Rijeka 2019: introducing the IETM network
Further to offering support for professionals in the region, Occitanie en scène develops its project by taking teams of artists and organisations beyond their regular networks.
For the IETM Rijeka Plenary Meeting 2019, held last October in Croatia, Occitanie en scène accompanied two regional organisations to become acquainted with these international meetings. These were Derrière le Hublot and La Bulle Bleue.
On her return from Croatia, Delphine Maurel, director of La Bulle Bleue, interested in meeting other teams to share their experiences with regard to disablement and performing arts, talked to us about her first impressions.
Did you know about IETM before you went to Rijeka?
What was your overall impression of progress in the plenary meeting?
I had never taken part in IETM though I did know about the network and the aims of the meetings. At the 2014 IETM plenary meeting in Montpellier, we had the luck to have a venue, in partnership with the Théâtre des 13 Vents, for a show staged by Bruno Geslin (Compagnie La Grande Mêlée) and a performed installation with actors from La Bulle Bleue.
The overall impression was very positive. The plenary meeting was very stimulating. The number of participants and topics discussed showed just how dynamic this industry is Europe-wide and how diverse its projects and initiatives. I was pleased to see how much the profession questions itself and, above all, how it adopts attitudes and projects with political commitments. The political aspect may be the defining feature of the network.
The nice thing is that the main motivation is still the meeting and discussion of ways and means.
Which workshops did you attend at the meeting and why?
Did you find your choices constructive?
I took part with aim of learning about disabled artistes’ projects and European inclusive policies so I chose workshops dealing with these matters. There were a lot of them and that says quite a bit about a time when the issue of inclusivity is developing. That said, the choices were not very constructive because the speakers either stuck to their own experience or to very broad brushstrokes. The approach was more to do with teaching, educational and cultural actions. The issues were not treated with regard to the professionalisation of disabled artistes. I feel this says something about a topic that is difficult to grasp and hardly developed.
The most interesting thing was being invited by Julie Josserand (Occitanie en scène) to hear a commission which works specifically on practice by disabled artistes. As the commission is reserved to members of IETM, I sadly wasn’t able to join in the discussion and follow their work (which goes on all year round).
Rijelka 2019: Christelle Jung, Delphine Maurel, Fred Sancère and Julie Josserand
Was this time in Rijeka a welcome one for you to strengthen your links with partners who are already known to you, or rather to get acquainted with new people and new organisations?
As it was my first time and as I don’t work much on the European scale, it was an occasion to get acquainted with new people and organisations.
In that regard, my aims in taking part were achieved.
Are there already any direct or indirect results from this mobile process?
This process comes into the framework of an ongoing European project and a future project. Occitanie en scène supports us mainly in this process of a European project. So it had immediate results in boosting and broadening current and ongoing projects.
There will be further results following on from the contacts made over those few days.
After this experience, do you plan to go to another IETM plenary meeting or one of the satellite meetings?
I found it very interesting. I think it is vital to be part of a professional network like IETM, especially for organisations such a La Bulle Bleue which has a very local scope while working on a project with a national and European dimension, because this type of project is so rare. But I don’t yet know if I shall be advocating that the company gets more actively involved in the endeavour, for reasons of availability of people and facilities.
La Bulle Bleue
La Bulle Bleue — ESAT (sheltered employment sector organisation) – opened in February 2012 and is an ADPEP34 organisation.
La Bulle Bleue is an artistic and cultural workshop in Montpellier (Hérault) invested by a team of disabled actors, stage technicians, public relations officers, gardeners, chefs and janitors.
Blending conventional skills with show business skills, La Bulle Bleue is an original experiment on the local and national scene. Its activities are tailored to the running of the Chai de La Bulle Bleue, an artistic and cultural workshop open to all forms of expression and audiences.
A pilot organisation focused on culture, health, disablement and dependency in Occitanie, La Bulle Bleue offers its skills and technical facilities to offer quality employment and visibility to local and national artistic initiatives involving the disabled.
Occitanie en scène: Julie Josserand
+33 (0)7 68 29 53 74
j.josserand[@]occitanie-en-scene.fr
