International Activity Case Studies for Arts Council England
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International Activity Case Studies For Arts Council England tbr knows… economics, creative, skills, environment economic research & business intelligence International Activity Case Studies For Arts Council England Prepared by TBR’s Creative & Cultural Team Enquiries about this report can be addressed to: Martin Houghton, Project Director Sam Nair, Project Manager 02 November 2016 Floor D, Milburn House Dean Street Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1LE Telephone: +44 (0) 191 279 0900 Fax: +44 (0) 191 221 2220 Email: [email protected] www.tbr.co.uk Table of Contents Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 2 2. THEME ONE: FINANCIAL MOTIVATION................................................................ 5 3. THEME TWO: ARTISTIC MOTIVATION ................................................................. 7 4. THEME THREE: PARTNERSHIPS ........................................................................... 8 5. THEME FOUR: ESTABLISHED AND EMERGING MARKETS ................................... 10 6. THEME FIVE: SUCCESSES AND BARRIERS ......................................................... 13 7. CONCLUSIONS: LESSONS LEARNED .................................................................. 16 © TBR Introduction 1. Introduction The five thematic case studies contained in this report formed part of a wider research project commissioned by Arts Council England (ACE), which sought to understand the extent and nature of arts and cultural organisations’ international activities and their impact on financial and non-financial outputs. Twelve National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) known to deliver international activity were selected and interviewed about their approach and experiences of international working. These organisations represented a cross-section of ACE’s NPOs and, as such, were based in different regions, focused on different art forms, constituted different sizes of organisation and levels of experience. Table 1 (below) provides an overview of the organisations that participated. The aim of the interviews was to capture rich, qualitative information about those organisations’ international activities and to explore their, potentially, different experiences thereby complementing and adding colour to the quantitative data collected from a sector-wide survey. The five thematic case studies cover: Financial motivation for undertaking international work; Artistic motivation for undertaking international work; Establishing and sustaining international partnerships; Maintaining established markets and developing new ones; Celebrating success and overcoming barriers. Table 1: Overview of arts and cultural organisations informing the case studies Organisation Art Form Location Highlights from international work Name FutureEverything Digital North FutureEverything is an innovation lab for digital culture, which hosts an annual festival. In 2015, the FutureEverything Singapore Festival1 was launched, a partnership between FutureEverything and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). This was the flagship digital culture component of SG50, a yearlong celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of Singapore. Manchester Combined North The MIF is an artist-led festival, which commissions and International Arts presents new works from across the spectrum of performing Festival (MIF) arts, visual arts and popular culture. Tree of Codes2, one of its leading international productions, is a contemporary ballet and will travel to Paris, Miami, Athens and London in 2016. Writers’ Centre Literature South Writers’ Centre Norwich is a literature development agency Norwich East based in Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature. The Centre runs an International Literature Showcase3 in partnership with the British Council and Arts Council England. The showcase assists writers and industry professionals developing new international collaborations and supports new touring work nationally and internationally. Hofesh Shechter Dance South HSC is a major international touring dance company. In 2014- Company (HSC) East 15, it delivered 49 international performances, reaching 1 http://futureeverything.org/projects/futureeverything-singapore/ 2 http://www.mif.co.uk/event/tree-of-codes 3 http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/searchresults-all/testils.aspx © TBR Page 2 Introduction audiences of 40,000. The company has toured extensively in Europe, visiting cities as diverse as Seville, Dresden, Marseille and Oslo. It has also toured in Canada, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and India4. New Art Visual Midlands NAE is a contemporary arts space in Nottingham that Exchange (NAE) Arts celebrates the region's cultural richness and diversity. It presents artists on various key international platforms including TED Global5 and has supported artists such as Hetain Patel, and Zineb Sedira. Crafts Council Visual London The Crafts Council is the national development agency for Arts contemporary crafts. It delivers a programme of international showcasing. Since 2013, the Council has taken makers to Design Days Dubai6, a leading crafts fair in the Middle East and South Asia. In 2016-17, the Council will take selected UK-based makers to showcase during major design fairs in Miami and Basel7. Contemporary Dance London The Place is one of UK’s premiere centre for contemporary Dance Trust dance training, creation and performance. Choreoroam (The Place) Europe8, one of its most successful international projects, was a choreography research project, supported by the European Union Culture Programme9 and delivered with key European partners. London Music London The LPO has several long term touring relationships in Europe, Philharmonic performing, for example, between 15 and 20 concerts a year Orchestra (LPO) in Germany. The LPO visits New York every year and alternates playing at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Centre. In 2016, the LPO will play at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Moscow. British Music London BU works with export ready music-makers to help them Underground maximize opportunities at international showcases and (BU) conferences. Their international events are either developed from scratch such as the Bass Culture Clash10 in Brazil or fit into already established festivals such as Folk Alliance International11 in Kansas City or World Music Expo (WOMEX) in Europe12. Wildworks Combined South Wildworks’ productions mix theatre, ritual, film, music, visual Arts West arts and movement. These productions are toured in diverse locations across the world including Palestine, Cyprus, Brussels, Kosovo and Tunisia13. Kneehigh Theatre South Kneehigh is a UK based theatre company with a local, national West and international profile14. Over the past 10 years the company has developed its international touring programme and has visited places as diverse as New Zealand, America, Australia, 4 http://www.hofesh.co.uk/tour-dates/previous 5 https://www.ted.com/attend/conferences/tedglobal 6 http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/design-days-dubai-2016/ 7 http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/international-showcasing/ 8 https://choreoroameurope.wordpress.com 9 http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/culture/index_en.php 10 http://britishunderground.net/basscultureclash/ 11 http://www.folk.org 12 http://www.womex.com 13 http://wildworks.biz/about/our-process/ 14 http://www.kneehigh.co.uk/list/international-touring.php © TBR Page 3 Introduction and South America. The company has established strong relationships with a number of venues in America including St Ann’s Warehouse in NYC, Berkeley Rep and The Guthrie in Minneapolis. Royal Theatre Midlands In 2016, the RSC embarked on a programme of international Shakespeare cultural, artistic and educational exchange with China15. The Company (RSC) RSC has an existing partnership with the Ohio State University, promoting the appreciation of Shakespeare throughout the international community by training teachers and graduate students across Ohio16. 15 https://www.rsc.org.uk/press/releases/rsc-in-china 16 https://shakespeare.osu.edu © TBR Page 4 Theme One: Financial Motivation 2. Theme One: Financial Motivation Money is not the only motivator The interviews have found that many NPOs’ international work is not financially motivated. Other factors drive them to tour or showcase their work abroad. These include artistic excellence and development, and audience engagement. “International work is complex: we may need to start out from a cultural position before we can move on to something that’s more economically advantageous.” Crafts Council “Often financial elements are emphasised in international work but what gets lost is the message that the quality of one’s work is improved or enhanced through international partnerships…you discover new ways of seeing and doing things.” FutureEverything International work diversifies income However, against a backdrop of reduced public spending, NPOs are expected to be developing more resilient, adaptable and sustainable business models. It follows that diversifying their income streams has become more important, and that international projects, collaborations and co-productions may represent a useful source of revenue and income generation. At the very least, some NPOs are coming to recognise that that international work should be self-sustaining and form a greater part of their overall income strategy. “From an organisational point of view, international projects represent