Culture in Context: Energy, Exchange and What Comes Next
The past few months has taken us across geographies, climates and conversations, from the humid, layered streets of Kochi to theatre stages in Bath and London; from sector strategy rooms to international touring routes across Europe. It's been a very busy few months, but hugely rewarding to connect with new voices, see and engage with new partners and projects - and then support artists make and present work globally.
As ever more information can be found on our website. And do reach out if anything here strikes a chord with you.
Sud, Giulia, Lia
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Kochi-Muziris Biennale When Art Breathes with the City
Our time at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale was a real highlight. Unlike many European festival contexts which are often shaped by fixed galleries and transient cultural tourism Kochi felt wonderfully rooted and embedded in daily life. The Biennale unfolds across the areas in and around Fort Kochi - a historic coastal city - on the south Indian coast. Artworks, performances, talks and encounters unfolds across a 4 mile coastal walk - occupying familiar and wholly unfamiliar locations Like anywhere in India, the streets were busy. Audiences were strikingly international, yet also local, intergenerational and curious. Families, students, elders, artists and residents moved slowly through the heritage buildings and dockside spaces, spending time with work, debating it, returning to it. Autorickshaws frantically connecting visitors across the landscape - navigating the narrow roads and walking public. There was curiosity without self-consciousness, and a generosity in how people engaged.
Fort Kochi itself layered with histories of trade, colonialism, migration and resistance creates a powerful frame for contemporary practice. The Portuguese influence spilling into public streets and the food. Food fresh from the sea. Artworks sat within former warehouses, colonial palaces, churches, courtyards and coastal edges, constantly in dialogue with memory and place. The sense of culture as something lived rather than simply programmed was palpable.
Much of the artwork had origins in the global south, Indian artists the majority, UK based artist Hetain Patel’s Mathoo Bathraa was a real highlight. A solo performance of emotional precision which explores family mythology, language and inherited memory. The narrative navigates personal memories, stories and heritage with humour, such tenderness and sharp self-awareness.
We were also glad to reconnect with the Ghetto Biennale team.The Ghetto Biennale takes place in Lakou Cheri and Ghetto Leanne, two deprived districts near Grand Rue in central Port-au-Prince, Haiti - facing daily political and personal challenges as the nation rebuilds following revolution and climate impacts. This unique festival creates opportunities for local artists, many without formal training to collaborate directly with visiting international practitioners.Voodoo manifests in their work clearly - in particular the work in Kochi. Set within a catholic church - this series of works offered a unique take on positioning of culture.
We will return.
Outdoor Arts: Strategy, Futures and Sector Leadership
February saw the sector launch of a new Outdoor Arts Strategy for Joy and Belonging - at the Outdoor Arts UK Conference. Authored and developed by Sud, and commissioned by OAUK, Without Walls and 101 Outdoor arts - this is a new framework focused on long-term sustainability, equity, international collaboration and evolving touring models in a rapidly shifting funding landscape. The strategy has been developed over the last 2 years through dialogue and input from all elements of the sector - and hopes to find wider alignment to strengthening the sector through practical action and future-facing thinking.
Alongside this, Sud and Rachel Clare (Crying Out Loud) have co-authored a chapter in a new bilingual publication When We Go Out into the Street, What Place Do We Want to Find? Art in Public Space and Placemaking. Developed through Outdoor Arts Portugal, the book brings together international voices to explore the context for outdoor work public space and its connections to civic practice and It reframes placemaking as an ethical, political and relational process, rather than a cosmetic urban tool.
Outdoor Arts has and continues to be a core part of our work.
International Touring: Adapting to a New Ecology
The touring landscape continues to evolve rapidly, demanding flexibility, partnership and imagination. Two of our productions made connections with new audiences - and will continue to tour across Spring.
Dalija Aćin Thelander’s Fields of Tender was presented at The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath, followed by sold out performances at London’s Southbank Centre. A work of intimacy and careful choreography, it invites very young audiences and their carers into a gentle, sensory world. Fields of Tender returns to the UK in May.
Meanwhile, Future Cargo, concluded its Greek tour and now heads to Bulgaria for its next chapter. This large scale Concept Tour - reflects our commitment to pushing forward new models of international touring -with a push towards lighter, locally driven, partnership driven models.
Both projects exemplify how exceptional work can continue to travel meaningfully, even as the economics and logistics of touring shift.
City of Culture: Shaping Vision
Alongside artistic work, we’ve been deeply engaged in strategic cultural development. We’ve been supporting a bidding City in shaping its City of Culture bid helping to unpack its identity, narrative and long-term ambitions. The process has involved distilling civic pride, cultural ecology and future vision into a coherent and compelling proposition. We await news in March and hope to continue supporting the city towards the final proposal stage later this year. Work like this sits at the heart of what we value - culture as place based, civic yet international combined.
Looking Ahead: Middle East & East Asia
Next month we’ll be announcing the premiere of a new co-production with Qatar Museums, expanding our international partnerships further.We’re also preparing for an international residency in Indonesia, with support from British Council - as part of their Connections to Culture programme. The project - Archives of Change will connect UK-based artists with those based in Makassar, Indonesia. Together they will share practise and explore new ways of documenting culture in societies navigating change. The residency will explore how culture is recorded, archived and shared in contexts of transformation — and what that means for artists working across borders. Stay tuned.
More on both very soon.
