Photo: Orchester.ch/Priska Ketterer 

Pearle* – Live Performance Europe held its bi-annual Conference and General Assembly meeting on 29 and 30 September in Lucerne. It was hosted by its Swiss member orchester.ch and chaired by the President of Pearle*, Morten Gjelten.

With the participation of speakers from WIPO and ILO, two of the international bodies based in Geneva, Pearle* reassured its relations at the international level on copyright affairs and labour issues.
Delegates also exchanged on developments within the sector related to employment, gender equality and diversity, skills, and mobility: topics which are particularly relevant in the aftermath of the Corona crisis and in relation to new trade relations between EU and UK.

An important focus of the conference was sustainability in the live performance through circular economy, energy efficiency of buildings, mobility and ecological strategies for live performance organisations. Focus of the debate was the creation of sustainable productions and how to practically work together, exchanging on different strategies and involving all member organisations throughout Europe.

President of Pearle*, Morten Gjelten stated:
“Let’s continue our efforts to bring sustainability in all aspects of work when creating a live performance. We need in-depth exchange about the circular economy within the sector and sound support from our respective governments to go forward and making progress in this important topic.”

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pearle* as the ‘Performing Arts European League’, the conference programme was also an opportunity to look into future. Triggered by societal changes following from the pandemic, a panel of distinguished speakers moderated by Georg T. Roos, a renowned futurologist based in Lucerne, explored the question how live performances will look like in thirty years’ time and how they will contribute to society.

During the conference which celebrated the 30th anniversary, members were put in the picture whilst presenting the achievements and activities undertaken by their respective organisations. Pearle* also bid farewell to former president Géza Kovács, who represented since 1996 the Association of Hungarian Orchestras.

World Theatre Day Message 2021 by Helen MIRREN

“This has been such a very difficult time for live performance and many artists,
technicians and craftsmen and women have struggled in a profession that is already
fraught with insecurity.
Maybe that always present insecurity has made them more able to survive this pandemic
with wit and courage.
Their imagination has already translated itself, in these new circumstances, into
inventive, entertaining and moving ways to communicate, thanks of course in large part
to the internet.
Human beings have told each other stories for as long as they have been on the planet.
The beautiful culture of theatre will live for as long as we stay here.
The creative urge of writers, designers, dancers, singers, actors, musicians, directors, will
never be suffocated and in the very near future will flourish again with a new energy and
a new understanding of the world we all share.
I can’t wait!”

https://www.world-theatre-day.org/messageauthor.html

online talks – culture(s) groundwork(s)

It has been clear that many organizations and people, in Portugal and internationally, have (re) stated the importance of Culture (s) for the sustainable development of our societies. While we keep on repeating the urgency of thinking new structural solutions, it has been more or less evident that we linger on effectively designing such strategies, which should promote and liaise with different artistic practices and sectors, breaking with single patterns, and aiming at larger, viable and more inclusive visions.

Living through a dark period in History, we are witnessing the deterioration of already precarious situations among cultural organizations and arts professionals. Today, cultural venues are closed, activities are cancelled, lives are postponed and audience engagement is put on hold. Immediate solutions have, once again, taken, first, the form of crucial emergency subsidies so to mitigate the catastrophic effects of the industry’s shutdown – however, they prove to be less efficient in the medium, long run.

Nevertheless, we believe that by benefiting from our ability to foster trustworthy connections, it will be possible to gather many contributions for a wider debate. We will get to know other contexts and various sensibilities, openly accepting intrinsic tensions and diverging visions, and together, we will look for more comprehensive and more harmonious solutions so to construct even stronger bases for the Culture (s) of our society.

As a result, we wish to organize a series of online talks lasting for three days, with a panel of national and international guest speakers, reflecting upon one theme per day. As a follow-up, there will be three written documents – written down by another panel – which will account for the diversity of inputs. Parallelly, the documents will put forward proposals and guidelines that may m drive the establishment of public policy and the implementation of sustainable practices. The talks will take place from 2 to 4 March, from 2 pm to 7 pm (GMT time).

On day #1, March 2, we will look at the real value assigned to Culture (s) in our societies. Taking into consideration Culture as an essential good, how is it conceived, managed and communicated by the many actors, and on different scales – locally, nationally, internationally? How do such efforts intersect (or should intersect) with other sectors (economic, social and environmental)?

On day #2, March 3, we will look deeper into cultural venues, networks and audiences. The main discussion will focus on the new relationships and the brand-new, more malleable concepts of territoriality, surrounded by the explosion of digital platforms, and how organizations and artists adapt and dialogue with such transformations. By sharing experiences and best practices in the private and public sectors, we will shed light on programming and networks, we will discuss policies for an adequate urban development tailored to today’s realities, developing further on communication, mediation and awareness-raising projects pointing at the establishment of sustainable creative cultures.

On day #3, March 4, the main theme will revolve around the issue of investment in culture and the arts and on the link between precarity in the cultural and artistic profession. We will analyze many funding models and different work relationships in the industry, looking at instruments of social protection found in Portugal and elsewhere. At a time, when the discussion of funding models is, once again, alive and well, alongside a discussion on the establishment of a framework on working conditions for culture workers.

ORGANIZATION

Pedro Alves (Artistic director of teatromosca)

+351 96 340 32 55

geral@teatromosca.com

58th pearle* conference

29 | 30 November 2019

Mosteiro de São Bento da Vitória
Porto, Portugal
hosted by
PERFORMART – Portuguese Association of Performing Arts

COMMUNICATING ON SOCIAL NETWORKS focusing on Fecebook and Instagram “, by Carla Rodrigues, Lisbon Digital School
Performart’s training course for its members

31 May’19 | Teatro do Campo Alegre | Street of the Stars | 4150-762 Porto
17 june19 | Room Amália Rodrigues | CCB Foundation | Praça do Império | 1449-003 Lisboa
Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Participation: free upon prior registration

November 23th, 2018

PEARLE* 2018 AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

BEHIND THE STAGE

The Pearle* 2018 Awards celebrate the achievements of Employers Associations in the European live performance sector

Major stakeholders related to the live performance sector in Europe gathered together yesterday evening in Brussels to attend the Pearle* 2018 Awards Ceremony, The aim of this high level event was to highlight and celebrate the groundbreaking achievements many European employers’ organisations have accomplished in recent years, in fields as wide-ranging as equal opportunities, diversity, lifelong-learning, social dialogue or heritage with the ultimate objective of making live performance a healthier, fairer and more secure sector in which to work.

The outreach of the employers associations belonging to Pearle is significant: between them they represent more than 10,000 arts organisations from all over Europe which in turn provide jobs for over 1,2 million employees, making the live performance sector into the biggest employer in the European cultural industries.

The five awards that were given were announced during a festive event attended by people from all over Europe and celebrated at the emblematic Bozar Centre for Fine Arts in the centre of Brussels. For once the spotlight was trained on organisations whose work is normally carried out anonymously “behind the stage”, and on this occasion focused particularly on the winning projects undertaken in the context of Estonian theatres, French orchestras or circus companies, Czech dance companies, Dutch collective bargaining or Europe’s first think tank devoted to researching a digital strategy for drama. A wide range of initiatives reflecting the diversity of the sector itself and all characterized by their initiative, innovation, and scope.

Organised by Pearle*-Live Performance Europe, the Pearle* 2018 Awards are an essential component of Behind the Stage, an innovative project run by Pearle* with the financial support of the European Union, aimed at empowering the role and capacity of employers associations and strengthening social dialogue in the European live performance sector. This project has been devised and developed in the context of the “European Pillar of Social Rights” which was proclaimed and signed exactly a year ago by the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the European Commission during the Gothenburg Social Summit for fair jobs and growth.

PEARLE* 2018 AWARD WINNERS

Cooperation Award:

·      The Award goes to: Eesti Etendusasutuste Liit (Estonian Association of Performing Arts Institutions) for “The Tale of the Century”

·      Special Mention: Association of British Orchestras and UK Theatre for “The Family Arts Campaign”

Diversity & Equal Opportunities Award

·      The Award goes to: Association Française des Orchestres and Les Forces Musicales for “CHARTER FOR GENDER EQUALITY WITHIN THE ORCHESTRAS AND OPERA HOUSES”

·      Special Mention Svensk Scenkonst (Swedish Performing Arts Association) for “Work against sexual harassment in the performing arts sector”

Skills/Training/ Lifelong Learning Award

·      The Award goes to: Asociace profesionálních divadel České republiky (Association of the Professional Theatre of the Czech Republic) for “The Dance Career Endowment Fund”

·      Special Mention: Association of British Orchestras “Find your Way”

Social Dialogue/Collective Bargaining Ex-aequo Award

·      The Award goes to Werkgeversvereniging Nederlandse Podia (Dutch Employers’Association of Theaters and Concert-halls) for its work in favour of the protection of self-employed workers in the cultural sector

·      The Award goes to Syndicat des Cirques et Compagnies (French Union of Circuses & Creative Companies) for the creation of a “Circus Artist” title in the National Collective Agreement for Artistic and Cultural Enterprises

·      Special Mention: Overleg Kunstenorganisaties (Flemish industry for the Arts) for its creation of a single collective agreement for the performing arts and music sectors

Spotlight on Heritage in Culture and the Arts: a special award for an individual organisation’s outstanding achievement

·      The Award goes to: European Theatre Convention the project European Theatre Lab: Drama goes digital

·      Special Mention: CRIT Companyia de Teatre for the project “Escena Erasmus”

On 23 and 24 November, Pearle* members from across Europe meet for their 56th General Assembly in Antwerp, Belgium. The meeting is chaired by the President of Pearle*, Géza Kovács, and hosted by oKo with the support of DeSingel Arts Center.
Simultaneously, the Pearle* members have the opportunity to attend the 2nd Behind The Stage Academy.

On the 19th november, at 2:30, it will take place the second and last General Ordinary Assembly of the Performart of 2018 that is hosted by the member Chamber Orchestra of Cascais and Oeiras.

Address:

Auditorium of the Conservatory of Music of Cascais

Avenida das Acácias, 81

2765-390 Monte Estoril

On 24 and 25 May, Pearle* members from across Europe meet for their 55th General Assembly in Tallinn, Estonia. The meeting is chaired by the President of Pearle*, Géza Kovács, and hosted by EETAL with the support of Estonian National Opera.
Simultaneously, the Pearle* members have the opportunity to attend the 1st Behind The Stage Academy.

On the 19th march, at 2:30, it will take place the first General Ordinary Assembly of the Performart of 2018 that is hosted by the member Teatro do Noroeste – Centro Dramático de Viana.

Address:

Teatro Municipal Sá de Miranda
Rua Sá de Miranda
4900-529 Viana do Castelo
Portugal

(+351) 258 809 382

On 23 and 24 November, Pearle* members from across Europe meet for their 54th General Assembly in Madrid, Spain. The meeting is chaired by the President of Pearle*, Géza Kovács, and hosted by FAETEDA,  ARTe and AEOS with the support of  SGAE – sociedad general de autores y editores and AIE – artistas intérpretes o ejecutantes.

On the 20th november, at 2:30, it will take place the second and last General Ordinary Assembly of the Performart of 2018 that is hosted by the member Companhia de Teatro de Almada.

Address:

Teatro Municipal Joaquim Benite
Av. Professor Egas Moniz
2804-503 Almada
(+351) 21 273 93 60