your hybrid practice into future programming (post-pandemic)?

JS: As we look to the future we’re thinking about these key questions, asking how do we engage virtual audiences? What does that mean in terms of the design and layout of the performance venue? What are the implications for integrating new technology in venues? Design has to accommodate the new paradigm.

AB: We are not going to be able to put the genie back in the box.

We will continue to attend in-person events, but we will certainly experience more and more interesting remote programs, visit a museum online, or just live our lives in increasingly virtual ways. Our younger generations are totally used to both, having in-person and virtual friends and experiences.

We are working from home. Now they will do the same. They will go to school virtually. So, it's not going back. We're not going back. That trend had already begun before the pandemic, and the pandemic accelerated the process more than anything else.

At the moment, we are working on conveying the essence of an exciting performance. Presence, intimacy, being immersed, a sense of live connection, etc. Nobody wants to take away the in-person performance. It's just going to be more good stuff that you can also do at home. Why not?

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What is your and your organization’s definition of hybrid events?

Yes. When we described our festival last summer, it was a hybrid festival in that it consisted of live events and digital events. It was important to recognize that the digital was not just an extension of the in-person; it had its own integrity.

In 2020, we canceled our festival for the first time in 88 years and we created an all virtual festival of 36 events in the summer of 2020. The School was completely online.

Then, in 2021, we went to a hybrid model. For example, in The School we could have a certain number of dancers socially distant in our studio. So we had 11 in-person dancers and 20 learning online. Faculty had to think about how to create a program that would serve each group and they were hugely innovative at thinking about the exchange. For example, in the tap program, the virtual dancers ended up choreographing works for the in-person dancers as a part of the program.

Now, in 2022, we know that dancers are doing everything they can to have space to dance and not be dancing in their living rooms anymore. So we created Jacob's Pillow Intensives in three cities: Chicago, Miami, and London. Dancers will go to a studio and be streamed into The School at Jacob's Pillow as part of their learning. They can be in a studio space, and still virtually connect to the faculty and the site that is Jacob's Pillow.

What were the logistic challenges of producing a hybrid event?

I think it's important to note that we only chose to do certain events as live streams. For the most part, we created digital products that were derived from our in-person events and then broadcast them. The format was a digital stream of the performance two weeks after its in-person premiere. So, we had the opportunity to edit a piece of work to make sure it best translated to the screen. As opposed to a livestream where it’s more logistically challenging to give context with behind the scenes, pre-show, and post-show. Contextualization really enriched the experience.

A challenge was adequately marketing and promoting both the live and the digital festival contemporaneously. And that was a heavy lift on our staff for a 10-week time period.

The other revelation we had is that there’s a reason why distributors don't traditionally premiere a major new television series in the summer - people are not typically on their screens, depending of course, on where in the world they live. With that in mind, we made the decision to pick only select works in this summer’s festival to film and we will broadcast these between October and May, enabling us to put marketing focus into monthly – rather than weekly-releases.

The other fascinating finding of last summer is that only 8% of the in-person audience was also a part of our digital audience. From that, we know we're programming and creating content for two separate audiences, and we need to approach it that way. The exciting thing about that digital audience is: they come from 66 countries. The fact that Jacob's Pillow is known around the world, but few people will have the opportunity to journey to our remote location in Western Massachusetts to partake, was a revelation in terms of reaching new audiences who can tune in virtually. And these digital audiences, for us and for many organizations, skew younger and more diverse in terms of race. That was a great discovery.

We were also ready to jump into a digital festival because of our history of being an organization whose resources have been accessible online for over ten years. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive is one of the most accessible digital platforms for dance in the world. We had the staff knowledge and the means to pivot very fast.

How did your pricing change to accommodate a hybrid event?

We experimented with a few strategies. We had two international streams last summer that were ticketed, one from the Paris Opera Ballet and a film that we commissioned from Nrityagram. Our other performance streams were offered for free for a limited time. We asked for contributions to support the Pillow as well as the artists. We made the case to our audience that in order to return to dance, artists needed essential residencies that we were providing, and we asked people to support those investments in dancers and companies. We also noted that we were paying them for the right to stream their work and that their contribution would support the artist as well as Jacob's Pillow. So at this point it's been donation based and the contributions do not meet the costs of the streams.

The platform needed additional fundraising support. We felt that because we could allow only very few people to see performances live because of social distancing, it was our responsibility to make the streams accessible to audiences who couldn't come to the Pillow because of COVID or because of our limited capacity.

Just as everyone else, we are trying to figure out number one, how to make this sustainable for the artists. What is the proper compensation? And how do we think about artist compensation in terms of what we need to do to level the hierarchy between presenters and artists at this time in our world. Number two, we have to think about how to make it sustainable for Jacob's Pillow to invest in this level of operation.

We've always invested, since the 1980s, in documentation of works, and that's why we have such a rich archive. The important thing is that every artist leaves here with that documentation and a full professional photography shoot.

But we have never done three camera shoots, which is what we did last summer. And the potential here is asking, what can this shoot do and give audiences that they cannot get even when they're in the third row? What is that small gesture that look from dancer to dancer that you can zoom in on with that third camera that we might not otherwise be able to see as an audience member? What we are all trying to figure out is how we can add value in the digital experiences.

The bottom line is that we have not figured out what that model is yet, but I will say that the highest percentage of our new donors came through our digital platform, people who registered for digital products.

So that is really an exciting possibility for us.

Do you think you and your organization will continue your hybrid practice into future programming (post pandemic)?

For sure. The theme here is experimentation. We know that we are in a time of rapid change and that we need to stay open to what audiences want and need.

I think we are all called upon to pivot and adapt in how we approach the future of digital programming in relationship to our organization. So we have planned to continue to stream some full length works. Moving forward, it is also part of our strategic plan working over the next five years to more fully develop a digital crossroads for Jacob’s Pillow. To bring many of our assets together under one umbrella, we are currently researching what infrastructure, technical support and staffing support will be necessary to realize this.

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At the Virtual Edition: 2021 ISPA Congress earlier this year, we came together as a community to imagine the arts and explore the future, after an unpredictable and devastating year that shed light on existing inequalities and an urgent need for change. 

We sensed a desire from the delegates to continue this conversation. The majority of delegates who completed the post-congress survey said they’d like us to focus on the topic of sustainability at future congresses. We thought, why wait until then? The term sustainability encompasses many of the topics that the performing arts sector has been challenged to contemplate over the past year and consider changing in the future - economic vitality, ecological integrity, social equity, and institutional governance.

The theme for this issue is Imagining New Futures to account for the many different ways in which the pandemic has impacted each region, each organization, and every person. And therefore, the many different ways in which we’ll choose to change as a result of this experience.

Quicklinks:

• Linus Fung, Leisure and Cultural Services Department (Hong Kong, China)
• E-Jan Tan, Toccata Studio (Malaysia)
• Magnus Aspegren, Riksteatern (Sweden)
• Craig Hassall, Royal Albert Hall (UK)

Linus Fung, Assistant Director (Performing Arts) 
Leisure and Cultural Services Department (Hong Kong, China)

Given the past year, how do you envision a sustainable future for the performing arts sector?

Many would regard last year as a turning point in history, for the COVID-19 pandemic has changed life for the whole world. This is not just attributed to the fatality and extremely infectious nature of the disease, but the suddenness of its occurrence, its lasting prevalence, and its recurrence in a highly malignant way.

As arts administrators, we all have the courage to cope with crisis, and the belief that “crisis creates opportunities”. Interestingly, the word crisis in Chinese (危機) inherently embodies opportunities so the two elements are already combined.

We are all eager to make changes, and feel the urgency to pave the way for a new future out of this unprecedented crisis. There is an urgent need to revitalize society, certainly including the performing arts sector, by creating new jobs. People have become more sensitive about hygiene and more manpower is required to uplift both the hardware and software of performance venues for preventing the spread of the disease. The significance of technology in the performing arts sector is further recognized and more focus has been put on the management and arrangement for live-streaming of stage performances, not just to minimize social contacts but also to maintain a balanced involvement of local and international artists and the diversity of art forms. We are more conscious of distributing resources fairly and meticulously for ecological integrity and equal accessibility of different genres to the public. After all, developing appropriate policies to address the needs of artists and audience is most crucial for the sustained growth and vitality of the performing arts.

What’s the biggest obstacle in your way to achieving this new future?

We understand that building a new future is a formidable task and is full of obstacles along the way. The biggest obstacle for us in this venture is the scarcity of resources. The government has been spending tremendous amounts on initiatives to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and providing direct subsidies and rental concessions to institutions, organizations, and practitioners of various sectors. We anticipate a cut in public funding and that arts philanthropy will continue to experience a tough time until the economy is revived. In the foreground of the performing arts scene, the social distance requirement, for instance, the limitation on use of space or seating capacity, seems to be a measure that will continue in the foreseeable future, which also consumes/sacrifices many resources.

That said, obstacles can always be overcome by creativity, innovation, and perseverance. The morale and aspiration of us arts administrators remains high, and our artists are ready to unite to step on through and start a new life.

Instead of getting stuck on what we cannot control and arguing with the whole world about it, we shall take charge and work on elements that can make a real difference to our project and its outcomes. Individuals start getting used to the idea that life is constantly changing. Atoms combine to make a compound, creating strength and energy, and getting the very best out of each other. We will work together to stay resilient, and it is in this belief that the magic lies.

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Photo by: WeyYinn

Given the past year, how do you envision a sustainable future for the performing arts sector?

This is a difficult question because I think sustainability is always the biggest challenge in the performing arts sector. We work alongside many different sectors (education, entertainment, and tourism), and there’s a two-way impact. There’s the social and economic impact that the performing arts creates as well as the impact of the social and economic change on the performing arts as a result of the pandemic.

Before COVID-19, I heard about funding being cut around the world and the situation has now worsened in places without funding pre-COVID-19. This critical COVID-19 situation has created even more challenges, but artists never stop creating, so the problem we face is more about how arts are being consumed and how people reach the arts. It’s more of a sectorial and structural problem, but amidst the challenges, there are opportunities as well.

• Now is the time for the sector to look into cross-sector collaboration and partnership, and lobby for resources from different sectors. For example, we’ve long been talking about how arts influence education and vice versa, but the education system has yet to actually work alongside the arts so maybe policymakers in the arts and those in education can come together to combine resources for the benefit of both sectors.
• This is also an opportunity for more inclusivity because boundaries change in the digital space. Once we go digital, boundaries aren’t what we understand them to be as before. We are all in the same country in the virtual world.
• This is also an opportunity to explore how the arts intersect with technology. How does digital technology transform audience consumption behavior? How audiences consume the performing arts has changed rapidly because of COVID-19 and the consumption rate has risen because people are relying on online platforms.

What’s the biggest obstacle in your way to achieving this new future?

The challenge is to adapt and cope with this situation. Since I started my career as a producer, I’m constantly living in the future and trying to plan and prepare for it, but because of the pandemic, you can’t do that. There’s always changes no matter how well you predict or prepare for the future. To begin, we have to find a level of calm in this very chaotic situation that will allow us to restart.

Another challenge is opening up the conversation about the intersection of arts and technology. We might have lots of creativity in the arts, but there’s insufficient structural support from the tech world being shifted into the arts, so we really need cross-sector understanding and collaboration.

Another challenge to overcome is that we’re constantly compared to film, TV, and gaming when the performing arts is put online and we don’t actually want to turn ourselves into filmmakers or TV producers. At the same time, how do we keep that “live” feeling associated with the performing arts?

My work has always been about touring, international collaboration, co-creation, and commission work. There are many people who mention that international travel won’t resume until 2023 at the earliest, so there’s this level of uncertainty. How do we tour a work? There’s this concept of touring whereby the work of art travels, but not the individual.

The biggest obstacle to redistribution of income is waiting for policies to shift and structures to change. If that change happens, then everything would speed up much more quickly. Practitioners in the arts have to work harder to have our voices heard at the political level. The arts and humanities is playing a big role in helping people recover from this pandemic, but the sector has never been prioritized so maybe if these voices were heard, it would help to speed up this process.

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Photo by: Sören Vilks

Given the past year, how do you envision a sustainable future for the performing arts sector?

In Sweden, culture is now at the top of the discussion list because this is one of the sectors that has suffered the hardest during the pandemic. As a result of the shutdown, people realized that culture is a big part of their lives, but also the government has realized that this sector is sorely needed, so the sector has received crisis money to take care of the loss of income. Freelancers have suffered the most.

The government has decided to investigate how to restart the culture sector. The good thing is that they are starting from the point of making the changes that needed to be made for so many years. How do we reach the many people in our sector that we haven’t been reaching? All of us in the sector need to try harder to reach new audiences. Digital performances are a good example of reaching new audiences. It takes bravery and creativity to create new performances and reach new audiences.

In Sweden, you can see that the big cities, as in every country, have the big institutions. Right now, you read more and more about people moving from the big cities out to the rural areas. In this case, what you need then is culture wherever you move. Sweden has taken this on. It will be quite empty if there’s nothing more than your wonderful house and distance meetings in these rural areas. You will need people and live performances. In the coming years, we have to see how we can bring culture to and from these areas.

We do need to talk more about how we can keep some of this extra sectorial crisis money that we received over the past year to make these changes because it needs to be put towards changes for the coming years, not just now.

What’s the biggest obstacle in your way to achieving this new future?

I think it’s our own lack of bravery. How many conferences have we attended and heard about what we should do and how artists don’t have the same possibilities, or heard about the audiences that we don’t reach, etc.? We have so many ideas, but what do we need to make a change? What do we need to see our big institutions in a different way and change them?

Riksteatern is owned by 230 associations and its 40,000 members. We do about 40 productions per year and 1,100 performances around Sweden, big and small. It’s different and the decision making about the next four years is made every fourth year at a big congress. We do have to ask ourselves the same question – how can the sector reach new audiences? Will an association in a small village be brave enough to book something that will reach a new audience? And will producers be brave enough to produce theatre for a wider audience?

In the last five, six years, there’s been a huge change in Sweden. We have a lot of new citizens. The interesting thing is that these people are or will be well-educated. When they receive the rights to be in Sweden, they go directly to the universities. What will this mean after four or five more years? They will be in charge and what would they like to be a part of and what will they be interested in?

We can’t just go on in our traditional way. How can we find a balance? I think the lack of bravery is the biggest obstacle - we aren’t brave enough. We have to be braver.

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Craig Hassall AM, Chief Executive
Royal Albert Hall (UK)

Given the past year, how do you envision a sustainable future for the performing arts sector?

Sustainability is a key part of our business plan for 2022-2026 and we had a long conversation on what that means to us. Environmental sustainability is obviously very important, but it is also about the sustainability of the industry or the practitioners, and how we make them sustainable.

When I think of sustainability going forward, what this pandemic has shown us is the inter-connectivity of the industry. When a venue like the Royal Albert Hall is closed, all the freelance individuals that rely on us being open are compromised. So, sustainability for us means activity, and activity, for me, means live experience.

The reality for us is that we have a 5500-seat venue to fill, so for us to be sustainable, I need to put on shows, events, and concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, and therefore, give work to all the people and cultural nourishment to audiences.

The other part of the question is, we need to talk about the pipelines the industry creates for up-and-coming artists. I think venues our size are really important because we have a critical mass of activities for satellite operations to create such a pipeline. In fact, coming out of COVID-19, we are putting more focus into this area. We are looking to turn some of the back-of-house spaces into creative spaces for performers, writers, and musicians to just come in, hang out, and create work. For us to be a valid contributor to the ecology of the performing arts industry, we, as a venue, want to create these opportunities to ensure the pipeline for the future.

And obviously, there is the environmental aspect of sustainability. We joined the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). IWBI is about how a building should be designed or re-designed to improve health and human experience. And when COVID-19 hit, they expanded into a whole COVID-19 safe Kitemark, looking into how you make buildings COVID safe. We are now looking at how a 150-year old building like Royal Albert Hall, can be COVID-19 safe. We are looking at things like ventilation, measures at the back of the house, and getting our COVID Kitemark from IWBI. And hand in hand with that goes environmental sustainability. So, we are looking at our carbon management plan and a whole range of things to get up to speed so that the building is as sustainable as possible.

What’s the biggest obstacle in your way to achieving this new future?

It is no secret to any of us around the world that this pandemic has been hugely impactful on our operations. The ecosystem is really broken and people have left the industry. That for us, coupled with Brexit here at the end of last year, is very disjointing at the moment. To rebuild the performing patterns from before is going to be complicated because we are just one venue and a lot of our events are part of a tour. It is rebuilding the international network of promoters, venues, agents, artists, and support staff. All of these need to be rebuilt before we can get back to a kind of regular pattern.

On a smaller scale over here in the UK, we have a really intricate and successful touring network in regional theaters. The theaters are all in a terrible financial state now, so they can’t take a financial risk. It is going to take some time for these venues to build up their reserves to a point where they can take a financial risk of presenting tours.

I also worry that there’s going to be a move to look more inward after the pandemic. That people will be afraid of travel, to go on planes, nervous about foreign countries, and becoming more introspective and nationalistic, which will affect cultural outputs as well.

On the one hand, you have the practical problems of getting international touring back up. On the other hand, you’ve got, possibly, a public disinclination for foreign acts coming into the UK, and both things are really unfortunate and not helpful for recovery.

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This issue of the Insider offers insight from a few of our members whose capital projects and perspectives are quite literally all over the map. We also hear from an experienced theater designer on the evolution of performances spaces and what goes into deciding how and what to create or renovate. 

Quicklinks:

• Sydney Opera House, Louise Herron
• Fundación Nacional Batuta, Maria Claudia Parias Durán
• Fisher Dachs Associates, Joshua Dachs

Louise Herron

Sydney Opera House

Why is now the right time to build/renovate?

The Sydney Opera House has been home to thousands of inspiring performances since opening in 1973. More than 1.5 million people attend more than 2000 performances each year. Another 600,000 pay to take a tour and see first-hand how the magic happens (this number has doubled in the past few years). Millions more visit its award-winning restaurants and bars, and still more visit the Opera House online – taking a virtual tour, attending a digital classroom or experiencing a livestream event.        

The Opera House has worked hard for 45 years and its age is beginning to show in some areas. For example, the original theatre equipment is nearing the end of its useful life; the community’s expectations in technology, safety and accessibility standards have changed significantly over the decades; some of the heavily used public areas need to be refreshed; and the Opera House wasn’t built with the expectation that it would become Australia’s premier tourist destination.

This wonder of 20^th-century architecture is now being renewed for the 21st century, ensuring it meets the needs and expectations of future generations of artists, audience and visitors.

Renewal is all about ensuring that the Opera House continues to lift the human spirit, both as a work of human creative genius itself and through the art forms presented throughout the precinct – whether that is classical art forms inside the House, contemporary music and performance inside and out, children’s programming, or talks and ideas events.

The Concert Hall upgrade is the next major project in the suite of Stage 1 Renewal projects, which will ensure we are properly equipped to welcome as many people in as many ways as possible. It follows the $71 million-dollar Renewal works in the Joan Sutherland Theatre, completed on time and on budget on New Year’s Eve 2017. This includes $26 million investment to improve accessibility and safety in the venue, as well as an elegant new passage and lifts to enable level access to all areas of the harbourside Northern Foyer for the first time.

The Renewal works are largely funded by the New South Wales Government, which has committed $202 million towards the Concert Hall and entry and foyers upgrades, and the new creative learning and function centre. Current projects at various stages of construction and planning include:

• Concert Hall upgrades to improve acoustics, accessibility, stage and backstage areas, and replace end-of-life theatre systems. This will be the most significant work undertaken in the Concert Hall since it opened in 1973;
  
  
• A new Creative Learning Centre will provide children and young people with a dedicated space to experiment and learn in a building that embodies creativity and innovation;
  
  
• Entry and foyers upgrades will transform the area under the Monumental Steps and the main box office foyer, including improving accessibility through the addition of escalators and lifts and streamlining functions; and
  
  
• A new function centre worthy of the Opera House is being built within the building envelope to celebrate significant events and mark important occasions – from weddings and intimate gatherings to community and government events.

How do you address the needs of each stakeholder?

Continued and extensive stakeholder engagement will be crucial to our success. To date, we have undertaken more than 160 briefings with stakeholder groups about our Renewal plans, from the accessibility, architectural and heritage communities to government agencies, corporate partners, donors, local residents and the community more broadly.

In addition, the Opera House’s independent Eminent Architects Panel and the Conservation Council have been intimately involved in the development of the design proposals, ensuring they align with Jørn Utzon’s Design Principles and are in keeping with our World Heritage listing and recently updated Conservation Management Plan (Fourth Edition). 

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Maria Claudia Parias Durán

Fundación Nacional Batuta

Why is now the right time to build/renovate?

In 2016, Fundación Nacional Batuta (FNB), a non-profit organization dedicated to musical training for vulnerable children and youngsters throughout Colombia, made the decision to build a small auditorium with maximum capacity for 85 musicians on stage and 230 seats, given the size of the plot available for the project. Two factors were decisive for this initiative: the intention of the previous District Administration to initiate a process of expropriation of the lot adjacent to the administrative headquarters of Batuta (owned by Batuta), and the approval and enforcement of the Public Spectacles Law, that allocates resources for the construction, renovation and improvement of spaces for performing arts in Colombia. These two regulations (from our perspective, one negative and one very positive), motivated us to fulfill a goal we had since 1992, which – mainly due to economic reasons – had not been possible. To stop the process of expropriation of the lot, Batuta had first to obtain the construction license. To gain this approval, it was necessary to have due authorization of the District Institute of Cultural Heritage and the Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture. This was to be an intervention within the Historic Center of Bogota (an area known as La Candelaria) where regulation aims at preserving the historical and patrimonial values that characterize the sector.

The design is currently in the process of approval by the city’s Urban Curator, as established in the framework of urban development standards, and includes a two-story building and a basement for storage, classified as a zonal-scale cultural facility. The project represents for FNB – an organization that has 45 young symphony orchestras, 700 musical initiation ensembles and about 300 children's choirs – the possibility of having a space we can call our own for public performances. It will also generate articulations with other musical training and practice initiatives in Bogota, the whole country and the rest of the world.

Since this dream began, we have had two main allies working on the integral design: Gal2 + MMIT Arquitectos, an architectural design firm from Spain with offices in Bilbao, Santander, Bogota and Lima; and ARUP, an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists who work in all aspects of contemporary construction and who, in this case, have generously provided the technical support for acoustic design.

How do you address the needs of each stakeholder? Has this changed during the lifecycle of the project?

The target of FNB includes the children, teenagers and youngsters that benefiit from our musical training programs, as well as their families, music teachers and social workers involved with the organization, cultural managers and other employees, the Board of Directors, the National Government, the District Government, regional bodies, entrepreneurs and international cooperation organizations, among others.

The objective of this project is to build an auditorium that will be permanently used by our direct benefiiciaries (our children and their families). It will be a space to develop sustainability projects of interest to our funders (Government entities and private companies). It also represents an opportunity for joint projects with other organizations similar to FNB in Colombia (e.g.: Children’s and Young Music Training System - Bogota, Children's and Young Orchestra Network Medellin, Children's Orchestra Network Pasto, etc.), and other peer organizations abroad (The System - Venezuela, Guri Santa Marcelina - Sao Paulo, Ecos de Jalisco-Mexico, Sinfonía por el Peru, among many others). Moreover, the auditorium will welcome our technical assistance allies: professors and students from conservatoires and music schools around the world, professional musicians, volunteers, workshop coordinators, orchestral directors, etc. It will undoubtedly be a space to generate creative and innovative projects in musical practice.

What advice would you give an industry peer who will be going through a capital process?

My advice to my peers who want to venture into the design and construction of an auditorium comes from my friend Claudia Toni, from Brazil: “Get advice from real experts. This is a highly complex matter”. Having the interest and support of Spanish architects and ARUP has been a great blessing, largely springing from the network promoted by ISPA.

Another piece of advice is to have the endorsement and permanent support of the Board of Directors. In the case of FNB, our Board includes the president of a highly renowned construction firm in Colombia. This has facilitated problem solving and process completion.

My third piece of advice is to follow the three tips of the Japanese children's book Grandpa Toad’s Secrets, by Keiko Kasza: “be brave, be astute and have friends to count on”.

Read this Spanish; Leer esto en español

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Joshua Dachs

Fisher Dachs Associates

Theatre Planning and Design   

The thing that’s kept me interested in what I do for more than thirty years is the way the field keeps changing, and the kinds of cultural buildings we are asked to design keeps changing, too. It’s been fascinating to watch that happen, and to work closely with artists and cultural leaders to figure out where it’s all going next and how to respond.

Buildings that were designed for the business and funding models of the 1950s through the 1990s are all being reevaluated today in light of new economic realities, cost structures, funder priorities, artist interests, and audience expectations. We’ve found ourselves massively renovating some of the seminal buildings of the last century to help them deal with new missions and new economics; places like the National Arts Center in Ottawa, the Arena Stage in Washington DC, and of course Lincoln Center, where we’ve already done over a billion dollars of transformation and still have further projects in mind.

At the same time, we’ve seen shifts in practice and expectation that are leading to the development of new building types, and we’ve been excited to be able to play a role in developing new facility concepts that I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of. Our Park Avenue Armory project is a great example of an idea about flexible space on a colossal industrial scale that artists are invited to engage with, with the support of a well-funded commissioning organization. It’s a sort of sister project to Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum Germany and the other Ruhr Valley venues that are used by the Ruhr Triennale Festival each year; found spaces that embrace and empower artists. It’s so interesting that we’re now working on The Shed in New York City’s Hudson Yards which is, in a sense, a newly made building that will provide a similar scale of found space for ambitious, large-scale work. I think it represents a new venue type, in fact, that will be refined and repeated in different cities at different scales because of the exciting, unconventional range of work it can inspire and accommodate.

A related trend is the flat-floored general-admission music venue. We’ve done one in Washington DC called the Anthem which can accommodate roughly 6,000 for live music, and we’re planning others for traditional performing arts centers at scales ranging from 1,200 to 3,000 that will be able to host popular music, but also non-traditional presentations of classical music, opera, dance, and drama. In some ways this is a variation on the Armory / Shed model that is less about the sheer scale of the architecture and more about the flexibility and broad appeal of a casual, non-traditional, flat-floored space that is well equipped to sell drinks and provide catering support. I’m sure we will be doing a lot more of those in the near future.

Another altogether healthy trend is an increased comfort on the part of younger classical musicians with amplification and technology. Spaces like Michael Tilson Thomas’ SoundBox for the San Francisco Symphony; essentially a huge studio theater for musical performance that relies heavily on sophisticated electronic architecture signal processing and amplification to make it work. Classical and contemporary chamber music is performed here in an informal setting with several cash bars, movable furniture groupings, portable stage platforms, theatrical lighting, and extensive video projection, making this a kind of live jazz club / rock club setting for everything from percussion ensembles to string quartets, but never in the way you’re used to seeing it.

But this too will evolve. In my career I’ve seen the focus of performing arts construction shift from enormous cultural complexes with dedicated concert halls, opera houses, and theaters in large and secondary markets, to multi-purpose halls in smaller and smaller markets that couldn’t support multiple buildings. Then I saw organizations in those smaller towns outgrow the multi-purpose venues that had nurtured them and build their own purpose-built concert halls and opera houses, but at smaller and more satisfying seating capacities than had been the norm in the 1960s. Then changes in the economy and the business model for presenting organizations forced a new focus on earned revenue and we found ourselves thinking about public spaces and public amenities in new ways to drive income and attract audiences. Artists, too, have become less interested in working in conventional ways and have sought out non-traditional spaces, and arts presenters struggle to find new ways to make their old buildings relevant, or start to consider abandoning them and replacing them with something new. And as I said, new types of venues are evolving as we speak.

This change plays out in different ways on different timelines in all parts of the world, at different scales, and in different cultures and economic models. That’s what still keeps me interested in coming to work in the morning — I’m curious to help identify and address the newest challenges that artists and the world throw at us.

ISPA Insider is a quarterly newsletter that explores timely topics of interest to the global performing arts community featuring the voices of our members.

Some ISPA members are among those who have seen leadership change as several high profile venues including Royal Albert Hall, National Theater of Korea, Lincoln Center have had shifts in leadership – many because long-time directors are retiring.

But retirement isn’t always the impetus for change; opportunity and environmental factors are often cited as reasons to move on or try something new. As the theme of our upcoming congress Balancing Acts: Art, Community, and Leadership indicates, the effects of these shifts in leadership on organizations and communities can result in new opportunities and perspectives.

To help us explore the nature of transition, we asked five ISPA members who have recently been involved in leadership change to detail their experiences and offer insights into the decision-making process.

We hope you'll join us at the New York 2018 ISPA Congress when we take a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities presented for the next generation of leadership.

Leadership Transitions of ISPA Members

	Alison M. Friedman Transitioning FROM Executive and Creative Director / Founder Ping Pong Productions Transitioning TO Artistic Director Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District
A decision to transition actually is made up of two sub-decisions: the choice to go towards something new, and the choice to depart where you were. These decisions are not always equally balanced. It was not a difficult decision to accept the offer of Artistic Director at Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District. The District is poised to be a leading creative force in Asia and the world. Its all-star team, led by Executive Director Louis Yu, already is running exciting programs in Experimental Chinese Opera, free outdoor events, community outreach programs, Asia-Europe theatre collaborations, and more. The opportunity to contribute my experience working across government, corporate, education and artistic sectors to this ambitious project drew me in without hesitation. But making the leap towards this new opportunity meant departing an organization I founded and have led for the past seven years. I built Ping Pong Productions from a one-woman organization to a thriving non-profit with offices in Beijing and New York City, performance projects in more than 60 countries on five continents, education programs in more than 20 cities across China and a new one recently launched in the U.S. Ping Pong is a living organism that supports a staff, a network of artists and projects, and has responsibilities to our board, our funding sources, and the artists we support.  I had many long conversations with Ping Pong’s board and advisors to explore options – doing an external search for my replacement, promoting internally, or looking at different possible “sunset” plans to responsibly close the organization. My first choice was to promote internally, but that decision couldn’t rest entirely in my hands. What if Ping Pong’s Associate Director Mengtong Guan didn’t accept the offer? It is a big leap to go from employee to international business owner. I am thrilled that Mengtong chose to take over Ping Pong Productions as the new Executive and Creative Director. Together, we launched a detailed, multi-month transition process to transfer all of the legal, financial, personnel, and project materials to her and others on the team. We attended meetings together to inform our artistic and government partners about the transition, ensuring they would continue their partnerships with her as the new leader.  One of my favorite quotes from all of the business books I’ve read is, “Sometimes, the best thing a founder can do for their organization is to leave.” Throughout the transition process, Mengtong surprised and impressed me with her ideas, strategies and decisions, some different than I would have made, taking Ping Pong into a brand new chapter of growth and evolution. Knowing that my “baby” is in brilliant hands, I can let go completely, and with full enthusiasm and commitment dive into my future at West Kowloon. Onward!"
	Annette Corbett Transitioning FROM Head of Development Tomorrow's Warriors Transitioning TO Independent Producer Rough Information
When I arrived in Montreal for ISPA’s Anthony Field Academy, I didn’t imagine that a couple of days later I would be announcing to a room of fellow delegates that I planned to quit my job when I got back to London. I certainly didn’t expect that announcement to be greeted by a warm and enthusiastic round of applause. Sure enough, after two days back in the office, I handed in my notice and started my journey as a freelancer. I have always been drawn to different art forms and ideas, which made working in any one particular role a little frustrating at times. I would often find myself ‘peering over the fence’ at what other departments were up to, and wishing I could get involved. I have a habit of being very easily enthused by other people’s ideas and wanting to find ways to bring them to fruition, so as a natural facilitator, with a wide range of skills and experience, moving into producing seemed the obvious choice.   It has initially been quite a culture shock adapting to working independently after so long as an ‘employee’. Finding myself in the position of developing my own business, defining my own schedule, and setting my own priorities, has been challenging but exciting. I’ve only been working as an independent producer, fundraiser and arts manager for a matter of months, but the transition has happened quickly and I’m already very busy. I’ve conducted cultural policy research for Goldsmiths College, have a couple of fundraising consultancy opportunities on the go, and have just joined promenade theatre specialists Teatro Vivo as Assistant Producer on their new show Twistov, inspired by Dickens’ Oliver Twist and real-life experiences of migration in the UK in the 21st century.  If you’re considering taking the leap, here are my three top tips:  Do your maths – How will you pay the bills while you develop an income stream? Do you have any savings you could dip into? What’s your ‘survival’ budget (the bare minimum you need to pay your way, even if it means putting up with living like a student) and your ‘thrival’ budget (how much you need to live comfortably, eat well, and enjoy a few luxuries). Invest in yourself – It might seem like a bad time to be spending money on training, but keep learning. The more skilled you are, the more you have to offer potential clients, and the more opportunities you have to pick up varied and interesting work. Look after yourself – It might take some time to develop your practice. In the meantime, you’re likely to want to say yes to everything, which means you’re going to be very busy.  Even learning to adapt to your own timetable and having to make lots of decisions can be quite mentally taxing. Make time to eat well, exercise, rest, and allow yourself the occasional treat. After all, you won’t be able to work at all if you’re ill. My absolute top tip would be to keep asking for help from those around you. Make the most of your networks – former managers, colleagues, people you meet at networking events and conferences. It’s a rare person who will turn down the offer of coffee and a chat, and my experience has been that the vast majority of people are incredibly generous with their time and advice. This might seem surprising for a sector where people are so often under-resourced and under pressure; but on the other hand, it feels perfectly natural when so much of what we do as artists, producers, and cultural leaders is founded on collaboration and partnership.  Making the decision to become an independent arts professional has been an incredibly positive move for me, and I’m very excited about the future. It’s not necessarily a career path that suits everyone, but I would urge anyone considering it to give it a try if they can. You certainly won’t get bored!"
	Max Wagner Transitioning FROM Managing Director Gärtnerplatz Opera Munich Transitioning TO Managing Director Gasteig Muenchen GmbH
I think transition in leadership can bring a lot to both the outgoing leader and the successor, but there are also some pitfalls. In general it can be a very wise move if the board agrees to invest resources into this time of handing over knowledge and authority. I have been on both sides and also in the situation of taking over without any preparation.  In my opinion the most important advantages of a period of transition for the outgoing leader is that she or he can explain to the successor why things are done in a certain manner and can so contribute to continuing her or his legacy. At the same time, it gives her or him the opportunity to say good-bye, let go and prepare for the next step in life. For the successor, the period provides some precious time to be just an observer without having to act. This possibility to look with some distance at the institution can bring important insights for the first steps to take. By observing the outgoing leader, the successor can understand the way the organization was led in the past and thereby gain an understanding of the culture. It is a way to get a feel for what to keep and what to change. In my position at Gasteig, I had an overlap with my predecessor. The fact that I didn’t have the full responsibility in the beginning gave me the time and energy to speak to every one of the 150 employees at Gasteig – with most of them in one-to-one meetings, and some in group meetings. This helped people to get an idea who I was as their new boss and what I wanted to achieve. Through the exercise I got a valuable first impression of the people I would work with in the future, and the direct communication laid the foundation for a trustful relationship. People felt that I was really interested in what they did and how they did it. In the end, this time together also helps to find a way to pass the power from the predecessor to the successor, perhaps in the form of a ritual that can serve as an image of continuity for all stakeholders involved. The biggest challenge is that this time is difficult for both leaders. The outgoing leader is used to taking all the decisions alone, and can feel being observed and judged, and could therefore get into a mode of justification. The idea that you don’t own what you did and that you have to accept that other people do it differently and also succeed has to be incorporated. The successor has to have a lot of patience and has to sometimes hold back new ideas that would put the actions of the other one in question. It can sort of feel like driving with breaks on. A good idea is to share responsibility so that the successor is responsible for certain areas from the beginning, for example in areas that have an impact on the future. Another important question is the duration of the transition. It depends on different factors, like the size of the institution, special situations like a big renovation, and the time the outgoing leader was working there. In general, I think one to three months are a good period that both sides and the organization can benefit from. But most importantly, I think it is crucial for a fruitful transition of leadership that the roles during this period are clearly agreed upon and that the result is also communicated to the press in order to avoid misunderstandings. And because this situation has a high potential for conflict, this agreement should also include that any friction be addressed right away and in a respectful manner. Only then can this valuable time benefit the organization."
	Susan Stockton Retired FROM President and CEO Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
When is it time to make a change?  It is a process that is very different for everyone.  The key determinant for my decision to retire from a full-time job in arts administration came when my list of ‘I want to’ got very long and accomplishing anything on that list seemed remote and more impossible with each passing day.  I knew I did not want to spend my final chapter doing what I already knew how to do. I wanted my legacy to be a successful one ensuring the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center would thrive under a leadership change and happen at a time that was right for the organization.  With the assistance of our board of directors we mapped out a mid-term strategy that would provide the Center with a solid long term operating plan.   We set a target end date for my retirement and worked backward from there.  Quickly we ascertained we could hire from within and thus began a two-year competency development plan with interested senior staff to build their leadership skills with a target to identify the incumbent at the end of this process.  A key challenge to each participating member of the senior team was their goal to make each of the other candidates successful in their bid for the position.  During this time, we also had pro bono guidance from an organizational development consultant enabling us to stay focused and receive some third-party insight for this process. Once the incumbent was chosen, we embarked upon a three-year competency development plan; each year contained milestone markers to achieve and occasionally a curve ball was thrown in test our progress—for example I would call to say I would not be attending the board meeting that morning and the incumbent was to deliver my report, did panic or opportunity infused enthusiasm take over in these situations? This five-year plan was the right amount of time as it allowed for a leader to be born and groomed, rather than shot out of a cannon.  My role in all of this was to identify the milestones and provide the resources necessary for her to thrive.  Most importantly, I needed to get out of the spotlight and allow her to take over many of my most cherished obligations so she would be viewed as the leader from her first day as President and CEO.  It took a lot of consideration, compassion, and respect from both of us to make this work and I could not be more pleased with the results. As each day now passes more swiftly than it did when I was working my only regret is in not having made the change sooner.  In our field we looked at five and ten-year plans, in retirement you can map out that far but as you are getting older all your parts may not be cooperating to support your plans!   Here is a picture of me on the verge of opening ‘the Alice in Wonderland door’ in the courtyard of the Cathedral Garden in Christ Church, Oxford University…my annual summer studies there do check-off the boxes on my ‘I want to’ list but have also made it much longer!"
	Simeon Moran Transitioning FROM Executive Producer and co-CEO ILBIJERRI Theatre Company Transitioning TO ...
I am the outgoing Executive Producer and co-CEO of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, a leading Australian First Nations theatre company based in Melbourne. It has always been somewhat problematic that I was a non-indigenous person in a leadership position in an Indigenous organisation. My white privilege has made my career path fairly smooth sailing all things considered, and here I was occupying a space that should have been someone else’s. I was a whitefulla taking up co-CEO space in an blackfulla company, and despite all the best intentions in the world, my very presence as a co-CEO undermined Indigenous control and self-determination of this arts organisation that is vitally important in the Australian cultural landscape.   When I took the job I made it a condition of my employment that I needed to be gone in three to five years and replaced by a First Nations person in the role. Once settled in and working in such a fantastic organisation with an awesome team and the ever-inspiring Rachael Maza as Artistic Director and co-CEO, it would have been very easy to stay on indefinitely in a position that was highly rewarding, both personally and professionally. Which is why I realised that I had to draw a line in the sand – for both myself and our Board – to prevent our collective complacency when things were all going so well for the company. On a rare family weekend away with visiting overseas relatives, my partner and I had the realisation that we both worked too much and rarely prioritised family time off together (another chronic condition of the independent arts sector). A crazy exit plan was hatched – after nearly 10 years of running arts organisations I needed to prioritise my family, put work on hold, and in the context of ILBIJERRI, I needed to stop occupying a cultural leadership space that wasn't mine. So in late 2016 I gave Rachael and the Board 14 months’ notice that I would be leaving at the end of 2017. I then sold the family station wagon and bought a 4WD ute so we could camp our way around remote Australia for 12 months and share the family experience of a lifetime. There was no turning back now! We were just going to have to make it work. Initially it was a shock to everyone, myself included, but the long lead-time notice has allowed for organisational adjustment and a strategic approach to planning for leadership transition. It has allowed our whole team to feed into this planning and given us the time to adequately resource the transition process, providing for a staff retreat with incoming and outgoing EP’s, allowing for an almost two month overlap and handover between EP’s and to shape and resource a professional development strategy with industry mentors to support the incoming leader’s specific strengths and identified areas for development. We have just announced the incredible Lydia Fairhall as ILBIJERRI’s next Executive Producer. Lydia is an experienced Arts Manager, Programmer, Producer and Artist in her own right, and a proud Worimi woman from the north coast of New South Wales. It is a hugely exciting time for ILBIJERRI as the company continues to grow to meet the demand for its work, consolidate its community foundations, and drive important cultural change in Australia - now with 100% Black leadership! My departure is bittersweet - it is with both sadness and excitement that I’m moving on. It is very sad to finish up working with such a remarkable team doing such incredible work.  However, in January I’m off camping around Australia with my family for 12 months which is gonna be pretty bloody AWESOME!  If anyone is looking for an experienced Arts Manager and Producer in early 2019 – I’ll be at a loose end – drop me a line!"

ISPA Insider is a quarterly newsletter that explores timely topics of interest to the global performing arts community featuring the voices of our members.

But not so long ago, the internet was just starting to shape how artists and arts organizations created and presented work (see program book cover from 1995 Toronto Congress - love the font!).

Though the font may be dated, being connected online is still as vital today as it was in the 90s.

ISPA has tapped into the mobile reality with the Congress and Members Only app. The congress apps are designed to keep delegates connected – you can search by name or country and use the chat feature or email a delegate right from the app. The congress app also provides quick reference information for the schedule including speaker bios, session descriptions, and maps.

The Members Only app was designed to be an on-the-ground connector for ISPA members attending industry meetings, festivals, marketplaces, and conferences around the world. For anyone attending the upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the ISPA app is a great way to identify other ISPA members in attendance and offers quick chat or email features for getting in touch with them. To learn more about using the ISPA Members Only app, check out these quick how-to videos.

Though apps are a great way to use technology, they are by no means the beginning or end of the story in our industry. We asked three members to tell us how they are using technology to address the needs of clients, artists, and audiences in their respective businesses.

How are you using technology? Leave your stories in the comments below.

Artifax Software Limited

United Kingdom

Performing arts organizations around the globe manage their venues and events with Artifax applications. Our clients include the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Grieghallen in Norway and the Toronto International Film Festival.

We released our first cloud application back in 2004, before Google brought the phrase “cloud computing” to the masses. Today, driven by the proliferation of digital devices allowing users to access their data on demand, renting software as a service (SaaS) has outstripped buying desktop products. The focus of our software development has shifted as a result: freed from the constraints of installing our applications, we’re ensuring hyper-connectivity of people, devices and personalized content.

Our flagship application, ArtifaxEvent, has a new companion product, ArtifaxAgora, addressing the demand from our clients for their customers, prospects, suppliers, staff, volunteers, performers, artistic collaborators et al to “self-serve”, accessing only the ArtifaxEvent data relevant to them. ArtifaxAgora uses our public Application Programming Interface (API), which is also key to clients leveraging access to the Internet for foyer screens, room signage, air con systems, box office and audience apps. 

Our most-requested feature, reports automation, allows users to receive curated information from ArtifaxEvent delivered straight to their inboxes when it suits them. We’ve been doing a lot of work under the hood with the audit trail to facilitate triggers (akin to IFTTT) too. 

Last, but not least, security is now squarely in our remit: much of our engineers’ time is spent making it easier for our clients to access their data than ever before, whilst keeping those with nefarious intent at bay.

Arup

United States

Arup Experience Labs

Arup Experience Labs combine Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D spatial audio to create a unique, shared immersive experiences. Arup m|Lab is mobile and takes experiences directly to a project or client site. It can be used to demonstrate how a new or refurbished arts space (concert hall, opera house, theatre, or other spaces) will sound and look before it is built. It is also being used to create new art works.

Bringing value to design

Experience Labs bring value to clients at every step of the pre-design and design process. Demonstrating design iterations for a project, giving clients and users a chance to make informed decisions based on direct subjective experience. It provides design confidence, protects critical parts of design from value engineering, speeds up the design process, and is a platform for consensus building. It offers an excellent opportunity for open communication and public outreach. It also can be used for donor engagement and fundraising, particularly helpful in attracting technology donors to projects.

Illustrating human experiences

Visualization and auralization greatly improve the ease of spatial coordination with design teams and gives clients a sense of the character, intimacy, and scale compared to existing venues. It also allows one to experience sightlines and “soundlines” from various viewpoints which is difficult to convey with conventional drawing methods. This is fundamentally transforming the relationship between designers, clients, users, and audiences.

New creative experiences

The tools we use are also being deployed by artists in a vast range of projects in every arts medium, which in turn is driving the technology to new places.  We have been working closely with artists creating works in music, opera, and theatre utilizing these technologies.  The new creative opportunities will continue to generate new technology native audiences to the arts in the coming years.

Universidad de Guadalajara (Cultura UDG)

Mexico

The University of Guadalajara (UdG), an innovative and visionary organization, supports the arts and culture in the region and in Mexico by building  world-class infrastructure for the region (Diana Theatre, Auditorio Telmex, and the new Performing Arts Complex of Guadalajara) and designs the architecture of public policies that best address artists’ and creators’ needs, resulting in international recognition and development.

As the world changes and transforms, our endeavor in arts management has to evolve and transform to address industry needs. Cultura UDG has tackled this challenge with different digital platforms. These platforms such as The International Music Fair (FIMPRO) and Escenia meet the needs of the sector by facilitating and supporting arts production and arts consumption. 

Production

In a nutshell the platforms are places where creators and industry professionals have virtual encounters with people who have similar interests within a creative industry. Escenia, for example, provides tools to craft budgets for projects that become instrumental to the provision of strategies on how to successfully plan the project. Also the platforms provide key information regarding grants, important events happening, and touring mechanisms within the industry. The information gathered allows UdG to analyze the trends of artists’ needs, which in turn helps us build criteria to identify potential components of a successful season, and helps us develop strategies to attract new audiences.

Consumption

The audience’s platforms help identify new possible audiences and create engagement with this new audience while encouraging engagement with our known audiences. Using a platform such as culturarewards.com we create algorithms that allow us to get to know our audiences better. This information is not always provided by the individuals, but mined from their consumption patterns and thus is derived from a form of revealed preference. We are also analyzing behavior and user experience within the platform: if they were checking out the new cinema program, did they buy a ticket? Did they buy tickets for another show? Individuals that purchase tickets to concerts, shows, and events through culturarewards.com get rewarded with different surprises such as free tickets, credit they can use to buy other shows, or cafeteria promotions, but also travel to theatre or music festivals in other parts of the world.

Cultura UDG´s technological platforms and programs help create wealth for the cultural and creative sector of the region and we are stressing the importance of accurate and timely information guiding administration and planning in what is undoubtedly a crucial crossroad between artists’ creative input, their livelihoods and the management of our organization.

In New York this January, we hope to capture these ideas and movements and contextualize them with respect to the performing arts.

The theme of ISPA’s 99th Congress is Currents of Change: Arts, Power + Politics. 

The global landscape is changing more quickly and to a greater degree than ever before. There is a sweeping sense of powerlessness and alienation. Disparities in equality, perceived identities, and the global realities of climate change, migration and terrorism are often overwhelming. Is it enough to reflect conversation or do cultural institutions need to engage their power and act in a more meaningful way? Join us as we explore in and through the arts the realities and the opportunities of an ever-changing society.

The Congress takes place over 3 days (January 10-12, 2017) in New York at a variety of venues. We wanted to take this opportunity to share a few reflections on what this theme means to our members.

Arts, Power + Politics

	Amany Abouzeid Executive Manager Tamasi performing Arts Collective, Egypt Tamasi is a collective of 11 organizations from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine & Jordan. The collective has been founded to support & strengthen artistic excellence of the independent arts sector in the MENA region (Middle East, Northern Africa). We believe that: The struggle for freedom is primarily a struggle for space, be it physical, discursive, or social. Democracy does not start, nor indeed, end at the ballot box. Democracy is a holistic process where diversity is respected, accepted and encouraged; where freedom of expression is practiced at every level in society. In fact, Democracy at the level of ballot boxes is a consequence of this process without which it becomes void of meaning and can sometimes even be counterproductive. People develop, rather than being developed. Therefore rather than seeking a linear type of social change paradigm, we open up spaces for “movement, dialogue, collaboration, and reflection. We provide a wide range of performances and productions to build a solid audience base. We also provide a comprehensive capacity building program: structured trainings, fellowships, financial and technical support, and residencies which open up social, economic, and career development opportunities. We run seven regional festivals that provide exposure, dialogue, and congregation space for artists and communities. We also manage nine artistic spaces offering a meeting hub, training and rehearsal space for young artists. In addition, we engage with a range of institutions ranging from NGOs to universities, media, and schools on collaborative projects. Above all, provide technical and financial support opportunities to the independent arts sector across the Arabic-speaking MENA region.
	Maria Claudia Parias President Fundación Nacional Batuta, Colombia The correlation between artistic practices, power, and politics – in the amplest sense – has been frequently debated, particularly since it is not possible to consider an artistic product in today’s world that lacks a political position. The same applies to organizations springing from an intention or end associated with the “modern” idea of making this world better. This is the case of Fundación Nacional Batuta, created by the government 25 years ago with the purpose of taking musical education to communities removed from centralization and mainly comprised of victims of the armed conflict that scourged the country until a few days ago.  The interesting aspect of the vision in the creation of Batuta is the precept thatmusic can be included in the basic conditions for social development in marginalized areas, where – together with basic public services and health – music teachers came with their music and their instruments. This has consolidated an option for 45,000 people a year toseek dignity in life through musical practice, and the possibility to fully exert their cultural rights. At Fundación Nacional Batuta, we believe in the transformative power of music.
	Luiz Coradazzi Director of Arts British Council Brazil In a world where building walls seems currently more important than strengthening bridges, I have been having the most transformative experience in working with a community of people historically kept at large from the main stage. In the past few years, the British Council in Brazil has been implementing a large-scale programme focused on giving voice and space to Disabled and Deaf artists, aiming to change perceptions towards difference and diversity. Last month we had a culmination of this work when the UK-based theatre company Graeae presented “The Garden”, directed by Jenny Sealy, at the Olympic Boulevard in Rio de Janeiro as part of the Cultural Olympiads, reaching 48.000 people in four striking performances featuring disabled and non-disabled artists, fully accessible to all audiences with text in Portuguese, English, British and Brazilian Sign Languages and audio-description. Tears, laughter and self-awareness glinting in the sun. The emotional response from the audience and local artists harmonized well with the Paralympic Games breaking records only a few miles away, which had more than 1,5 million tickets sold. In times when identities and life aspirations are so matter-of-factly neutralized by the powers that be, it’s rewarding to see how the Arts allow for bodies and spirits to be lifted above walls of intolerance. Photo credit: Andreia Testoni
	Beth Morrison Creative Producer Beth Morrison Projects, USA I believe that we, as art makers, have a responsibility to engage with the global, national, and local issues of our time. It is no longer enough to do art for art’s sake in a world that is as fractured as the one we live in. Art has the unique ability to look at issues through the use of our senses that can touch people’s minds and hearts and cause reflection, dialogue, and ultimately change. Art also has the ability to make the world smaller by bringing diverse artistic cultures together in the hopes of a deeper understanding of each other. Performing just another work from the historical Western canon without connecting it to our contemporary time feels meaningless to me. How can what we do change the world for the better; how can we move the dial forward? These are the questions that every artist and producer must ask. SOLDIER SONGS is an example of this work that combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused concert music, and animation to explore the perceptions versus the realities of a soldier, the exploration of loss and exploitation of innocence, and the difficulty of expressing the truth of war. Though music can be easily co-opted to serve a political or ideological message, it can equally be a vehicle for reflection, engagement, and emotional connection.

ISPA Insider is a quarterly newsletter that features an in-depth look at ISPA’s unique programs and activities. Subscribe to have it delivered directly to your inbox.

I don't even remember the season. I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere.” 

― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The world is full of options but for most of us, resources are limited. As with any purchase, when making an investment in our professional networks, we need to do research and identify the option that best suits our needs personally and professionally.

There are more membership networks out there than there are combinations of letters in the alphabet.  Acronyms abound as does confusion about how and if to participate in one or more of the many membership organizations available. Generally these organizations are targeted to one specific market. The Australia Performing Arts Market and the Association of Asian Pacific Performing Arts Centres are two examples of membership associations focused on a region and activity. These organizations have well-articulated names that outline the general identity of their membership. Similarly, it is pretty clear who will be most interested in Dance/USA. Despite the names of these organizations, they are generally open to those who may not fall within the seemingly narrow constructs but who may have a professional interest in participating in the respective network.

At the International Society for the Performing Arts, both region and activity are broadly construed and though we have a marketplace component, the focus of participation is idea exchange and network development. As we approach our 100th Congress, balancing expectations with innovation is an ongoing challenge. Today, we are pleased to say that ISPA is an increasingly diverse organization and we continue broaden and strengthen that diversity. However, you shouldn’t take our word for it – here is what some of our current members are giving for the reasons they chose ISPA!

Why I chose ISPA

	Michael Stevens Director of Programming Arts Centre Melbourne (ISPA Member since 2010) The first ISPA congress I attended was in New York in 2010. At that stage I was attending about 5 or 6 international conferences annually that were largely characterised by being transaction-focused. ISPA is much more about long-term relationships, and shared interests and aspirations rather than short-term business ends, and is unique in design and atmosphere, and in the quality of the network it opened up. In an increasingly fractured world this is ever more valuable.
	Sylvie Krauss Director, Int'l Tours & Projects Wu Promotion (ISPA Member since 2011) With a European background, a North American second home and a new challenge now living in Asia, the international and diverse ISPA family always makes me feel like a fish in the pond. The richness of the exchange, the space for new ideas and people as well as the welcoming warmness and trust between the members makes every time a real pleasure to participate. With its long tradition and experience, ISPA is the future.
	Allen Moon Director of Touring & Artist Management David Lieberman Artists’ Representative (ISPA Member since 1996) ISPA’s membership organization model allows for an environment that keeps the aims of the organization in reflection of the aims of the members. Platforms are provided for voices to be heard, content is developed out of the expertise of the members and varied expressions are strongly encouraged. Committees are constantly encouraged to remain responsive to the memberships’ needs in order to allow organizational growth that’s focused tightly on the mission.
	Shoshana Polanco International Producer La Teatreria (ISPA Member since 2014) I remain in ISPA because I believe that in order to be a good arts mover and shaker, I need to be connected with my international colleagues. Otherwise, my work is isolated from the rest of the world. ISPA is a family, and functions as such in between congresses: wherever you travel for business, and even for vacation, you will surely find an ISPA member who will be willing to show you around and share great insight. You will never feel alone.
Judy Harquail Arts Consultant (ISPA Member since 2009) I enjoy being a member of organizations like ISPA because they provide a window and connection into an international conversation. As the world in which we live continues to get smaller, it is important for the cultural community to have organizations like ISPA where we can gather to meet new people, hear important stories, get new ideas, be inspired by the work of our colleagues who are living in parts of the world where it’s a struggle to be an artist and to just generally rejuvenate oneself.

ISPA by the Numbers

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In this issue

A primer for ISPA’s international congresses

• Expanding our world
• Regional inspiration
• What’s in a name?

To the future!

Hear it from the hosts

• Hosting an ISPA congress
• Developing a congress theme
• Taking collaboration to the next level
• Creating a one-of-a-kind congress

A Short History

: a primer for ISPA’s international congresses

ISPA has held an annual congress in New York every year since 1948. However, in 1987, due to the inspiration of Joe Golden, ISPA held its first “international” congress in London. Approximately 200 delegates attended from 4 countries. The event was deemed a success and ISPA never looked back with one held the following year in Amsterdam. Throughout the 1990’s and into the 21st century the congresses were held in a variety of cultural capitals around the world but primarily in Europe and North America. 

Expanding our world

In 2005, with the selection of Gateshead as the Congress city, ISPA made the leap to begin to move away from the world’s traditional cultural capitals and explore cities and regions that the membership may be less familiar with but yet had rich and developed cultural communities. The goal was to expand ISPA into regions that were not as well represented in the membership and also expand members’ knowledge and familiarity with cultural activities in a broader range of regions.

Regional inspiration

ISPA’s mid-year congresses differ from New York in that there is a focus on the region visited – its artists and art organizations. Generally every discussion will feature at least one speaker from the region so that we may get insight into the issues and challenges of the area visited. We also tend to define the “region” broadly. So far example, last year in Malmö, Sweden, the region included all the Nordic countries.

What’s in a name?

Initially referred to as ISPA’s “international” congress, this was changed with the acknowledgement that the congresses in New York were no less international in their participation. Labelled with a new moniker of ISPA’s “summer” congresses, this was changed when ISPA held its 2009 congress in São Paulo in the depth of Brazilian winter! Not to be deterred, we quickly renamed the congresses our “June” congress event. Five short years later we found ourselves in Bogotá, Colombia in April, when it was neither summer nor June. So, back to the drawing board, we now refer to these mid-year congresses once again as our “international” congress.

To the future!

This year we will be in Melbourne, Australia – our first visit to Australia in 15 years and first time in Melbourne (May 30-June 4, 2016). Hosted by Arts Centre Melbourne, the theme is Reimagining and we look forward to exploring many topics under this rubric as well as learning about Australia’s indigenous people.

2017 will mark our 31st International Congress and our 100th Congress since 1948. To be held in Montréal, it will be ISPA’s first visit to French Canada. Join us!

Hear it from the host

Hosting an ISPA congress

Hosting ISPA is no small feat as an international spotlight is shown on the creative community of the region, but the benefit of the congress is mutual – the ISPA membership is richer and more diverse with new voices contributing far beyond the duration of the congress, and the local community experiences lasting collaborations and a new reputation and notoriety among international colleagues.

Anthony: One of our key motivations was not just to entice several hundred of our global peers to Gateshead, but more generally by association with the immediate past hosts (Sydney, Singapore, Mexico City, and Berlin) to assert Gateshead’s fast-rising position on the global stage. Six months after opening we were enormously proud to host ISPA’s June 2005 congress. The result was everything we had hoped for and so much more: so many new global friendships, so many new partnerships, and an overnight transformation of our international positioning.

Piotr: I was very excited to explore the possibility of bringing an amazing group of creative arts leaders to our city. Equally important was the fact that Wrocław is still not recognized enough as a strong cultural capital on the European/world scene. You need to visit us to understand that beauty and cultural spirit of this place. It was a lot of work but in the end I think we achieved what we were planning - bringing a lot of new regional faces to the congress and showing the city and what we are doing in its best light.

Claudia: Now, Latin America is present in ISPA: we can see institutions and professionals represented in the membership. In my community we see better now the valuable side of building strong and loyal relationships with international peers. 

Developing a congress theme

A major component of each congress is the theme. The theme anchors the conversations, and shapes the format of each event. The congress theme reflects what the host community values or wants to explore with the international arts scene.

Claudia: The theme “Brazil: Immersion in Diversity” was the reason for the first ISPA Congress in South America. Brazil is a rather unique instance in the world of the coexistence of cultural practices deeply rooted in the traditional and those that challenge the outermost frontiers of contemporary art.

Anthony: We offered ISPA’s Board and Program Committee a choice of themes reflecting our own positioning in ways we felt would make international sense. The eventual choice (of community engagement and education) proved prescient when they later became two of Sage Gateshead’s most globally admired signature successes, giving the congress a focused coherence of content.

Taking collaboration to the next level

The International Congresses provide the opportunity for collaborations that would never otherwise have come to pass. Though these partnerships are at times challenging, the result is always a spectacular once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Claudia: We put together more than ten institutions to make this event possible. Various partners left apart an old Brazilian tradition of working alone to make possible the congress and to start new partnerships.

Maria Claudia: This took us two years of committed serious work and demanded the creation of specialized committees. We created working groups made up by members of the cultural sector who donated their knowledge and time. We generated a communications campaign at a national, and international level, to stimulate among the participants, the wish to take part in the ISPA Congress. We created a scholarship program sponsored by the Ministry of Culture allowing the presence and participation of cultural managers from all around Colombia in the Congress.

Creating a one-of-a-kind congress

Each International Congress is unique – different from the New York Congress and a reflection of the local culture and values of that creative community. In choosing an International Congress location, the planning committee looks for elements that will give congress attendees an exceptional and enlightening experience.

Piotr: Wrocław is a very young city full of great creative people. It's also a very strong academic center. I hope that everybody who participated in the congress felt that energy. I want also to underline the importance of the ISPA Academy which was a very unique opportunity for younger generations to meet such an inspiring group of international guests.

Claudia: São Paulo is big but we achieved the goal of exploring an abundance of spaces and neighborhoods; and because we love eating and dancing together, the ‘paulista’ team prepared a beautiful party known as one of the best in the Congresses’ history.

Maria Claudia: There were several factors making the ISPA Congress in Bogotá a scenario of innovation. We modified the ISPA awards in several ways: those awarded were selected by popular voting through an alliance with the mass media and the participation of the Cultural System of Colombia. The gala dinner was an uncomplicated party at one of the most emblematic places of the Bogotá nightlife: Andres Carne de Res. These innovations have been an example for other ISPA congresses which have taken the case of Bogotá for inspiration.

Why We Meet

In the age of smart phones, email, and video chats, it would seem that we are all closer than ever before; but nothing compares to the warm handshake of a new colleague or a friendly hug from a familiar but far-away friend. The ISPA Congresses are designed to take the industry conversations that are had in emails and phone calls into face-to-face interactions that foster exchange and new ideas. 

The ISPA Congress is primarily composed of three main parts: The Sessions, Networking and Social Events, and Pitch New Works. The Sessions are geared toward professional development where delegates hear from leading industry professionals on a variety of topics related to the Congress theme. The Networking and Social Events range from the formal Professional Exchange (ProEx) marketplace to more informal receptions and parties. Pitch New Works is the ISPA Congress signature program where artists in search of touring, commissioning, co-presentations or other collaborations present a new work to the delegates.

No matter what you’re looking for, the ISPA Congress is a great place to find your next great idea!

Best wishes,
The ISPA Team

A Short History of ISPA's New York Congresses

In fact, this article is poorly titled in that there is not a short history of ISPA Congresses – the first one was held in New York in 1948 and there has been one held there every year since with the exception of 1971 when it was held in Washington DC. Our most recent Congress, Performance! was attended by more than 550 delegates from 55 countries. Throughout the 1950s the annual meetings drew about 75 delegates from one country, the United States. In the mid-1960s delegates began attending from Canada but a true internationalization of the Congresses did not really begin until the 1990s with a significant diversification of attendees emerging in the 21st century. We now describe the delegation as representing the entire ecosystem of the performing arts with representatives from every genre and discipline and including festivals, presenters, performing arts organizations, artist managers, funders, competitions and other professionals in the performing arts.

Each Congress has a different theme which explores an element or aspect of global significance and interest in the arts. Recent themes include collaboration, leadership, and the arts as a change agent. Interestingly, many themes re-emerge over the years. The 1966 Congress theme was Business and the Arts: Can this Marriage Last? Forty eight years later (2014) the theme was Imagining a New Economy for the Arts – both exploring the business model of the arts.

While Congress themes may repeat themselves, Congress formats should not. As such, over the past five years we have continued to revisit the formats of the Congresses as well as the individual sessions. This year we held a formal (but fun) debate for one session while in another we introduced the “long table” format which is meant to emulate a discussion that might be held at a dinner party. Constant in our efforts is ensuring diverse voices on stage. This year more than half the speakers were women and 2/3 of the speakers came from regions outside the United States.

ISPA’s 2017 New York Congress will be co-chaired by Alicia Adams (The Kennedy Center) and Jude Kelly (Southbank Centre) from January 10th – 12th. We hope to see you there!

Hear it from the Planning Committee
Each Congress is shaped with the guidance of the Planning Committee led by two co-chairs and tasked with creating a theme and then building the sessions, events, and performances around it. But there are many different people that contribute to the Congress experience – the diverse list of delegates, sponsors, donors, fellowship participants, staff and Board – not to mention the panelists, moderators and performers who share their wisdom, experience and talents with us during the Congress.

We’ve asked the co-chairs of our most recent New York Congress Tim Brinkman and Shoshana Polanco, and long-time Sponsor Sarah Verge from Artifax to provide some personal insights into their Congress experiences.

Tim Brinkman, Committee Co-Chair
Director, G Live, UK

"Packing up my papers, the Congress brochure and more business cards than you can shake a stick at in January 2015 my mind was already turning to January 2016. With Jackie Davis, I'd co-chaired our 2015 New York Congress which focused on leadership. ISPA CEO, David Baile, had asked me if I would serve again. This time Co-Chairing with Shoshana Polanco who'd been with us on our 2015 Planning Committee. That sealed it for me; I was on board.

We talked about recent themes which had all been very stimulating in their own way but were all very business oriented. We thought it was time to bring a focus onto the art at the heart of what we do. So the concept of New York 2016 ISPA Congress, Performance! was born.

We were lucky to recruit an excellent committee which began meeting every four weeks to shape the event and then to flesh out the content. Our committee spanned four continents and coordinating times wasn't easy. I felt a little guilty that being in the UK they were always timed around lunchtime; for Reiri in Tokyo, Catherine in Melbourne or Shoshana in Mexico it wasn't so convenient!

When it came to the week of the Congress I couldn't believe it had come around so quickly. Before I knew it I was packing my bag again with another sheaf of business cards. Again, I experienced the warm glow that only the stimulation and camaraderie of an ISPA Congress can create. It was great to be part of making it happen.

Here's to next year!"

Shoshana PolancoShoshana Polanco, Committee Co-Chair
International Producer, La Teatreria, Mexico

"When David asked me to co-chair the New York 2016 ISPA Congress with Tim Brinkman, I certainly felt overwhelmed but also full of excitement. It was a first-time experience for me, so knowing that Tim was part of the process, plus David and the great ISPA team, made me feel confident that I could manage the job. We had a great planning committee. Reiri Kojima, Catherine Jones, Julia Glawe, Luiz Coradazzi, and Eugene Downes gave so much of their time and great ideas.

I was definitely nervous when the Congress began on January 12th, and more so because I had the big responsibility of introducing our great keynote speaker, Laurie Anderson, but once again, the great community that ISPA is, made me feel at home - the same feeling I had the first time I joined as a Fellow in 2014.

I am very happy about the results of our work. The speakers and moderators were so inspiring. I very much look forward to Melbourne where we will certainly learn a great deal about the region and where we will continue discussing and thinking around the ideas that move, challenge, and inspire us."

Sponsor's Perspective

Sarah Verge, ISPA Congress Sustaining Sponsor
Managing Director, Artifax Software
Artifax is a long-standing and proud sponsor of the ISPA Congress, the premier multi-discipline and multi-national development and networking event for performing arts professionals.

"The Congress is a unique opportunity for Artifax to understand the needs of people who manage performing arts venues and events in a wide context. The Congress isn’t a trade show or sales event per se, but instead an opportunity to build visibility for the Artifax brand and to connect with both decision-makers and those at the coal-face. It is the perfect forum for us to share our story and ideas, as well as listen to those of others. Sponsoring the Congress has given us invaluable exposure to all aspects of the performing arts sector that forms the core of our business.

My personal experience of the Congresses has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve been particularly struck by the warmth and welcoming nature of the mutually-supportive ISPA community. Sharing, discussing and debating the challenges and opportunities facing us all is an inspiring and uplifting experience, with conversations continuing well beyond the Congress.

Founded in 1986, Artifax provides venue and event management software designed to meet the specialized needs of people who manage any type of performing arts centre, festival, museum, conference venue, visitor attraction or place of worship. Today, Artifax Event is the backbone of hundreds of organisations around the world, handling all aspects of space-related bookings and tour scheduling."

In Delegates' Own Words

Here are some snippets of social media posts made by the delegates of the New York 2016 ISPA Congress:

View the entire hashtag feed #ny16ispa on Twitter.

The Power of the Pitch

Pitch New Works, an introduction

Pitch New Works is one of ISPA’s signature and most popular programs. Developed from a program which originated at the Banff Film and Television Festival in Alberta, Canada, Pitch New Works provides a forum for creators and arts professionals to share and discover new performing arts projects.

Held at each of our congresses, selected participants have the opportunity to “pitch” delegates on a project that’s in development or has been fully realized but has not toured yet. The program is open to both ISPA members and non-members.

Application Process

Every congress features 10 pitches that are selected by the Pitch New Works Committee. Completed applications include:

1. a description of the project,
2. key artists involved with the project,
3. a budget, and
4. any specific touring/technical requirements.

Materials already available such as videos or images support the application. ISPA staff plays a key role in consultation with applicants to help them provide the best representation of their Pitch. Selected applicants have seven minutes to present their new work to the congress delegates and three minutes to answer questions.

Life after Pitch

Each project that is presented at the congress is seeking something different – a commissioning partner, a co-presenter, international touring interest etc. After the Pitch New Works session, participants have the opportunity to interact with congress delegates during ISPA’s informal marketplace, ProEx (Professional Exchange) where partnerships are initiated.

In continued support of the projects, following the Congress, a video recording of each pitch is uploaded to the ISPA website and descriptions of each project are included in a searchable directory. Additionally, project successes are highlighted in the News section of the ISPA website and featured in the Network membership newsletter. 

In Their Own Words

Alison Friedman, executive and creative director of the Beijing-based Ping Pong Productions has had two successful Pitch projects (2011 and 2013) and as an ISPA board member, sits on the Pitch New Works committee. Here is Alison’s unique perspective on the Pitch New Works program: