Contemporary Performing Arts in Belgium: An Overview
This mapping provides an overview of the Belgian artistic scene, being divided into a section about Flanders, one about Wallonia, and one about Brussels.

Art in the age of populism: IETM Brussels opening keynote speech
Watch the video recording of the meeting’s opening keynote speech by Eric Corijn and read the transcript.

The Artist as Agent for Change
Brussels-based choreographer, curator, and writer Michiel Vandevelde argues that artists need to reclaim a place of power in the arts sector.

Resilience versus Populism
Curator and dramaturg Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi writes about the art scene in her city, and how it is and isn't addressing contemporary social and political needs. 

Are We On Stage to Reflect the Audience or Create It?
Sylvia Botella interviews sociologist Éric Fassin about his views on the connection between sociology, the performing arts, and politics in the age of populism.

Culture and Development: Beyond Neoliberal Reason
This book discusses the relationship between cultural practices and socio-economic development through analysing the results of research based on seminars, conferences and studies conducted at the Institute for Advanced Study in Warsaw from 2012 to 2016.

Pascal Gielen about art and culture in neoliberal and nationalist times
During the Flanders Balkan Express meeting, sociologist Pascal Gielen was invited to talk about the role of art and culture in neoliberal and nationalist times. He introduces his talk as ‘the most depressive lecture I will ever give in my life’.

Readings for the session Governing with Populists

Theatre and Democracy. Institutional Practices in Polish Theatre
The third issue of Polish Theatre Journal examines institutional practices in Polish theatre in the context of political and social changes. It questions the possibility of making theatre institutions into social laboratories in which cultural practices for the new democratic order can be developed.

Censorship as the Formative Mechanism of Neoliberal Culture?: The Productive Function of Prohibition
This article looks at the productive function of censorship based on examples of recent restrictions of creative freedom in Poland, understood as elements of a new political order.

And the Winner Is… Appointing Artistic Directors in Hungary
This article brings an overview of the situation of arts institutions in Hungary today, with a special focus on theatres. It looks at the present and past of institutions, especially practices of political interference in their leadership and management, which has been increasing since 2010.

Readings for the training: Access, disability and the arts

FRESH PERSPECTIVES 7: Permission to Stare, Arts and Disability
The newest addition to our Fresh Perpesctives series explores the complex nature of how disability is defined in contemporary dance. The publication offers a theoretical essay locating disability in the arts, and a collection of personal letters, presenting complementary approaches to this topic.

Other abilities, evolving aesthetics?
This working session at IETM Valencia was about setting out a vision for diversity in the arts – focusing on opportunities and aesthetics specifically related to different abilities being represented in the arts.

Demystifying Access: a resource pack for the performing arts
This guide, produced by Clara Giraud from Unlimited, is intended to help producers and performance makers to create better access for audiences to the performing arts.

Working with Disabled Artists: What to Think About?
Unlimited’s Senior Producer Jo Verrent met up with the Enablers connected to Eclipse Theatre’s Slate movement to talk about working with disabled artists. This page brings a list of some of the questions they discussed, and some of the answers they arrived at.

Readings for the session Immersive Theatre and Performance

FRESH PERSPECTIVES 6: Mixed Reality and the Theatre of the Future. Arts and New Technologies
The 6th issue of the Fresh Perspectives series takes you on a playful but serious journey along the issues at stake when designing a mixed reality experience in the context of theatre and performance.

Readings for the session Hey (E).U. !

Advocating for the arts
The goal of the session in IETM Amsterdam was to exchange ideas, experiences and best practices on how to convince policy-makers – on local, national and European levels - of the essential role culture and the arts play in the development of European societies.

No Culture, No Europe: On the Foundation of Politics
This book brings together contributions by an interdisciplinary group of theorists and scientists who argue that the European Union’s lack of attention towards culture is the main cause of the today’s political and economic crises.

How to save Europe?
In this IETM Bucharest session, a group of around 50 participants coming from very diverse realities attempted to identify the ways in which culture and the arts can help overcoming the depression Europe has been driven to.

Position paper on the mid-term evaluation of Creative Europe
IETM and European Dancehouse Network produced this position paper which evaluates Creative Europe and provides suggestions for its post-2020 successor.

Readings for the session A Class Act

Which Force is More Harmful to the Arts: Elitism or Populism?
Adam Kirsch and Liesl Schillinger discuss the art yielded by populist and elite mind-sets.

The impact and policy implications of the audience-centric approach
In this lecture, Stephen Hadley from the Queen’s University in Belfast talks about the relation between audience development and cultural democracy. 

Readings for the session Relocalising Artistic Practices

FRESH PERSPECTIVES 2: Shifting Scales and Sceneries. Arts, Globalisation and Territories
This 2nd edition of the Fresh Perspectives series looks at how global issues such as economic stress, environmental challenges and migration flows, are influencing and transforming European cities and their populations. 

Readings for the session All Aboard for Self-Censorship

Ethical Behaviour and Moral Responses in the Arts
This report resumes the discussions had in IETM Amsterdam on the delicate balance between losing your audience and accepting support from controversial regimes or from sponsors whose practices are in conflict with our values.

Freedom of Expression report
This report comprises the outcomes from the working sessions of IETM Beirut. With the main focus on Freedom of Expression, the programme thrashed out such crucial topics as mobility, cultural policies, funding, gender equality in the cultural sector, decentralization of culture and more.

Gender & Dance in Modern Iran: Biopolitics on Stage
Ida Meftahi discusses her book, "Gender and Dance in Modern Iran: Biopolitics on Stage."

Artistic Freedom of Expression in Turkey: State of Emergency
This report investigates and documents how the State of Emergency (SOE) measures introduced after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey have affected the country’s culture and art worlds.