Governance & Structure IETM is an association based in Brussels and operating under Belgian law. Our governance and organisational structure reflect the current functioning and aspirations of the network.
General Assembly
The General Assembly, held once a year, is the highest authority of the Association. All members have the right to attend the General Assembly, and each member has one vote. Decisions are made by voting, in presence of at least 10% of the members. Members can be represented by another member by a written proxy.
The roles of the General Assembly are to approve the budgets, the membership fees and the accounts; elect and dismiss the Board of Directors and appointed Committee members; amend the articles of the Association; and dissolve the Association.
Board of Directors
The General Assembly delegates its authority to the Board of Directors, between meetings. The Board of Directors consists of seven members who report to the General Assembly.
The Board of Directors has the responsibilities and powers to oversee the legal and financial governance of IETM, the monitoring and approving the internal proceedings and rules of the network and suggestions and modifications of the statutes of IETM to be presented at the General Assembly. It also plans the General Assembly, appoints the Secretary General and assists the Secretary General in official representation of the network.
The Board of Directors is elected by the General Assembly, upon proposal by the Board of Directors, following an open call across the membership. The members of the Board of Directors are elected on individual basis and do not represent their IETM member organisations. The mandate of each Director is three years, with the possibility to renew the mandate once, upon approval at the General Assembly. The quorum has four members. The Board of Directors meets at least twice a year and at the special request of the President.
Jeffrey Meulman
President
Verkadefabriek, The Netherlands
Jeffrey Meulman has been a festival maker and manager, innovator and cultural entrepreneur since 1986. For almost 16 years he was the Director of the National Dutch Theatre Festival and the Amsterdam Fringe Festival that he founded in 2006. In 2014 he was awarded with the Amsterdam Award for the Arts. Nowadays he is the Director of Verkadefabriek in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch.
Susanne Næss Nielsen
Vice-president
Davvi - Centre for Performing Arts, Norway
Susanne Næss Nielsen is the Director of Dansearena nord – a center for contemporary dance in Northern Norway. Within a few months Dansearena nord will change and become Davvi – Centre for Performing Arts. Davvi is northern Sami and means North. Susanne is also Chair of the Board at Performing Arts Hub Norway as well as The Audio and Visual Fund.
Pippa Bailey
Secretary
Independent, Australia
Pippa Bailey was born in London then grew up and currently lives on Wangal land, Eora Nation (Sydney, Australia). She has performed, produced Festivals, built a new multi-arts centre, curated galleries and talks, flown to the Moon, conjured a museum, supported many independent artists and played with fire. Pippa strives to bring disparate people together to collectively imagine and rehearse brave sustainable futures. She joined IETM in 2009.
Veselin Dimov
Toplocentrala, Bulgaria
Vesselin Dimov is a theatre director and manager born in 1976 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He has directed over 25 theatre performances. He was the chairman of ACT Association from 2012-2016 and also 2019-2021, as well as the artistic director of ACT Festival from its beginning in 2011 until now. He has been an IETM member since 2009 and co-producer of the IETM Plenary Meeting Sofia 2014 and 2024. He is currently the director of Centre for Contemporary Arts TOPLOCENTRALA in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Isa Köhler
Internationale Tanzmesse NRW, Germany
Isa Köhler is a Berlin based producer and co-director of the Internationale Tanzmesse NRW. With a background in dance and theatre studies she has worked for Pact Zollverein, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Pina Bausch Foundation, Tanz im August and Dance On Ensemble. Currently, she is also a jury member of the multiannual dance funding programme by the State of North-Rhine Westphalia.
Davide D'antonio
Associazione ETRE, Italy
Davide works at the intersection of education, advocacy and project management. He has been working as artistic director for 12 years at IDRA theatre and as project manager for different festivals, seasons and private companies in the field of contemporary creation. Graduated as a trainer in Berlin, he enjoys working in the field of higher education for artists. He has also written and managed several projects for relevant Italian foundations. For the past four years, he has been president of Associazione ETRE. He is also a Board Member board of CRESCO, which he founded, and of EIAPA.
Bek Berger
New Theatre Institute of Latvia, Latvia
Bek Berger is an artist, curator and artistic director of New Theatre Institute of Latvia and International Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus - the largest performing arts platform in Latvia. NTIL produces and presents projects and long-term collaboration programmes, strongly believing in the necessity to explore the contemporary performing arts field together with artists and audiences.
Marina Barham
Al-Harah Theatre & Global Connector, Palestine
Marina is cofounder and General Director of Al-Harah Theater, President of the Palestinian Performing Arts Network, Vice President of Euromedinculture Network and TAMASI Collective in the MENA Region. She is an active cultural operator in Palestine, the Middle East and Europe. She spoke at several international conferences, festivals and events, produced over 60 theatre productions, managed several international, regional and local tours and Euro Med Projects, and curated the Palestine International Theatre Festival for Children and Youth, the Yalla Yalla Street Festival, and the Bethlehem Site-Specific Theatre Festival in Palestine. Marina joined the IETM network in 2021 through the IETM Global Connect project.
Secretary General
The Secretary General is appointed by the Board of Directors, upon an open call for application. The mandate of the Secretary General is for a fixed term of five years that can be extended for a second term. The Secretary General is accountable to the Board of Directors and shall on a regular basis present the Board of Directors with financial and operational reports, management accounts, and annual reports for approval. In addition the Secretary General consults the Board of Directors with IETM Plenary Meeting proposals and informs the Board of Directors of other relevant activities in a timely manner.
The Secretary General is responsible for developing the vision and strategy of the organisation, defined together with the Board of Directors, in addition to overseeing its implementation. The Secretary General is the manager of the IETM Secretariat team and is responsible for hiring all members of the IETM team.
Ása Richardsdóttir
Brussels/Iceland
Ása joined IETM as Secretary General in March 2019. She has been an active member of the network since 1999. Ása founded an independent theatre venue in Reykjavík in 1994 and has since worked for the performing arts as well as in media, politics, banking and academia. Her former positions include television reporter at RÚV Iceland, executive director of Iceland Dance Company, president of Performing Arts Iceland and director of ICE HOT Reykjavík. Ása has led various Nordic, European and international artistic projects and initiatives and been a catalyst in bringing international attention to Icelandic performing arts and Nordic dance.
Advisory Committee
The General Assembly can at any given time, approve appointment of a Committee set up permanently or temporarily to serve the IETM membership such as the Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is a self-organised, non-statutory body, with no legal duties, consisting of 12 IETM members (in addition to the members of the Board of Directors) who volunteer for the advancement of IETM.
The Advisory Committee is elected at the General Assembly, upon proposal by the Board of Directors, after recommendation by the Advisory Committee, following an open call across the membership. The mandate of each member is three years, and can be extended for one year, upon approval at the General Assembly. The members of the Advisory Committee are elected on individual basis and do not represent their IETM member organisations. The Advisory Committee is joined by observers who are organisers of recent and upcoming IETM Plenary Meetings. Observers’ mandate go from one year prior to the meeting in question through one year following the meeting.
The Advisory Committee operates as a think-tank to discuss the future direction of the network, and to maintain close relations between the membership and the Secretariat. Its role is to challenge ideas, propose topics and activities, and raise questions that are relevant to the performing arts sector. It aims to provide an informal, diverse, inclusive space for exchange and to provide a voice for the members. Additionally, it supports the Secretariat by giving feedback on proposed actions, policy papers and other strategic matters.
The Advisory Committee includes all the Board Members, as well as:
Sepehr Sharifzadeh
NH Theater Agency, Islamic Republic of Iran
Sepehr is a creative producer, agent, and curator. He started his career in performing arts as a creative writer, puppeteer, clown, and mime. At 24, he co-founded the first international theatre agency in Iran, aiming to facilitate cross-cultural relations between Iranian theatre and the International performing arts scene. Since then he has worked with several international festivals and organizations spanning BOZAR, The Festival Academy, IETM, and Tehran contemporary music festival. After the pandemic, he initiated several independent projects including the PADA (Producers, Agents, Distributors Alliance; A global network to connect performing arts distributors to connect, gather, and collaborate in a sustainable way).
Fanny Martin
Art of Festivals, Canada/Croatia
Fanny is an international creative producer and facilitator specialised in festivals, networks, interdisciplinary projects and art in public space. Born and educated in France, she developed an eclectic freelance project portfolio in the UK and Canada before founding Art of Festivals, a producer-led creative company that brings more art into everyday life and more life into the arts. As of 2024, she is based in Zagreb, Croatia as Executive Director of Music Biennale Zagreb. She is also the International Producer for Motus Mori, an archive of human movement created by Netherlands-based choreographer Katja Heitmann and Research Lead with CIPA - Creative and Independent Producers' Alliance.
HeeJin Lee
Producer Group Dot, Republic of Korea
HeeJin Lee is a creative producer and co-founder of Producer Group DOT, who has extensive experience working as a producer throughout Korea and internationally. In 2014, HeeJin co-founded Producer Group DOT with her colleagues to seek ways to remain independent and creative in an immense system that currently operates under a singular framework. She works with a different range of artists from diverse backgrounds in theatre, dance, and interdisciplinary arts. She acts as a bridge between Korean artists and overseas artists. She is also a connector of PAMS(Performing Arts Market in Seoul), an executive member of Samil-ro Changgo Theater, and a board member of Performing Arts Network Korea and China.
Nwabisa Plaatjie
Independent Producer and Director & IETM Global Connector, South Africa
Nwabisa Plaatjie is a young theatre-maker, administrative producer and leader with over five years of experience. She holds a Master’s degree in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town and is an alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship’s Public Management Leadership Institute hosted at the University of Minnesota. Her theatre productions have been performed in South Africa, Germany and China. She has previously worked as a coordinator and curator at The Baxter’s Masambe Theatre, driving its relaunch as a space for performance, collaboration, mentorship and networking. Nwabisa joined the IETM network in 2021 through the IETM Global Connect project.
Aina Juanet Bolinches
Nau Ivanow, Spain
Ana Juanet Bolinches is a producer at Nau Ivanow (Barcelona), a performing arts residency center, coordinates relations with resident companies and facilitates residencies and international exchanges with other cultural centers linked to the Nau. She independently carries out production tasks in various cultural projects, such as Hermanas Picohuesos, LAminimAL Teatre o Téntol, among others. She has a degree in Audiovisual, Radio and Entertainment Production from the Barcelona School of Audiovisual Media (EMAV) and a degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Pompeu Fabra University.
Jerry Adesewo
Arojah Royal Theatre & Global Connector, Nigeria
Jerry is a Writer, Theatre Producer/Director and Cultural Administrator. He is the founder and artistic director of Arojah Royal Theatre, a professional theatre outfit in Abuja, Nigeria. The theatre has been at the forefront of sustaining theatre culture in Nigeria, especially in Abuja. As a cultural journalist, he has written for NEXT, The Guardian, Trust, National Mirror, Newscalabash, Metropole Magazine, City Pages International Magazine, The Korean Times and The Enlightener Magazine. Jerry's approach to theatre is a deployment of theatre and creative endeavours as a tool for civic engagement.
Camilla Gurtler
THE DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM, Denmark
Camilla is the producer at The Development Platform for the Performing Arts (UP) in Denmark, where she creates and facilitates both national and international residencies, artist development programmes, and networks. She is the project manager of Moving Identities, a three-year European residency programme supported by Creative Europe, focusing on supporting underrepresented performing artists across Europe. Camilla trained as a theatre director at Drama Centre London and worked for 10 years in London, before returning to Denmark. In the UK, she founded Cut the Cord Theatre through which she created and facilitated performing arts exchange projects between the Nordic countries and the UK.
Israel Aloni
ILDANCE, Sweden
Israel Aloni is a nomad, an independent choreographer, mentor, performer, educator, writer and provocateur. As a performer for over two decades, Aloni has been a company member and a guest performer in numerous companies and projects around the world, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Comapny, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani and Sasha Waltz & Guests, to name a few. Since 2012, Aloni is the Artistic Director of ilDance which is an independent contemporary dance company based in Gothenburg, Sweden. ilDance is a multi dimensional and hybrid entity which initiates, facilitates and collaborates with others in projects and actions varying in size, context, concept and content. Since 2021, Aloni is also co-artistic director of COMPASS - an independently operated national infrastructure for young and emerging contemporary dance artists in Sweden.
Liz Pugh
Walk the Plank, United Kingdom
Liz Pugh – as Creative Producer for Walk the Plank (UK) Liz works with diverse communities to create civic celebrations and performance in public space - through festivals, site-responsive commissions, and creative collaborations. As well as creating ambitious transnational events, Liz has worked with British Council worldwide – living in Ukraine in 2013/14 and subsequently working in West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean. She has designed training and events to build the capacity of artists and communities in Wales, where she lives; and developed two European training programmes: School of Participation (2019-21), School of Spectacle (2017-19). Currently Creative Producer for the annual Manchester Day Parade and co-director of Festival of the Sea Grimsby, Liz has been an IETM member since 2014.
Hazem Header
NÜT Dance Company / Breaking Walls Festival & IETM Global Connector 2021-22, Egypt
Hazem is an Egyptian contemporary dancer and choreographer. Hazem studied at the governmental creative center “Cairo Contemporary Dance Center (CCDC)” at Cairo Opera House. In 2013 he founded his own dance company ‘ NÜT Dance Company’ (NDC), which produced over 60 cultural events and performances since 2013 presented in Egypt, Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Italy, Rwanda, Tunisia and Sri Lanka. In 2017 Hazem founded “Breaking Walls Festival” to be the first international festival for site-specific performances in Cairo.
Filip Pawlak
Freelancer & Global Connector, Poland
Filip Pawlak is an independent, performance arts producer and self-advocate for artists with disabilities rights. For the last few years, he has been focusing on collaboration with the Europe Beyond Access project as an ambassador for its Polish projects, as well as co-curator of Learning Journeys in the frame of EBA since 2021.
He currently works as the production manager of Theatretreffen Festival in Berlin - 10Treffen programme. He has a strong background in performing and producing in various Polish theatres (International Culture Center Nowy Teatr in Warsaw, Academy of Theatre Arts Cracow - Faculty of Dance Theatre) and currently lives between Berlin, Warsaw and Malmo. Filip has been an IETM Member since 2021 through the IETM Global Connect programme and also took part in the IETM Campus in 2019.
Harriet Macauley
InDance International, Spain
Harriet is the Artistic Director and Founder of InDance International and an independent choreographer and scholar. Her collaborative practices are all about fluidity, erasing borders and creating common space by moving together, which can be translated into her artistic work on different levels. Working across borders in a multicultural environment, Harriet has been incorporating and cherishing diversity in her practice. Her work is focused on uniting; blending different cultural backgrounds, languages and making them nourish and enhance each other. She has an excellent advantage to work with people who are carriers of bodily wisdom from different corners of the planet, rich in its diversity, which may be expressed in different ways and displayed in her choreographic creations.
Working groups
IETM has several informal temporary, non-statutory, self-organised, working groups which serve the network and can be set up independently by IETM members through contacting the Secretariat.
Current working groups
Find the full list of our current working groups on this page.
