The Producers' Academy is a dedicated time to reflect, think, co-learn, encounter, and question the practice of the producer. With open minds and open hearts, integrity and fun, this four-day seminar delves into the current urgencies and issues around producing work and being a producer.

It takes place during Kunstenfestivaldesarts, an international performing arts festival in Brussels and is also just after the arts in the city festival, OPENBARE WERKEN in Gent.

A focus on producing participatory projects and/or contextualized work

This year, the Producers' Academy will focus on practices of producing participatory projects and/or contextualized work.

Facilitated by curator and dramaturg Bek Berger (DE), these four days will be dedicated to tackling some of the ethical questions linked with participation and public space, enlightened by the perspective of the producer Cecilia Kuska (AR/BE). We will also learn methodologies to support collaborative work within projects, such as Action Learning with Rachel Nelken (UK) and Delia Barker (UK).

The different subjects will be explored while talking, listening, walking or playing, using the expertise of inspirational guests and the knowledge within the room.

Programme

Getting to know you - Bek Berger

Through several warming up exercices our facilitator Bek Berger will help everyone to get to know each other.

How to build an artistic progamme today? - Daniel Blanga-Gubbay

Reflecting on his experience, Daniel will raise the questions “How to build an artistic program today?”, “How to work within an institution with a history and bring it elsewhere?”.

Introduction to Action Learning - Rachel Nelken and Delia Barker

An opportunity to get to know each other and work together on reflective problem-solving!

The session, run by experienced facilitators Rachel Nelken and Delia Barker will include an extended introduction exercise and then the chance to try Action Learning.

Action Learning is a formal process where one person in a group will present a challenge (personal/professional) they are facing. The group (called a ‘set’) helps them to find solutions via ‘actions’ that they can take away. The set can only ask ‘open questions’ to support the presenter to find their own solutions. The set works together to ask questions which will help open the presenter’s thinking. There is no two-way conversation, no talking about our own experience and importantly, no giving of advice. This unusually reflective opportunity provides time and space for the presenter to come up with new options or ideas. It is a disruption from normal dialogue and the way we generally interact with each other. The process can lead to real ‘lightbulb moments’. Participants generally leave an Action Learning set feeling uplifted having connected with each other at a deep level.

There will be the chance for 2 producers to present any challenge they are currently facing professionally and work on it with the group, so do have a think if you would like to take advantage of this great opportunity!

THESE CARDS ARE NOT MAGIC - Bek Berger

‘THESE CARDS ARE NOT MAGIC ’ is a tool, a collaboration, a methodology, a performance which invites artists and conspirators to have an honest conversation about their relationships. Drawing on the legacy of conventional tarot, this new deck utilizes contemporary language, imagery and a collaborative practice to generate textures of conversation and exchange. These cards and the performed reading provide a platform for conversations to arise and the invitation to talk through the images. The cards provide a safe and non-confrontation backdrop to talk about collaborations, crossing borders (artistic and physical) and thresholds. 

In this workshop participants are invited to dive into a new world of hosting honest conversations through collaborative artist-made tarot. All participants will be gifted a deck and provided the teachings to adapt this practice to their own context. 

With radical Care, In motion - Cecilia Kuska

In an era where boundaries between audience and artist are increasingly porous, and where public spaces are reclaimed as stages for expression, protest, and community gathering, the role of the cultural producer demands both reinvention and deep reflection. This workshop invites participants into a shared inquiry: how do we, as producers and cultural workers, accompany the journey of artistic creation into the public realm? How do we navigate the complexities, responsibilities, and possibilities of participatory work when it unfolds outside the black box and into the streets, plazas, markets, and neighbourhoods?

During this encounter, we will explore, share, and critically confront experiences and questions arising from participatory arts practices. These are not merely questions of logistics or project management, although those are certainly part of the terrain, but of ethics, imagination, and care. What is the role of the producer when translating a work into a public space? How active and creative is that role, and in which ways does it become a co-authorship? Which ethical frameworks guide our choices, and how do we respond when those frameworks come into tension with institutional expectations or unpredictable real-life scenarios?

We will examine the plurality of the producer’s role through real case studies, individual experiences, and collective analysis. From projects initiated in the Global South, where resourcefulness and resistance often shape the very conditions of artistic work, to contexts in the Global North, where questions of authorship, institutionalisation, and civic engagement might take other forms, this workshop proposes a space to learn across differences.

The workshop will include moments of group reflection, provocations, and working sessions where participants will be encouraged to bring their own questions, doubts, and learnings into the room. Ultimately, our time together is about recognising the craft of cultural production as an embodied, relational, and deeply political practice. It is about giving space to our questions, and daring to ask them aloud, in community. From south to north, across disciplines and contexts, we will learn from each other’s experiences - both the joyful and the difficult - and collectively trace the outlines of a practice that is at once intimate and public, planned and emergent, rigorous and wild.

Tools for sharing - Bek Berger

A session where producers can share their tools, tips and tricks.

Decolonial Tour - Collectif Mémoire Coloniale et Lutte Contre les Discriminations

MCLCD organises tours in Brussels and its surroundings to inform the public about the construction of a decolonial citizen’s conscience through history, the cultural values of Africa and by occupying public space. We will tour the area around Beursschouwburg on foot and learn more about Belgium’s colonial history.

Free session - Group

We have left this session free, to give the group some wiggle room but also to go with the flow on what the group’s desires and needs are. This session could be another moment to connect with your peers, to invite somebody to come and share their knowledge, to share an artistic practice... You name it!

Commitments and celebrations - Bek Berger

A moment to make new commitments concerning your practice as a producer and to celebrate your achievements.

Speakers

Bek Berger - facilitator

Bek Berger is an artist, curator, and dramaturg originally from Australia, now based in Berlin. Her practice blends curiosity and innovation, creating new models of connection, collaboration, and reciprocity between artists and communities. Recent highlights include co-developing a new tarot deck with Gob Squad (DE) for their 30th anniversary, creating a new project for Belgrade Pride with Petr Dlouhý (CZ) at Heartefact, and collaborating with James Batchelor on a multi-generational dance piece spanning Australia and Berlin.  

From 2020 to 2024, Bek served as the curator of the International Festival of Contemporary Theatre, Homo Novus, in Riga, Latvia, where she initiated a range of international collaborations, including Baltic Take Over Helsinki (LV, LT, EE, FI), The Shake Down with Rosendal Theatre (LV, NO), and The Festivals Path with ANTI Festival (LV, FI). Since 2017, she has worked as dramaturg with dance artist James Batchelor, premiering four works and touring globally to renowned contexts such as Centre Pompidou (FR), Tanz im August (DE), Dance Massive (AU), Spring Forward/Aerowaves 19, and ImPulsTanz (AT).

Bek currently serves on the board of IETM and, in 2020, was awarded the Australia Council HIAP Residency. She was also granted the Kone Foundation SARRI Residency in Mynämäki, Finland, for 2023 and 2025.

Bek is currently focused on exploring the magic of togetherness, fostering new conditions for collective creation, and improving the performing arts through pleasure-centered design. Her expertise lies at the intersection of festival curation, dance dramaturgy, and karaoke.

Rachel Nelken

Rachel Nelken - CEO Raw Material Music and Media, freelance facilitator and consultant - Rachel’s 20+ years in the London creative sector have included work with many high-profile and grassroots arts organisations designing, developing, and running creative programmes for communities, developing artists, producing events and shows, and working with strategic music funders. Senior roles include Head of Creative Programmes at The Albany theatre in Deptford from 2017-2019, and Senior Producer at Camden’s Roundhouse in 2013-2017.

As CEO for NPO Raw Material Music and Media, Rachel has redefined and grown the Brixton based charity, in the heart of London’s most diverse communities. She has developed new representative and reflective governance, collective leadership and cultural democracy structures, raising over £1m towards the programme and building development. Rachel is also a parent to 2 lively and opinionated teenagers. She is passionate about the creative arts and is a keen musician, currently studying jazz cello.

Delia Barker

Delia Barker leads Brixton House, a lively cultural venue in South London, drawing on a wealth of experience from senior creative roles. Previously, she partnered with major players like BT and NHS England on culture change and diversity and equity initiatives at Deeds and Words. At The Roundhouse, she focused on music, performance and engaging young people, enriching the lives of thousands aged 11-25.

Delia's experience spans arts institutions like the English National Ballet School and Phoenix Dance Theatre and is always interested in supporting the development of individuals and organisations. She regularly delivers mentoring sessions and public speaking engagements across a few sectors as well as facilitating executive and board awaydays. She's also passionate about fundraising for Dementia UK and still enjoys social dancing whenever time permits.

Cecilia Kuska

Cecilia Kuska is a dynamic cultural worker (creative producer, curator, and international relations manager) specialising in interdisciplinary collaboration and fostering cultural diversity across continents. Born in South America and a currently based in Europe, she actively bridges both regions through innovative projects. Cecilia is dedicated to holistic, supportive professional development for artists and teams, creating inclusive spaces for connection and collective growth, and understanding the challenges that this entails. Known for her collaborative approach to international projects, she champions female and dissident representation in institutional spaces and amplifies marginalized voices, infusing each initiative with her commitment to equity and transformative impact. Her career spans directing, mentoring, producing, and curating large-scale cultural programs globally. She served as guest curator of institutions like Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, EU-LAC, International Festival Santiago a Mil, Carlow Arts Festival in Ireland, International Festival of Sao Paulo - MITsp, Internationes project for the Teatro della Citta in Catania and at the CASA London’s Latin American Arts Festival, also as co-curator and international relations at Something Great Berlin, production director at FAENA Arts Center and the Buenos Aires International Festival - FIBA, and Cultural Programming director at the Buenos Aires Cultural Management Ministry. She co-founded PRÓXIMAMENTE and currently artistically coordinates a co-curate, a platform and festival led by the KVS theatre in Brussels with partners in Latin America, to foster equitable cooperation between Latinx and European artists and institutions. In 2020, she established a studio to work on contemporary artistic expressionsand international artist development.

Rachel Nelken

Rachel Nelken - CEO Raw Material Music and Media, freelance facilitator and consultant - Rachel’s 20+ years in the London creative sector have included work with many high-profile and grassroots arts organisations designing, developing, and running creative programmes for communities, developing artists, producing events and shows, and working with strategic music funders. Senior roles include Head of Creative Programmes at The Albany theatre in Deptford from 2017-2019, and Senior Producer at Camden’s Roundhouse in 2013-2017.

As CEO for NPO Raw Material Music and Media, Rachel has redefined and grown the Brixton based charity, in the heart of London’s most diverse communities. She has developed new representative and reflective governance, collective leadership and cultural democracy structures, raising over £1m towards the programme and building development. Rachel is also a parent to 2 lively and opinionated teenagers. She is passionate about the creative arts and is a keen musician, currently studying jazz cello.

Delia Barker

Delia Barker leads Brixton House, a lively cultural venue in South London, drawing on a wealth of experience from senior creative roles. Previously, she partnered with major players like BT and NHS England on culture change and diversity and equity initiatives at Deeds and Words. At The Roundhouse, she focused on music, performance and engaging young people, enriching the lives of thousands aged 11-25.

Delia's experience spans arts institutions like the English National Ballet School and Phoenix Dance Theatre and is always interested in supporting the development of individuals and organisations. She regularly delivers mentoring sessions and public speaking engagements across a few sectors as well as facilitating executive and board awaydays. She's also passionate about fundraising for Dementia UK and still enjoys social dancing whenever time permits.

Collectif Mémoire Coloniale et Lutte Contre les Discriminations

CMCLD is a decolonial organisation in permanent fight for the construction of a decolonial society: - that builds an objective history in which all its citizens can find themselves - which faces up to its colonial memory and carries out permanent work - freed from racism and negrophobia - freed from stereotypes and prejudices that lead to discrimination - freed from oligarchic economic exploitation leading to competition of the poor and consequently to racism - freed from a colonial management of society that pits citizens against each other

Applications and conditions

Criteria of eligibility

The Producers’ Academy is open to:

• Special focus and priority to producers* who are working in/with public space and/or participatory projects
• Are also invited to apply producers/cultural entrepreneurs who have developed or are in the process of developing innovative way(s) to support creation in an international dimension and/or with a trans-sectorial approach (decolonisation, feminism, fair practices, climate change, accessibility, etc.)
• Producers from all nationalities

• People who have at least five years of experience as a producer in the performing arts** sector

• The event will be held exclusively in English. Therefore, participants need to be able to understand, communicate and work in English.

* Producers: supervise, support, follow an artist or a collective/company.
**Performing arts: are excluded from this definition opera and music-only related projects.

If you have any question regarding your eligibility, please get in touch with Beth Gordon: beth@cifas.be

Conditions

Participation is free of charge (full programme + lunches during the four days + 2 performances).

We do not take in charge travel and accommodation costs*. We can send official invitation letters to those who wish to activate ways to support their participation costs. Our partner On the Move can provide advice and guidance about available mobility support programmes for selected participants.

* Travel support can be considered on an exceptional basis, see below.

Bursaries

Cifas offers a limited number of travel grants to support producers from countries where little or no financial support is available for international mobility.

Call for applications closed

Supported by Wallonie-Bruxelles International.