TEH77 Conference in Amsterdam “The future is not what it used to be”
The TEH77 Conference “The future is not what it used to be” took place at Melkweg and P60 in Amsterdam and Amstelveen, The Netherlands, on 2-6 April 2014.
The TEH77 Conference gathered 350 cultural professionals from 29 countries for five days of exchange, debate and internal network development. The programme combined the General Assembly during which two new TEH members were voted into the network (Vyrsopeseio and Halle 14) – with 11 thematic workshops, keynote lectures and collaborative working formats.
The Conference addressed the future role of independent cultural centres in a changing Europe. The 11 sessions were:
- Moving Europe – a joint effort for the arts (Birgitta Persson, TEH Coordination Office)
- Creative business models and sustainable income strategies (Paul Bogen, Engine Room Europe team - TEH project)
- The resurrection of the local (STEALTH.unlimited, Rotterdam/Belgrade-based practice operating at the intersection of urban research, spatial intervention, and cultural activism since 2000)
- Campaigning for your life (Maarten van Heems and Isabelle Rade from BKB.nl, Amsterdam-based campaign agency in the Netherlands that specializes in campaigns for social issues, politics and NGOs)
- Power to the people: strategic marketing through audience development (marketing and event communications professionals Jo Taylor, Victor van der Wijk and Michiel Rovers)
- Informal professional development (Gerard Lohuis from P60, TEH member)
- Culture for a sustainable future (Camille de Wit and Sigrid Niemer)
- Reclaiming public space (Sandy Fitzgerald, Engine Room Europe team - TEH project)
- Art for art's sake (Arc Theatre)
- Preparing for the future ("public works" and Futureconsult, a strategic foresight consultancy)
- Creative collaboration and structured idea development (Henrik Johansson, Change Design - a consultant agency working to leverage the creative and innovative capacities in business, organisational and educational settings)
Keynote speakers and moderators included Rob Riemen (CEO of the Nexus Institute), writer and radio producer Craig Shuftan, journalist Sophie Derkzen, and civil society advisor Moukhtar Kocache.
The Conference had several interactive formats. Candidate members participated in public Q&A sessions as part of TEH membership process. An Action Lab, led by TEH members Subtopia and Bakelit, facilitated two hours of intensive collaboration that resulted in 13 project proposals. These included concepts such as TEH Mobile School, Trans Halles Express (Artistic Road Trip), Supporting Innovative European Artists, Arts Educators for Social Impact, and the Borders Project.
One TEH project impact presentation was delivered following the completion of Engine Room Europe project by the project's evaluator Bill Miller, offering TEH members a structured reflection on results and lessons learned.
TEH77 combined governance, peer learning and project development, reinforcing the role of the network as a platform for cooperation among independent cultural centres across Europe.
