Rendez-vous 2009-2011
IN SITU cooperation project
A driving force of mobility – that is how the IN SITU network described itself at the beginning of its third project. The group of co-organisers had grown from six to eight, incorporating two new member states of the EU. Twenty partners in fifteen European countries signed the common charter.
Always sharing more. The network subjected itself to an evaluation process aimed at perpetuating the most successful instruments implemented. This in vivo examination provided numerous lessons, in particular concerning the expectations of the artists and their partners concerning the technical, financial and discussion instruments implemented. Nine nomadic residences, thirteen troupes invited by eight organisers of major festivals, an updated directory of productions in European public space and an exploration of the countries outside the network... Mobility was the cornerstone of IN SITU's activities. If we were to retain only a single indicator, it would be the programming of foreign troupes by the partner festivals which increased from 35% of shows at the beginning of the new millennium to 55% in 2010.
Over a short period of time running from 1st December 2009 to 28th February 2011, four instruments improved and adapted the instruments of previous programmes while innovating to satisfy new expectations. The artists talking to artists instrument was a seminar promoting transcultural dialogue and intensive brainstorming focusing on the projects of seventeen artists selected by seventeen festival directors. The European nomadic residences supported artists' residences outside their own countries, thereby ensuring the optimum integration of the cultural variable at an early stage of creation. The Director's choice accompanied the European dissemination of projects to partners responsible for organising festivals, while completing the catalogue of productions shared by the members of the network. Go & See involved missions in seven European countries outside the network. The aim was to improve our knowledge of contemporary artistic creation in public space and to initiate new partnerships.
Activities
Artists talking with artists
From 1st to 5th February 2010, seventeen artists and as many festival directors met in Neerpelt (Belgium) at the invitation of the Domain Dommelhof. The aim was to share their artistic practices both during plenary sessions and more importantly in a series of workshops.The participants could measure the broad diversity of European creation in the cultural sense of the term. The result was a feeling of meaningful dialogue on the strength of art which transcended national habitus. Informal links were created, which was one of the objectives of the encounter.
Nomadic European Residencies
Founded on a desire to inject an inter-cultural aspect into all stages of the project, the residences identified three methods of accompaniment: an upstream laboratory at the conceptual stage (2 dossiers), production aid (4 shows) and adaptation support (3 productions).Occurring between March and December 2010, the nine projects selected involved forty artists from eleven countries. These encounters left their mark on the participants, in some cases permanently. Moreover, the relationship with the audiences proved to be very strong, in particular in the case of shows co-produced by festivals.
Directors' choice
Within the framework of this instrument, eight European festival organisers were awarded aid from the Rendez-vous programme to host thirteen foreign shows. The partners were able to welcome between one and four troupes.More generally speaking, this action enhanced a precious tool for all those involved in the IN SITU network: the directory of artistic production in European public space launched in 2006.
Go & See
They sit on the borders of the EU but are part of a Greater Europe. What are their practices in the field of art in public space? What creative resources do they hold? These questions were explored by six artistic directors travelling as ambassadors of IN SITU to Bulgaria, Cyprus, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania.From virtual absence to recognition with very different approaches to these means of expression, a wide variety of situations and cultural policies were observed.
Co-organisers
Nine IN SITU members, including three new structures from Central and Northern Europe, join their forces on 2009 to implement a project aiming at experimenting and mentoring new mobility devices in Europe.
Artopolis Association (Hungary)
Atelier 231 (France)
Čtyři Dny / Four Days (Czech Republic)
La Strada (Austria)Metropolis (Denmark)
Lieux publics (France)
Oerol Festival (The Netherlands)
Theater op de Markt (Belgium)
UZ Arts (United Kingdom)
