Welcome to ISPA Congress 2015 Malmö Copenhagen

WELCOME

MA What are the current challenges for cultural institutions? Cultural life is in a state of constant development and change, and there are always new challenges to be faced.

Perhaps the demands in terms of development and change are no greater today than at certain times in the past, but I get the impression that many of us feel that the role of institutions is not as obvious and straightforward as was once the case.

It is a great pleasure and a great honour to be hosting the ISPA Summer Congress in 2015.

During the period from May 25 to 30, we will be welcoming you to Malmรถ and Copenhagen.

We are confident that we can provide you with a stimulating week featuring many interesting seminars and exciting experiences.

Musik i Syd, the regionally active cultural organisation in southern Sweden, has overall responsibility for the conference, in close collaboration with the Danish Arts Agency. The ร resund Region, containing Copenhagen and Malmรถ, is the most rapidly growing region in the Nordic countries and offers a unique approach to collaboration in a border region and cooperation between two countries. It therefore feels only natural, and indeed important, to share this dynamic environment with others.

TO ISPA CONGRESS 25–30 MAY 2015 ALMÖ/COPENHAGEN Martin Martinsson, Managing Director Musik i Syd

Culture has a strong position in the Nordic countries, even though the prevailing situation for cultural activities is also becoming tougher here. Despite that, the cultural infrastructure here continues to evolve and develop. This is very evident in the Öresund region, as illustrated by the DR Concert Hall, the Opera House and the Royal Danish Playhouse in Copenhagen and Malmö’s major investment in a new concert hall - Malmö Live. This is a new and exciting venue containing hotels, a congress centre and a concert hall under one roof. As an added bonus, at the conference we will be offering access to the very first concert in the new Malmö Live concert hall. The Malmö Symphony Orchestra, directed by its principal conductor Marc Soustrot, will be making its first appearance in its new home. This will provide an exclusive experience for congress delegates as the concert hall will only be officially inaugurated during the week after the ISPA Congress.

Children and adolescents have a high priority in the Nordic cultural policy. And this will also be the case at the congress. Addressing young audiences and giving them experiences and enduring memories at a young age of what performing arts can offer is one of the key factors underlying the future development of institutions. Our colleagues at the Danish Arts

Agency have taken on special responsibility for ensuring that this aspect is provided with highquality content during the congress.

During the same period as the ISPA Congress, Malmö will also be hosting the Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts, at which a large number of theatre, dance, opera, etc. performances originating from all over Sweden will be held on a range of stages. ISPA participants will also be given the opportunity to enjoy some of the Performing Arts Biennial’s productions.

Building bridges is also a very apt subtitle for the ISPA Congress in Malmö/Copenhagen. The Bridge, which is also well-known from the internationally acclaimed TV series of the same name, is of crucial importance to the region’s development in a variety of fields, not least in terms of culture. Copenhagen Airport, the largest airport in the Nordic countries, is also a key factor in the development on both sides of the strait. It is just as easy and quick to reach Malmö Live from the airport as it is to reach central parts of Copenhagen.

See you in Malmö/Copenhagen on 25–30 May 2015. We look forward to giving you a warm welcome.

VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE – BULDING BRIDGES Peter Wilgotsson, Musik i Syd, Program Director, ISPA Congress Malmö/Copenhagen

ACADEMY • MAY 25–26 The event starts with two days in Malmö for new and emerging leaders and producers: the ISPA Academy, an intensive two-day arts administration programme (congress delegates registered for a Full Pass may attend the ISPA Academy free of charge and all other individuals may purchase a registration to the ISPA Academy for a fee of 50 USD.) The Academy will start with a presentation of an overview of the cultural landscape in the region. It is easy to think that the Nordic and Baltic countries have the same conditions, priorities and outlook on how to work with and fund culture. If we look more closely, however, we discover that the countries are indeed similar but also have important differences on many levels. What does this mean for collaborative projects within the region and with the world?

We will also look at various project financing channels: state funding, public and private funding, EU funds and more.

The question of leadership and project management will be addressed in a session showing examples of how to adapt and renew to meet a changing society. Also, digitisation is now everywhere and we all have to adapt to this in different ways. We look at various cases and projects and address some practical issues. We also look at social activities abroad and the issue of multiculturalism in the present political and cultural landscape.

Children and adolescents are our future. At the Academy we will highlight examples of how we work with future artists, cultural practitioners and recipients in Scandinavia and globally. We will discuss the right of all children to take part in qualitative art and culture. Children and adol-

escents will also be the focus of the third day of the congress, which will take place in Copenhagen.

On Monday evening, there will be a reception at the Academy to greet and welcome participants and the ISPA fellows. Tuesday will end with a performance by the extraordinary new circus company Circus Cirkör. The Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts also starts on the Tuesday.

CONGRESS • MAY 27–30 The ISPA Congress itself will open after lunch on Wednesday 27th May and will end on Saturday 30th May. The congress will continue to look at the issues discussed during the Academy and will also add new issues as well. We will present the Öresund region and the Nordic and Baltic countries in a range of ways, not least by using the culturalpolitical models in place in the region and by looking at their effect on artistic outputs. Comparisons with other models from elsewhere in the world will be made. We will also discuss one of the central themes of culture in the region, gender equality, in a dedicated session, with a particular focus on work within the music sector. Another subject is leadership and its requirements for evolving as society changes.

A recurrent ISPA theme is arts and culture within society in a wider sense. How can the arts and its institutions be an integral part of society and development? One aspect of this is a recently started activity within the UN to link the issue of immaterial rights to the larger concept of human rights. A presentation about this and the consequences for arts and the institutions will be made.

From a more practical point of view, we will discuss technical solutions that are being used to spread digital content and how institutions in remote areas can operate over large distances in order to establish and improve accessibility.

In session talks, questions concerning audiences, activities, symbolic vs. practical value, digitisation and the concept of the extended concert experience will be discussed.

Being in a region with several new venues for the performing arts means of course that we will highlight the venues themselves. During most of the ISPA Congress, we will all be in a brand new concert hall, Malmö Live. Then, for one day, ISPA will move to an almost as new venue, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s Concert Hall in Copenhagen.

Malmö Live will also host its inaugural performance during ISPA, with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra giving a special concert for the delegates. ISPA ends in the same venue with an award dinner featuring special guest artists.

MAY 2015 Monday 25 – Tuesday 26 ISPA Academy Wednesday 27 Congress day 1, Opening Ceremony and Evening Concert with Malmö Symphony Orchestra

Besides this, the usual ISPA project pitch and Pro-Ex will take place on Thursday. In the pitch, ISPA will present exciting international projects going on worldwide tours or looking for partners. The Pro-Ex provides an opportunity to meet, talk about and exchange information about productions, as well as thoughts and ideas, in order to create added value in the performing arts internationally. We will also arrange performances by outstanding artists in various places during the daytime activities.

As the Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts will be taking place in tandem with ISPA, there will be some overlap in activities, plus a unique opportunity for ISPA delegates to experience cutting edge theatre, dance, performance and more during the stay in Malmö.

Friday 29 Congress day 3, in Copenhagen with dinner and evening performances

We look forward to having a good time together with colleagues from all over the world.

Sharing ideas, knowledge, interests and our passion for arts. Coming together to deepen and widen our network, to obtain inspiration and to generate visions for the future – extending the bridges.

Saturday 30 Congress day 4, Closing Ceremony and Awards Dinner

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the ISPA Congress in Malmö and Copenhagen in May 2015.

Thursday 28 Congress day 2, with Pitch-New work and Pro-Ex

WELCOME TO COPENHAGEN It is a tremendous pleasure for The Danish Arts Foundation to welcome all ISPA members and congress participants to Copenhagen in May 2015.

All the many Performing Arts professionals will meet in Copenhagen and MalmĂś and (re)ignite the international dialogue, and we are proud to be able to be part of this. We believe in sharing knowledge and keeping an intercultural dialogue to broaden our horizons. The Performing Arts can play an important role in this common endeavor to enhance global interaction and understanding.

For the Performing Arts scene in Denmark it will be an invaluable opportunity to meet the competent ISPA network. We are already in the process of involving the Danish Performing Arts community in the ISPA conference and hope to be able to include new ISPA members from Denmark in the future.

In the sessions in Copenhagen we will focus on art and culture for children and young people.

Children are not only the future artists and cultural consumers, and they deserve to be creative and active in arts and culture at eye level.

During your stay in Copenhagen we would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the city and particularly to Copenhagen as an ambitious hub for Architecture for cultural institutions.

The Copenhagen conference day May 29 will take place in the Jean Nouvel Concert Hall and we would also like to invite you on a harbour trip to see the new Playhouse, The Opera and other cultural sites.

We look forward to welcoming you to the city of Copenhagen and to keeping the international con­versation going.

THE ORESUND REGION The Öresund Region has almost 3.9 million inhabitants and is the largest and most densely populated metropolitan area in the Nordic countries. In terms of culture, the Öresund Region has, for example, 4 symphony orchestras (in fact 6 if the two opera orchestras in Copenhagen and Malmö are included), more than 84 theatres, 46 arts institutions and around 400 museums and collections.

There has been considerable investment in cultural venues in the Öresund region in recent years, including two new concert halls, a new opera house and a new venue for the Danish national theatre.

Malmö is Sweden’s third largest city and is the commercial and cultural centre of southern Sweden.

It is a multicultural and youthful city. Malmö was established as early as the second half of the 13th century, and much of Malmö’s historical background remains preserved in the city’s architecture.

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and is a major regional centre of culture, business, media and science. Copenhagen has repeatedly been ranked as one of the cities with the best quality of life in the world. Copenhagen has witnessed strong urban and cultural development in recent years. This is partly due to massive investments in cultural facilities as well as in infrastructure, and the appearance of a new wave of successful designers, chefs and architects.

Copenhagen Airport has direct flights to 129 destinations and handles approximately 20 million passengers every year.

The Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts will take place in Malmö during 26-31 May 2015. The Biennial includes Swedish productions from all over the country, international performances, workshops, seminars and meetings. The Biennial is organized by Teaterunionen – Swedish ITI in cooperation with the hosts for 2015 Malmö Opera, Malmö City Theatre and Skånes Dansteater. The Biennial programme is also open to delegates attending the 2015 ISPA Congress 25-30 May in Malmö/ Copenhagen. ISPA delegates are welcome to join the Biennial, book selected performances and participate in networking events.

REGISTER

Register to attend the Malmö/Copenhagen 2015 Congress at www.ispa.org

INFORMATION

From Skånes Dansteater’s the feeling of going, photo: Malin Arnesson

We will regularly be adding new information that will facilitate your trip to Malmö/Copenhagen, such as accommodation and dining recommendations as well as travel tips and information about cultural activities in the region. www.musikisyd.se/ISPA