ISPA NEW YORK CONGRESS 2020
50 AUDITORIA 2020 VOLUME ONE
ANTHONY SARGENT CBE,
CEO OF THE LUMINATO
FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY
IN TORONTO, CANADA
What can delegates expect from
Pitch New Works this year?
Pitch New Works is ISPA’s twice-yearly showcase
for exciting, globally distinctive new projects –
either completely new and seeking co-producers
and/or launch partners, or recently premiered
and now seeking opportunities for international
touring. Normally 10 projects are showcased
in the two-hour session, chosen by ISPA’s
international, deeply experienced pitch
committee from a much longer applicant list.
Each one is represented by its leader/s, showing
a short video and then answering questions from
me (as host for the session) and delegates in
the theatre. Afterwards all the presenters are
available to talk in more detail. The quality of
these projects and their presentation has risen
steadily over the seven years I have been hosting
Pitch New Works, and it now offers delegates
a thrillingly current, wide-ranging glimpse of
today’s most exciting creativity.
What are your hopes for the session
and the congress in general?
For the 10 Pitch New Works teams I hope they
find people amongst ISPA’s membership excited
to take up their work, so the projects can build
strong international reputations, tour successfully
and contribute to the companies’ development.
For the congress as a whole, I hope that everyone
– however experienced or early in their careers
– returns home with some new insights, ideas
and professional friendships.
Many events worldwide are essentially
markets for artistic product. What I have most
valued in my 25 years with ISPA is that this
is instead a market for ideas and thoughtleadership.
It brings together some of the world’s
most forward-thinking artistic leaders to share
and exchange their experience – across all
boundaries of geography, professional discipline,
culture and age – about the most critical issues
preoccupying us all.
Do you have any recommendations
for things to enjoy in New York?
Every day of the year New York is one of the
world’s most thrillingly active cultural and
intellectual centres. However, January is a
particularly rich month for the performing arts
with the Public Theater’s Under the Radar
Above: Maada’ookii Songlines
at Luminato 2019 featured
Indigenous performers; arts
organisations’ responsibility
to provide a platform
for diverse cultures and
perspectives will be the
major theme at the ISPA
New York Congress 2020
Centre: Obeah Opera,
a musical showcased at
Luminato, is about the Salem
witch trials from the viewpoint
of Caribbean slave women
Far right: Rite of Spring,
choreographed by Yang
Liping for the Peacock
Contemporary Dance
Company production,
showcased at Luminato
Jeremy Mimnagh