02 Oct Southern Coalition: training sessions kick off in Portugal
After the International Seminar, in Pergine, and the Writing Residency, in Mondaino, the project A Manual on Work and Happiness is now reaching a new stage: the Southern Coalition. This stage assembles a series of training sessions focused on Audience Development and Cultural Mediation, which will tackle different topics such as the involvement of communities in artistic projects and the accessibility to culture. Training sessions will be held in Portugal, Italy and Greece in October and November, aiming at empowering local cultural agents and increasing their skills.
The training sessions kick off on October 9 in the Portuguese cities of Alcobaça and Montijo. These are two of the 15 cities which form part of the Manual’s project leader Artemrede. The 3-day training is open to the staff of Artemrede’s 15 associated members.
On October 9, the opening masterclass will focus on the know-how of Italian curator Luca Ricci (photo) regarding the involvement of audiences in cultural projects. Ricci is the Artistic Director of Kilowatt festival – an event whose growing international reputation is partially due to an initiative named Visionari, in which the community of Sansepolcro selects part of the programme of the festival. Visionari was then replicated in other Italian cities and gained an European scope with the project Be SpectACTive!
On October 10 and 11, Inês Barahona, from Portuguese theatre company Formiga Atómica, will give a workshop which will articulate the expertise shared by Ricci at the opening day with the projects currently developped by Artemrede.
Indeed, Artemrede is working on several projects which demand strong cultural mediation. A Manual On Work and Happiness is one of those projects. In 2018, the communities from Alcobaça and Montijo will have the opportunity to join theatre company mala voadora in two artistic residencies and will ultimately perform in the play A Manual on Work and Happiness.
Since the creation of Artemrede that training is one of the main lines of action of the network. In 12 years of activity, over 100 professionals from its associated members got qualified in different areas such as arts management, programming, mediation and communication, among others.
The second training session of the Southern Coalition will be held in Pergine (Italy) in the second half of October. Third and fourth sessions are scheduled for November in Mondaino (Italy) and Patras (Greece). Check the full calendar here.
Knowledge generated in the four sessions will be shared among the participants from the three countries. The sessions will also be the object of another video report, following the ones produced during the International Seminar and the Writing Residency.