ARTS REPRESENTATION
“If the institution
doesn’t change
to reflect the
community, it’s
a white elephant”
David Baile, CEO at ISPA
34 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE
Above: David Baile, CEO
of the International Society
of Performing Arts
eight indigenous arts leaders to the Guadalajara
congress in May 2019.
However, Baile believes that the problem of
people feeling excluded from the arts is present
in practically every community. “So many people
think that the performing arts aren’t for them,”
he says. “That applies across ages, socioeconomic
statuses, education levels – it’s a huge issue we’re
grappling with. A ticket for a Broadway show is
hundreds of dollars; it is commercial theater, but
regardless of that, accessibility is something we
need to address.”
Baile has seen a shift in how arts facilities
engage with communities. “They’re not
monoliths anymore, they’re much more open
to the public through the day,” he says. “If
the institution doesn’t change to reflect the
community, it’s a white elephant.”
Technological tools
He also thinks technology could aid accessibility,
but given the pace of change, it is difficult to
decide which to embrace. He gives ISPA’s
congresses as an example. “The international
congresses offer simultaneous translation, and
in New York we try to facilitate speakers from
other parts of the world by having interpreters,
but the reality is that we operate primarily in
English,” he says. “Is there a technology that
will address that effectively? Should we use
surtitling, subtitling, smartphone translation
or simultaneous translation through headsets?
Then there’s a whole other conversation around
which languages to support, and whether sign
language should be the first step. We haven’t
come to an answer yet, but it’s a question we’re
deeply committed to.”
For now, ISPA has sourced a technology it
hopes will encourage greater participation at
its congresses – an app that people can use to
ask questions. “It will help people who may feel
too intimidated to get up to a microphone, or
those who find it challenging to formulate a
question in English on the spot,” says Baile.
Another ongoing conversation is the mobility
of artists. “The reality is its challenging,” says
Baile. “We had three fellows who couldn’t get
visas in time to come to New York this year.
This is also an increasing reality for ISPA
members in terms of the exchange of artists. But
organizations and artists are being very creative
about ensuring their mobility and that’s exciting.
We’re working together to address it.” n
www.ispa.org
ISPA has also been seeking broader inclusion
for groups that are under-represented in the arts.
For example, it is partnering with the British
Council on an EU-funded initiative to provide
information and resources for arts organizations
on how to work both with disabled artists and
the organizations that engage with them.
Likewise, ISPA has focused on supporting
indigenous communities, for example
partnering with the Canada Council to send
SEE YOU IN NEW YORK
ISPA’s next congress will be held in New York on January
14-16, 2020. One session launched in 2019 that Baile is hoping
to revisit is Design Thinking, where the originators of selected
projects have seven minutes to explain the idea and then
answer questions in a three-minute Q&A. Last year’s ideas
included Fair Saturday, a project from Bilbao, Spain. “It’s
intended as a day for community engagement in the arts, and
promoting accessibility,” says Baile.
Another project highlighted in 2019 is the Arts Wellbeing
Collective, a consortium of more than 100 organizations,
initiated by Arts Centre Melbourne, which aims to improve
mental health support for performing arts workers. “Ultimately
it has a practicality everywhere in the world; it’s something
many organizations are grappling with,” says Baile.
The Design Thinking format was reproduced from Pitch New
Works, which Baile says is probably the congress’s most
popular session and will certainly be returning. It is followed
by ProEx, which is an opportunity for delegates to meet each
other and talk about the pitched projects.
/www.ispa.org