How can artists create meaningful dialogue with underrepresented communities — and discover the ‘narratives of tomorrow’? A new casebook, published by the European Theatre Convention (ETC), shares learning on artistic research in theatre from the Future Laboratory project.
Theatres employing artists for research with local communities must provide the time, space and resources to develop caring relationships, a new report finds.
Stressing the importance of transparency and good communication, the report finds that a ‘framework of care’ is essential for artists working with hard-to-reach communities – but is equally important in the structures between artists and collaborating theatre institutions.
The learning emerges through the essays and reflections in Future Laboratory: Artistic Research in Theatre – A Casebook, the latest in a series of casebook published by the European Theatre Convention (ETC), the largest network of publicly-funded theatres in Europe.
It shares insights gained during the EU-funded project, ‘Future Laboratory – A Performing Arts Network Connecting Artists and Audiences to Find the European Narratives of Tomorrow’. This connected 15 emerging artists with 12 partner organisations from 10 European countries to explore innovative approaches to artistic research and develop dialogue with underrepresented communities to identify the missing stories on European stages.
Read the ETC Casebook: 'Future Laboratory: Lessons From the Future'
Topics covered include:
- ‘Removing Social Barriers to Theatre’
- ‘Coaching as Intensive Listening’
- ‘Green Spaces Reimagined’
- ‘Contemporary Ethnic Minorities: The Perspective of a Researcher’
“After three years of Future Laboratory, it is clear that nurturing dialogue and deep connections with diverse communities takes time,” commented Tom Leick-Burns, Artistic Director of Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, and the Future Laboratory lead partner.
“It is crucial to create a comprehensive care framework, which in turn can create caring theatres and caring artists -- so that we continue developing our institutions into open spaces in which coming together, debate, inclusion, and collective creativity are celebrated.”
New Casebook
The casebook articles are grouped around two themes. The first are essays by seven artists (biographies detailed below) that participated in Future Laboratory, highlighting the diversity of artistic approaches to research with underrepresented communities on topics such as climate change, social justice, and identity.
The second compiles reflections from executive board members, coaches, and other institutional representatives involved in Future Laboratory, sharing insight on how the project was structured and developed.
It is through these reflections that the partners underline the importance of including artists on similar projects in relevant decision-making moments, such as board meetings and event planning, and express hope about the potential for departments for artistic research in theatres.
The casebook is the latest in a line of ETC publications, following casebooks on participatory theatre, digital theatre, and youth theatre, which can be found on the ETC Online Library.
Commenting on the casebook, Heidi Wiley, Executive Director of the European Theatre Convention (ETC), said:
“We are thrilled to share what has been learned from the Future Laboratory alongside results from other ETC applied research and European projects with the broader creative community through our ‘A Casebook’ series, which includes a body of knowledge about pioneering creative practices on participatory, digital and youth theatre.
“It is my hope that the essays and reflections on the Future Laboratory contained in this casebook inspire theatres, policymakers and artists to embrace experimentation and open up a dialogue with local communities as they seek narratives of the future.”
Tom Leick-Burns added:
"By collaborating closely with local communities and addressing issues like social exclusion, we aimed to explore artistic concepts that not only enhance accessibility and representation on our stages but also resonate deeply with our audiences.”
Press Contact
You can direct enquiries to ETC’s Communication Manager, Christy Romer: communication@europeantheatre.eu
