The IETM, one of the largest global umbrella performing arts organisations, with over 450 member organisations in more than 50 countries, will hold its plenary session this year in Rijeka (Croatia) from 24 to 27 October 2019, as part of the Rijeka 2020 European Capital of Culture project. The session will welcome more than 400 professional artists from around the world.
Rijeka thus proudly joins such cities as Berlin, Sofia, Budapest, Glasgow, Krakow and Copenhagen, which have hosted the International network for contemporary performing arts, whose continuous aims include international co-productions, collaborative projects and processes, artist mobility and the exchange of professional knowledge.
The central topic of the IETM plenary session in Rijeka is the audience, the involvement of communities with the aim of fostering a new understanding of audience development and extending existing concepts related to audience development. Session participants, representing different countries and professions, will be discussing ways to actively involve the community in the creation and realisation of Arts and Culture programmes.
The Rijeka event will host various experts who will speak on these topics, including Andrej Mirčev, Igor Stokfiszewski, Jenny Wilson, Simón Hanukai, Goran Tomka, Luca Ricci, Darko Lukić, Rarita Zbranca, Zvonimir Dobrović, Natalia Skoczylas, Goran Sergej Pristaš and many others. It should also be noted that the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture programme will also be presented via the IETM programme, which includes lectures and special art walks. This session is also an excellent opportunity to showcase the domestic performing arts scene to some of the most important international promoters, producers, co-producers and festival directors.
The IETM will take place at several locations around Rijeka: the Croatian House of Culture in Sušak, RiHub, the Delta 5 Association and Filodrammatica. It will also be accompanied by an eventful art programme.
The preliminary session programme is available here.
Both members and non-members of the IETM organisation are invited to participate. Information on participation fees and online registration forms may be found and completed here. Early-bird registrations are open until 20 September 2019.
IETM – The International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts is a network of more than 450 performing arts member organisations, as well as individuals engaging in modern performing arts around the world. These performing arts include: theatre, dance, circus, performances, interdisciplinary art forms, new media. Festivals, companies, producers, theatres, research and resource centres, universities and institutional bodies make up the membership of the network and each year, two plenary sessions are held in various cities of Europe, along with other small-scale sessions around the world. Other than this, the IETM commissions publications and research projects, facilitates communication and the distribution of information, and promotes the value of the performing arts.
In 2020, Rijeka will become the first city in Croatia to receive the coveted title of European Capital of Culture, along with the Irish city of Galway. The aim of this European project is to embed culture into the long-term development of European cities and contribute to bringing European citizens together, as well as to promote greater mutual understanding by introducing them to the rich cultural diversity of Europe. The ECC cultural programme in Rijeka will begin with the opening ceremony on 1 February 2020 and the entire year will be marked by large-scale exhibitions of internationally acclaimed artists, eye-catching theatre performances, spectacular ballets, gala concerts, superb operas, performances and art campaigns. Rijeka and its surroundings will also undergo spatial modifications as part of the projects by eminent architects and world-renowned artists.
