The 5th edition of the IETM Campus was organised for the first time in Greece by IETM, the largest international network for contemporary performing arts, and Eleusis 2021 European Capital of Culture, from 23 to 29 June at the Skironio Museum Polychronopoulos, as part of the Synikismos Festival.

The IETM Campus is an intensive five-day training programme on international co-productions, which gave emerging performing arts professionals the opportunity to broaden the horizons of their work and to internationalise their careers under the guidance and supervision of experienced mentors. Twenty-seven participants from 11 countries in Europe, Canada and Australia met for the IETM Campus at the Skironio Museum Polychronopoulos in Megara, Attica, a unique meeting place not only for artists but also for young arts and culture professionals.

Through the programme and a rich exchange of know-how, the participants shared experiences, concerns and solutions around the most important aspects of international co-productions, such as intercultural communication, negotiation, funding and planning, and press and audience management. They received personal guidance and attention from the five mentors on specific cases and situations arising from their own working environments and conditions. They worked on concrete ideas and practicable proposals, explored new strategies and, through the generosity of the mentors and their own openness, “filled their suitcases” with optimism, so essential for their work and development.

The participants were selected by IETM through an open call, based on at least two years of professional experience in contemporary performing arts and on their first steps in international exchange. They included 5 Greek professionals, in line with the general aim of the European Capital of Culture to empower culture professionals at local and national level.

The mentors of the 5th edition of the IETM Campus were: Mike van Graan (South Africa), President of the African Cultural Policy Network; Judith Knight (United Kingdom), Founder and Co-Director of the arts organisation Artsadmin since 1979; Gundega Laiviņa (Latvia), Artistic Director of the New Theatre Institute of Latvia and of Homo Novus International Festival of Contemporary Theatre; Ása Richardsdóttir (Iceland), Secretary General of the international network IETM; and Nan van Houte (Netherlands), former Director of the international network IETM.

External links:

2023 Eleusis website: IETM Campus news | 2023 ELEVSIS (2023eleusis.eu)
IETM website: IETM Campus Eleusis 2019 | IETM

Photo credits:

• Ása Richardsdóttir
• Pantelis Ladas LDSPRO.NET // Courtesy of Eleusis 2021