We are at a crossroads; the time is short and each turn is crucial.

By becoming more business-like, aren’t we compromising our artistic integrity? By learning to be self-sustainable, won’t we risk losing the last remnants of public money? When asked to prove the value of our practices, should we tap into the rhetoric of numbers, of “growth and jobs”, or resist the whole discourse of tangible measurement? Developing our audiences, should we seek for growth-oriented marketing strategies or deepen the engagement and authentic relationships with our public - or both? And how about the status of the artist - shouldn't that be our main concern? 

The crossroads are multiple – between international and local, technical and artistic, experiential and innovative. As long as a crossroads is not an impasse, there is always a path to new opportunities. 

IETM Autumn Plenary Meeting 2016 has gathered over 550 performing arts professionals in Valencia – a place that has been affected by many changes in the recent years – to map our possibilities, adopt new solutions, and learn how to build a decent place in this changing world.

Image in banner: © Vincent Chartier