- I take with me the belief in my own ability to create art!

Julian Sæther was one of the participants at a brand new introductory seminar for newly established performing artists. The aim is to stimulate even more good performing arts productions in the Cultural Rucksack.

By: Marte Glanville, Kulturtanken

Markedet for Scenekunst, Scenekunstbruket and Kulturtanken invited new performers to an introductory seminar at Marked for scenekunst in Sandefjord. The eight participants have backgrounds from various educational institutions in Norway and abroad, and represent different artistic expressions in the performing arts. All of them have defined children and young people as their main target group.

The intention behind the pilot was to raise awareness among performers of what is required of performing artists and companies to be commissioned in the Cultural Rucksack (DKS), and what quality criteria are used in the field.

Ragnhild Tronstad, Head of Performing Arts at Kulturtanken, points out that a lot of performing arts are produced for children and young people, and that DKS programmers have a lot to choose from.

-Many performing artists find that it can be difficult to get tours in DKS, and that there are many obstacles along the way. 

Senior advisor at Scenekunstbruket, Guri Birkeland, elaborates: 

- It can be difficult to navigate in a system with many links where everything has to work from idea to actual tour. Managing your own artistry is very important, and this seminar is therefore a measure to stimulate good productions in DKS.

Meeting challenges

Over the course of three densely packed days, the participants were almost saturated with professional and artistic content. Birkeland notes that it was probably overwhelming with almost 17 performances, seminars, new networks and acquaintances in such a short time, but the impression she is left with is that the offer was both useful and long-awaited.

- All eight of them have a strong desire to create and perform for the target group, and they work with very interesting artistic expressions. We were asked a lot of questions along the way and also listened to the frustrations they may experience in the face of DKS reality, and what it's like to be in a start-up phase with little predictability," says Birkeland.

Being a newly established performer can be tough. 

According to Birkeland, there is a lack of funding for both production and dissemination, which tends to hit new performing artists particularly hard. "How will they manage to stand out in the crowd of performances produced for a young target group and be offered a tour?" she asks rhetorically.

Tronstad points out the importance of an introductory seminar like this one also inspiring the participants - by showing the fantastic opportunities that lie in creating art for children and young people.

And inspired they were. As one of the participants says: "I got something out of everything on the program".

A valued offering

The pilot has received good feedback from participants. They particularly appreciated the opportunity to see, discuss and be inspired by a diverse selection of high-quality performances. They also mentioned the value of gaining insight into how professionals assess and select performances for DKS, the Market for Performing Arts and Scenekunstbruket's repertoire, as well as the criteria used. Gunn Strand Eliassen, artistic director of the market, is also very pleased with the implementation:

- "It's clear that the event meets a need. With all the positive feedback we've received, there's a lot to suggest that we'll repeat the event next year, with a few adjustments," she concludes.

Want to ensure good art for children and young people

This is the first time Scenekunstbruket, Markedet for Scenekunst and Kulturtanken have collaborated on such an initiative. What significance does it have?

- We have a common goal of strengthening the quality of what is produced and disseminated in DKS. It is natural to collaborate on various measures that can contribute to this in both the short and long term, and the Market for Performing Arts is an excellent arena for this type of seminar. "It's interesting to see what Kulturtanken, with its overall responsibility for DKS, and Scenekunstbruket, with our expertise and close contact with the field of performing arts for children and young people, can achieve together," Birkeland points out.

Her experience is that artists need insight into how the performing arts field for children and young people works.

- Providing good information about what we at Kulturtanken and Scenekunstbruket are working on is key, but we also need to think long-term about what we can do together to ensure good art for children and young people. We believe that recruitment initiatives of this kind are a fruitful way to go," concludes Birkeland.

This year's participants:

• Jawad Aziz - the slam poet graduated from Nordic Black Theatre.
• Shelmith Øseth - dancer trained at Skolan för Samtidsdans.
• Peter Kolbjørnsen - actor educated at Nord University and Kristiania University College/Westerdals.
• Lisa Teige - dancer trained from Khio.
• Julian Sæther - circus artist trained at L'Académie Fratellini.
• Sara Karoline Steinmoen - actress educated at École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq.
• Vebjørn Skovli Berg - actor educated from NSKI.
• Maria Victoria Høvring Høeg - stage designer educated at the Academy of Art and Design, Valand Academy, Academy of Performing Arts and Khio.

Program

TUESDAY 

Five performances. 

Seminar:

• Introduction round
• About the selection of performing arts proposals for DKS.

Presentations by Anders Gaarder Karterudseter (DKS Oslo) and Anette Storli Andersen (DKS Vestfold og Telemark).

Dinner and socializing with all the participants at Markedet for scenekunst.

WEDNESDAY

Seven performances and mini-presentations of five productions.

Seminar:

• About assessment of artistic quality in Scenekunstbruket's artistic council, by Guri Birkeland (Scenekunstbruket)
• About Kulturtanken, the DKS portal and the practical process of applying for DKS, by Ragnhild Tronstad (Kulturtanken).

Presentations, mingling and food 

Dinner and socializing with all the participants at Markedet for scenekunst.

THURSDAY

Five performances 

Seminar:

• About quality assessments when selecting performing arts performances for the Market for Performing Arts and insider tips from a colleague, by Ibrahim Fazlic (performing artist).
• About quality assessments when selecting performing arts productions for Markedet for scenekunst and Kloden, by Mari Haugen (Kloden teater).
• In summary

Speakers and organizers:

• Ibrahim Fazlic (performing artist and member of the program council Markedet for Scenekunst)
• Mari Haugen (producer at Kloden teater and member of the program council Markedet for Scenekunst)
• Anders Gaarder Karterudseter (Responsible for Performing Arts in DKS Oslo and member of Scenekunstbrukets kunstneriske råd)
• Anette Storli Andersen (team leader at Vestfold and Telemark County Council)
• Ragnhild Tronstad (responsible for performing arts in Kulturtanken)
• Guri Birkeland (senior advisor in Scenekunstbruket)
• Elin Feen (advisor in Vestfold and Telemark County Council)
• Gunn Strand Eliassen (artistic director of Markedet for scenekunst)

The introductory seminar was a pilot, and thus gave the organizers useful experience and knowledge to take forward. 

Here are four learning points:

1. You can never set aside enough time for discussion! Next time, we will try to facilitate more conversations, both within the seminar and more informal conversations between the performances.
2. The practical implementation of the seminar program worked well and can be continued next year. Then it will also be possible to send more detailed information about the program and practical details related to travel and accommodation to the participants at an earlier stage.
3. There is great value in allowing newly established performing artists to meet artists from other networks who often represent completely different aspects of performing arts for children and young people. As organizers, we could have assisted them to an even greater extent by introducing the seminar and presenting the seminar participants in plenary to the other festival participants as part of the festival program.  
4. Next time, we will put even more emphasis on creating a safe space for discussion and exchange of opinions, among other things by expanding the seminar and social program.

Source: Tronstad and Birkeland