Our network is not a marketplace, but the connections we make are there to serve our work. In many countries the performing arts sector is focused on ‘market’. How does this emphasis on business practices, money and transactional relationships affect our behaviours, the art we make and our audiences? Has the focus on market created a barrier between artists and audiences, have we lost unique local connections and curiosity for new cultural expression in this process?

At the Porto Plenary meeting in 2018, we started to explore the taboo subject of the market with all the hierarchies and economic discrepancies that exist within our network. This session confirmed the inequalities in people’s approach to and understanding of business and the elusive market. In Rijeka, we want to continue this conversation by mapping the way in which our work is made, explore who invests in it and how this directs our work’s focus. What defines the line between a commercial work and work with the audience at  the core of its creation? 

Please check the accessibility of the venue here.