Welcome to the Break Out Room SELF-ORGANISATION

Time for a thorough rethinking of the concept of representation in the field.

How can we better organise ourselves as artists and cultural workers? How can we combine our diversity into a collective voice, in which our plurality can still be heard? And how can we ensure that the ‘we’ also becomes a real ‘us’, in a broad and inclusive platform?

PRESENT > Ben De Raes, Roger Fähndrich, Mimi Wascher, Esther Lybeert

Ben would like te take PAF as an example. Feels inspired by the clear set of rules PAF is a place and not an organisation. Nobody can claim anything. And yet is co-creator and responsible for everything. Utopian anarchist place.

Everybody takes repsonsibilty and ownership. Ben does not feel he is gone from SOTA, but does not always have the time to be active.

KR > Durable vision for the future? How do we keep the organisation running, if there is a goal, but not a continuous group. Difference with PAF: the space has no goal for itself. No action as such you have to agree on. Yet, it is an interesting thing to think SOTA as a space. Think of hardware (space, building) and software (what is happening inside the space, building) We have to remember that also in PAF there is a basic set of people that do take care of the hardware.

We would need a central point of information to catch up with. Are newsletters a way to connect? If time is valuable, it is the question if investing time in it. Maybe only when there is an urgency…?

Communication and sharing of knowledge is key.

Selforganisation also an interesting thing for the culture field in general. We are the worst in handling our own passions, that leads to burn outs. We;re all cought in the neo-liberal logic. Focussing on Selforganisation could be of help here.

Self organisation could be a strong political statement. SOTA could be umbrella for selforganised communities. Selforganiation as a tool. Level 5 was doing this in Brussels, but there are others.

SOTA could offer reflection group around selforganisation. Create tools and do promotion and communcaition about it. ‘protecting yourself’ avoid pressure, empower yourself through the exchange with others.

His practice: FILM > rough cuts show it to others. It helps to not be to alone. Against loneliness. Get yourself organised in elf run common studios > Advocacy for self organsation Good practices could give extra wave in the movement.

Problem: Voices of Dance > started during the lockdown. No one was an expert, nobody really wanted to do this, but did it because there was an urgency. But as soon as theatres opened everything was dropped. Everyone went back to work and had to earn money

Suggests: Create workshop around skills to run a movement. ((REMARK KR > INVITE VoD FOR TRACTIE TRAJECT??)) Workshop around subjects where people can enter without pre-knowledge, but can interact creatively.

Roger > people coming from school. Institutions cannot take all people that graduate, so self organisations are importat because art can come from that. This should be more promoted.
KR > Should there be subsidies for this? Yes, but it is also about space. Good place to work, not to have to work in and coffee shop. Not very professional. There also could be more solidairty by big houses that can offer space. VAF > there is a lot of money divided, but there are still too many makers that do not get it. People get opportuniteis, but not enough. Money is one. But meeting people, having a place to work, material to work. Too much focus on the money. Soclal aspect are key.

Roger: what can art do and what is it? Doubts about the use of art and its potential.

Roger > Gradtuates > huge need to connect, to learn more about the field, to get opportunies etc.
Mimi > Dance > auditions for larger companies and projects work, but dancers could do a lo themselves if they would have the space and the means to do so.
Jobs come from meeting people, to talk to people, to exhange thoughts, plansm ideas. This was very much missing in the lockdown period. Some nice initaitves, like the Foyer, an online meeting space by Liz Kinoshita ec> Young people get to meet artists from the field

connect the young field with the establised field. Connecting to the larger houses is not the problem, but the organisation to get together> We know how it goes

self organisation > Esther > small organisation that should come together. We have to have one voice.

Do we have to find one person to speak for us? Very hard to include all the voices. If we talk about the p Solution for professional focussed people.

SOTA is a space I would not like to be represented.

finding strategies that are good for many people. not an either or story, but both, We should be prepared for a call from the media. ‘Burgerplatform’ There are logics of how to do it are in all the structures (media, politics)