Building together: what forms of cultural cooperation can address societal change?

Contemporary dance is deeply rooted in collaboration. The diversity and vitality of our sector is driven by the complex and dynamic transnational connections. We work together, across all kinds of borders, and this collaborative aspect has made us more interconnected and interdependent than ever.
While our practices are more globalized than ever, we act in a system that is marked by radical inequalities. Power relations built on geopolitical and economic circumstances still influence our ways of working. Where an artist is based will be decisive for their access to mobility, support and resources. Likewise, in some contexts, audiences have privileged access to a multiplicity of diverse artistic voices and narratives, while in others the lack of resources and basic freedom provokes constant brain drain. These disbalances are further enhanced by a multitude of political, social and environmental challenges that society is confronted with.

The dance sector is skilled in collaboration, and yet it functions within a system where equity and solidarity are still a distant dream. How can we overcome this paradox? How to make our collaborative practices more respectful, generative and supportive? What can we learn from positive examples of collaborative practices across the world carried by engaged actors against the mainstream? What kinds of alliances will help us create different, equitable relations to better face the radical changes in society and build positive futures together?

Biennale de Lyon, Institut français and Onda are joining forces to propose a two-day professional encounter to reflect and debate on these topics: a cross-over between inspirational discussions and peer to peer learning.

The programme will take place in two parts, over two half-days:

Thursday 21 September
Panel discussion In an open conversation, sharing their experiences and their insights, 3 transnational art workers with rich and diverse experiences will help us take a critical look at our practices and think of possible pathways to imagine different ways of working together Speakers: Marta Keil, Nayse Lopez and Qudus Onikeku Moderator: Milica Ilic

Friday 22 September Workshops
In three simultaneous workshops, starting from their own experiences and knowledge, participants will work together to reflect on and imagine possible ways to build more fair, equitable collaboration practices. Each workshop will be inspired by the panel discussion and will tackle one of the major issues discussed the previous day.

1. Collaborate in solidarity and care How would we change our programming and artistic practices if we were to imagine solidarity defined by care, considered here as the response-ability to understand reciprocity and inter-dependence as informed by accountability, ethics and cultural intelligence?

2. Collaborate in context How does knowing, understanding and respecting the context of each other influence and shape our ways of working? How to adopt more horizontal methodologies that do not reinforce existing power relations? How to circumvent extractive practices and support generative ones?
   Facilitator: Silvia Bottiroli

3. Collaborate… with whom?
   How to make our collaborations more accessible, inclusive and diverse? How to open our projects, our venues and our minds to alternative knowledges, often ignored or marginalized? What artistic, cultural or social actors do not participate in our conversations and how can we include them?
   Facilitator: Jumana Al Yasiri

BIOS

Silvia Bottiroli (Bologna) works as independent curator, researcher, writer and educator in the field of performing arts.

She was the artistic director of DAS Theatre in Amsterdam (2018-2021) and of Santarcangelo Festival (2012-2016), and recently curated the project FUORI! for Emilia Romagna Teatro in Bologna (2022-2023). She designed and curated a number artistic, discursive, and educational platforms, collaborating among others with KunstenFestivalDesArts (Brussels), Vooruit (Ghent), Homo Novus Festival (Riga) and West Kowloon Cultural District (Hong Kong). She teaches Methodology, Critique, and Research in the Arts at Bocconi University in Milan and lectures in various international master programmes.

Angela Conquet is a Melbourne-based independent dance curator, arts worker, editor, translator and researcher. Her 20-year professional career spans three continents, Europe, Australia and Canada. Most recently, she was Artistic Director of Dancehouse (Melbourne) and guest curator of Dance in Vancouver 2021. She is currently the Managing Editor of Dancehouse Diary, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne and one of the five international co-curators of the Lyon Biennale Forum 2025. She lectures in Arts Management at the University of Melbourne and Université Rhone-Alpes. She considers arts and culture to be a socio-political practice for activating imagination and change.

Jumana Al-Yasiri is a Paris-based independent arts manager, consultant, writer and translator. She held key positions at regional and international organizations, such as Damascus Arab Capital of Culture 2008, the Young Arab Theatre Fund, and Sundance Institute Theatre Program, where she contributed to the development of new theatre works through labs, residencies, and various tailor-made initiatives. She curated and supported the implementation of arts and culture programs among the activities of D-CAF’s Arab Arts Focus, Moussem Nomadic Arts Center, Med Culture Programme, Ettijahat-Independent Culture, the Flanders Arts Institute… She regularly contributes to cultural policies working groups and capacity building programs; and she publishes research papers, essays, interviews and podcasts, focusing on art and migration, postcolonial discourses in the arts, and the international representation and working conditions of artists and cultural workers from the SWANA region and the Global South.

Presentation and discussion in English.
Translation in French possible.