Common
LAB

In the performing arts sector, the lack of diversity is first to be seen on stage. Artists from diverse backgrounds are largely under-represented in the overall cultural offer. And there is still a recurrent discrediting of their work, work that have very little access to national professional resources and recognition (not to mention international), facing discrimination and often condemned to underground and alternative paths.

COMMON STORIES will focus on emerging artists who will be shaping the European scene in the coming years. Better supported, geared up with a variety of tools, references and skills, we trust that accompanied artists will create strong and engaging narratives with greater visibility. Challenging representations and imaginations, they will inspire other vocations and generate interest coming from wider circles of presenters and audiences

Concretely, over eight weeks in four different countries, COMMON LAB provide opportunities for selected artists to:

• Exchange, share and learn, through a programme of activities that includes lectures and talks by guest speakers, workshops and masterclasses in relation to a specific context or to the work of the selected artists, practical sessions on author status and professional environment.
• Encounters, city visits and meetings - with the teams of the host organisation; with guest artistic mentors; with local communities; with different working contexts…
• Research their own projects, through individual and collective working sessions with guest mentors.