A residency programme for young artists who are working in dance and emerging contemporary art forms, living and working in France, Austria and Romania, and in the initial phase of developing a creative project. The residency helps develop the local cultural landscape, partly throughan innovative use of space.

The choreographers Joel Borges, Anita Kaya and Cosmin Manolescu are the artistic directors, supported by associated artists from different disciplines. The coordination offices (http://www.terrainsfertiles.org/) are thought of as contact points - resource space - open to all artists and project leaders who wish to develop their approach in a context of cooperation and artistic exchange.

GIVE TIME TO COOPERATION

Cultural cooperation for artistic exchanges is a meeting process;
cultural cooperation projects place creativity in the centre of its realisation; cooperation proposes a new relation to time (Terrains Fertiles - cooperation)

One of the driving forces behind Terrains Fertiles was the wish of Joel Borges to imagine how his dance company (IXKIZIT) could anchor itself within a larger and more transversal environment of artistic creation, and participate in building the contemporary cultural landscape. This led IXKIZIT to link with other small organisations in Europe (particularly from the Balkan region) which develop cultural and artistic activities/projects in order to strengthen the local environment. Gradually, an informal network began to grow.

LEARNING: Give time to cooperation

IXKIZIT's objectives and know-how in terms of understanding cultural cooperation projects was something that came out from the “processus de rencontre", which I really believe is the main definition that we need to use when we speak about cooperation.

So we learned from the field, and starting from this experience we shaped new form and detailed our 'artistic', 'conceptual' wishes.

Getting in contact with the networks was also a very important aspect of the working process. As project coordinator of a small organisation which receives no support for its institutional activities, but only project-based grants, I had a very limited possibility to travel. IETM meetings were thus very useful in order to meet people from all over Europe, and particularly the Balkans.

Exchange practices can truly make a difference to artists' isolation (Isabel Andreen)

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PARTNERS MEET DIFFICULTIES?

The whole conception process of Terrains Fertiles was made by IXKIZIT along with DCM Foundation and Im-flieger, as well as with two other organisations - Majaze (Italy) and NEC (Portugal) - which did not in the end sign the application because of the difficulty they had in fulfilling the criteria of Culture 2000. For quite some time, however, there were five organisations working on the objectives, needs and actions that would form the basis of Terrains Fertiles.

At the time of the Culture 2000 application, DCM Foundation was the co-organising structure.

Unfortunately, in summer 2004, due to a range of financial problems, they had to withdraw their commitment.

Because the application had already been approved by the European Commission, and the launch of the project was due in November 2004, the remaining partners had to find a new co-organiser without affecting the proposed content.

In the end, ArCuB - a strong institutional structure - seemed to offer the only possibility of securing the necessary financial security and coherence of the project in Romania. However, since the content could not be changed, and because the active involvement of artistic directors was regarded as a key factor for success, Cosmin Manolescu of DCM was asked to be artistic director and maintain his role in the programme, employed by ArCuB. The European Commission agreed to the new structure.

SKILLS FOR COOPERATION PROJECTS

Coordination is not just about performing administrative tasks, as is sometimes thought to be the case. It is about engagement, about having a vision and being ready to participate in the development of a landscape through the adoption of an interdisciplinary approach. Consequently, one aspect of Terrains Fertiles is the transfer of knowledge from artistic director to artistic director and from general coordinator to local coordinator. Coordination is also about the empowerment of small organisations which increasingly need to deal with artistic and management issues.

LEARNING: FUNDING OBSTACLES

The combination of long EU application procedures and fragile structures can result in a tricky situation: it is not seldom that operators' financial situation seriously fluctuates in a period of 6 months.

Furthermore, it frequently happens that an organisation cannot apply for the most appropriate source of funding: this because small organisations often do not have structural funding or cannot demonstrate long-term financial stability. (Isabel Andreen)

COOPERATION: PROJECT AIMS AND ARTISTS' POINT OF VIEW

One of Terrains Fertiles's general aims is to bring projects into new spaces.

Dans un contexte d'expérimentation et de mise en situation artistique, les chorégraphes ont investi différents espaces, du Musée d'Art Contemporain situé dans l'ancien Palais du Peuple construit par Ceaucescu, en passant par le tout nouveau Centre National de la Danse de Bucarest, à des lieux situés dans une forte proximité avec les habitants de la ville de Vienne : vitrines, cabaret, magasin désaffecté, gare routière, friche industrielle... Cette diversité des lieux questionnent en profondeur les projets des artistes, par leur contexte historique, social, politique, économique et culturel. (Itinéraire européen de résidences de création Paris et Seine-Saint-Denis Du 19 septembre au 8 octobre 2005).

This solution (stepping out of the everyday context) is a way of artistically questioning and provoking the projects through spatial constraints and close contact with local audiences and players.

Working with different spaces means supporting the development of new partnerships in the local artistic community, e.g. by engaging players that might not see their space as being open to residencies, and by making actors that do not usually do so collaborate with one another.

Finally, since many artists experience a strong sense of isolation in their day-to-day activities, Terrain Fertiles seeks to nurture their identity as artists by providing an informal exchange platform, where differences and similarities are emphasised, and growth and professional empowerment are sought.

Is there a future?

In the words of the project manager, the future of Terrains Fertiles depends on the possibility of developing and sustaining a medium-term programme. This cannot be seen in year-to-year terms because of the nature and specificity of the cooperation it seeks to develop. Ideally, each new edition of the programme should be a cooperative process, and residencies should build the final phase of the process.

As far as the coordinator is concerned, two content-related issues are especially relevant: a) cultural cooperation and lifelong learning; and b) cultural cooperation, territory and civil society.

Unfortunately, although strategic thinking in the medium-term is underway, still no structural funding for Terrain Fertiles's future has been secured as yet.

WHO WE ARE

IXKIZIT

A non-governmental organisation which develops international artistic collaboration between cultural actors, artists and audiences. This is implemented on two levels: the creative work of the choreographer Joel Borges and the elaboration of programmes of support and artistic exchange for young artists. The international cooperation and artistic exchanges began in 2001 when IXKIZIT became project leader of 'Itinéraire danse', an annual cooperation project between Compania de Dança de Almada (Portugal) and Trafo-House of Contemporary arts (Hungary).

Im-flieger

A young dynamic organisation led by artists for artists active in dance, performance, and interdisciplinary art work. Im-flieger focuses on contemporary artistic exchange and development; local, national and international artistic cooperation; and the support of independent performance artists. Its performance venue is a large flexible studio space located in the WUK (http://www.wuk.at/) and still mainly used as a rehearsal studio by independent performance artists.

ArCuB (http://www.arcub.ro/about.htm)

ArCuB is a unique cultural organisation based in Romania. It was conceived as a tool for developing relations between local institutions and civil society. ArCuB's vocation is to support and produce cultural and artistic projects and to provoke encounters with the public with the aim of making audiences more receptive to contemporary creation.

THANKS TO

Isabel Andreen

PHOTO CREDITS

In Romania: Daniel Bucur

In Austria: Caroline Heinecke

The information was retrieved via the web and through email contacts and a phone interview with the project's General Coordinator. Some of the artists taking part in the residency programme also contributed their insights