This publication focuses on the performing arts in Flanders for young audiences. It contains information on the most important producers, a series of pictures of interesting projects with international potential, an overview of recent artistic developments, and a sketch that gives insight into the landscape’s organisation and the way in which performing arts for young audiences are made and appreciated. The book is intended thereby to provide the reader with an overview of recent developments in this unique field, which, according to Jeremy Boomer Stacey (IPAY), might well be ‘the best kept secret in international performing arts for young audiences’.
Free pdf download: http://vti.be/en/over-vti/publicaties/perspective-young-audiences
Arts Flanders aims to become the international point of reference for information about the Arts and Cultural Heritage in the Flanders region and about artists from Flanders who are active abroad. There are specific subsections, one of which is devoted to the news about the Flemish performing arts with international relevance: http://artsflanders.be/performance
As the institute for the performing arts, VTi is willing to take up its role in the preparation for this round of subsidies. Through facts and figures, our research provides an objective description of the current practice and policy in the performing arts in Flanders, placing it in a historical perspective and an international context. With this factual description, it provides an initial impulse for a debate about the ways forward for this performing arts practice and policy. What are potential pathways for a more sustainable practice within the performing arts and the policy that governs this?
The results of our research are published in these two field analyses:
Metamorphoses. Performing arts in Flanders since 1993 (2007)
Ins & outs. A field analysis of the performing arts in Flanders (2011)
For an overview of the most important producing companies in Flanders, visit the ‘Producers‘ section on the VTi website.
VTi also offers recent outlines of the Flemish performing arts landscape.
Children’s and youth performing arts
The Flemish children’s and youth performing arts are a prized export. In the 2009-10 season Flemish youth productions were presented in other European countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Great Britain and Denmark, as well as further afield, in Canada, the United States, and even Australia and New Zealand. Both established names and new faces are doing well internationally.
Theatre
The Flemish theatrical landscape is a rich and varied field with an unrivalled dynamism. The driving force behind this dynamism is rooted in the developments of the eighties, when theatre-makers like Jan Fabre, Jan Lauwers, Jan Decorte and many others set their sights on the very essence of theatre, namely the concept of theatrical representation. Add to this the absence of a clearly defined canon or tradition, and the structural influence of performance art on theatrical practice, and you get a fundamentally different vision of the role of the actor.
Download the attachment to read more.
Dance
Contemporary dance from Flanders is a household name in the international dance world, and it has been exactly that for more than 20 years already. It is, however, becoming more and more difficult to make an accurate description of this so-called ‘Belgian style’. It used to be all about intense movements and odd, often black clothing, wearing sneakers and boots while dancing, and lots of chairs on stage. Today, choreographers such as De Keersmaeker, Vandekeybus, Platel or Fabre are still highly regarded and important.
When you’re starting out as a performing artist, where can you go for support to develop your plans? All basic information that you need to know is brought together on ‘Get Going‘ page on the VTi website.
More information on the culture policy in Belgium and more specifically in Flanders can be found in the ‘Policy‘ section.
To get in touch with the VTi staff about specific question concerning your artistic project, check out our First Aid Helpdesk page.
The VTi performing arts database contains data on professional stage productions which involved producers in Flanders or Brussels. It is actively maintained by VTi.
What productions were put on by professional artists? Which artists and organisations deserve the credits for these? What documents remain about these productions?
Each production is represented as a record in the database containing the following information: production (title, date of première, season), international touring dates, cast, producers and co-producers and genre. For every organisation, producer or co-producer, there is additional information about festivals, government grants, venues & working spaces, etc. Every person is also represented as a record with information about e.g. training, and also pointing to their productions. Moreover, our specialized library and archival collections are presented and linked to the many records about people, organisations and productions: photo and video, press cuttings, books and periodicals, archival documents and ephemera.
The database is publicly available at http://data.vti.be
Who’s who shows a network of people and organisations based on data collected by the Flemish Institute for the Performing Arts (VTi). The connections visualised in this website are the consequence of productions in which they co-appeared. Only functions that can be defined as ‘artistic’ are taken into account.
These graphs don’t pretend to be complete CVs. They are based on production data collected by VTi, taking into account the professional and subsidised performing arts field in Flanders. Any relevant activities that fall beyond this scope will thus not be presented.
This work is the subject/result of research documented in the form of a Data Diary, which is included in the VTi publication Perspective: Artist, available in print and download form.
Between 2007 and 2010 a series of four documentary DVDs was published together with a special issue of the Flemish theater magazine Documenta. The concept was to combine newly conducted in-depth interviews and video material from public television. These DVDs, covering the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, offer a valuable insight into recent developments in the Flemish performing arts. Last summer, the Vlaams Theaterinstituut (VTi) launched a new website, reviving the material from the DVDs within an online environment: www.toneelstof.be. The interviews – which are fully text-searchable – are considered the backbone of the website. The visualization on a timeline reveals different kinds of connections and cross-references in the interviews (e.g., who is talking about whom and about which productions?). The interviews are complemented by video fragments, reviews, and photographs from different sources. The VTi database provides extra context about the people, organizations, and productions featuring on the website, and leads visitors to the VTi collection for more thorough research. A wiki functions as a flexible edit environment in order to have the website grow on a daily basis.
New interviews are conducted in 2013 and regularly new digital material is added to the website. The website is in Dutch.
A presentation on the project in English is available on http://prezi.com/i2pmj2do5kgb/revaluingtheatricalheritage_presentatietoneelstof/
Flanders Arts Institute
Flanders Arts Institute is the support centre for visual arts, performing arts and classical music in Flanders. It aims to be an inspiration, source of knowledge, data provider, fact-checker, facilitator and innovator.
The organisation collects, analyses and publishes data on the arts and policy by consulting with all parties concerned, an active involvement in the field and research into the artistic ecosystem.
It supports the development of artists and art organisations through knowledge sharing. It releases publications and presentations, organises information sessions and provides individual advice focused on the sustainable long-term development of the artistic practice.
Flanders Arts Institute supports internationalisation by organising visitor and exchange programmes and putting spotlights on Flanders abroad.
Contact
Flanders Arts Institute
Ravensteingalerij 38, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tom Ruette, Head of Information and Data
E-Mail: tom.ruette@kunsten.be
Website
www.kunsten.be
www.flandersartsinstitute.be
