Gedeelde grond (‘Shared ground’) is a series of conversations with arts professionals from Flanders. What do they dream about? What do they worry about? In this new episode, we talk to Jong Gewei, a theatre platform in Ghent for people aged 16 to 99. 16 to 99, but ‘with an emphasis on young wolves’. Sofie Joye and Georgina del Carmen Theunissen – respectively artistic coordinator and one of the five coaches at Jong Gewei – discuss the organisation’s working process, diversity on stage and the importance of friction.
Due to technical problems, the recording quality of the conversation with Jong Gewei is not optimal. Read the summary of the conversation below, or download the transcription (in Dutch). We see the launch of this podcast as a test run. Do you have any questions, comments or opinions you would like to share after listening to this podcast? Let us know at communicatie@kunsten.be.
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Jong Gewei aims to bring diversity from the street to the stage. Everyone is welcome to discover where their creative talents lie and how they can apply them in an accessible, artistic environment, along with professional coaches. The main focus depends on the needs of the participants themselves: what do they feel like doing, what do they need, and what can Jong Gewei do for them?
“Co-ownership is important, that you know what you are stepping into. For example, don’t expect acting school, because we are not that,” Georgina del Carmen Theunissen explains. “For me, this is primarily a learning place. This is about theatre and acting, but also dancing and singing. Affinity with artistic language, across disciplines. That learning happens from professionals and coaches, but also with each other. Conversely, we as coaches also learn from them. On the other hand, we are a meeting place. That is about creating communities with like-minded souls. We can create a kind of network with each other. Me for you, you for me, us for each other. That’s important on different levels, socially and artistically. Finally, it’s a potential place, a changeable place.”
But “bringing diversity from the street to the stage”, how does that work in practice? “Diversity is a catch-all term. I would like to focus more on approachability. How can we be aware of different frames of reference in which people produce artistic work?” says Georgina. ‘I think if we are aware of all those frames – social, ethnic, gender-based, financial, … – you also start planning your organisation in a different way. You start aligning your content with the diversity that comes in. I still think our cultural field is very middle-class, very white and very male. In those systems and cultural houses, which are designed and developed on those frameworks, how can we recognise thresholds? Take a €30 ticket, for example. For many people, that’s a lot of money.”
“People can always move in from September, and then we engage in conversation first,” explains Sofie Joye. “What is your need? What do you want to find out for yourself within the performing arts? Then there are two possible pathways. On the one hand, a collective trajectory, which ends after a working week and culminates in a show moment twice a year. Those are the moments when people really work together towards a performance. On the other hand, there is the option for people who have followed that collective trajectory for several years to further develop their own artistic voice. That individual trajectory runs parallel to the collective, so that also requires more intensity and time from them. They develop their own artistic voice. It is actually a kind of artistic residency that they help shape themselves and in which they have more responsibility. In that, Jong Gewei offers much more support than in the individual track, where participants themselves decide how to spend their budget, when they need a coach, what exactly they want to find out. The coaches are still there, only they no longer take the initiative.”
While Jong Gewei aims to be a safe environment for these individuals, it also offers a challenging space; friction is important. “If we can agree that the playground we will play on is a place of curiosity, challenge and unpredictability, then you can build trust with the others,” Georgina says.
For Sofie, that is also an important reason why Jong Gewei exists, because they don’t often find that place in society anymore. “You very quickly find yourself in echo chambers, in your bubble or with like-minded people. For us, the challenge is just to bring together a group of people who don’t necessarily share anything with each other, except what they want to figure out within the performing arts. And the challenge that we put on top of that is: you’re going to figure it out within the performing arts, but you won’t learn a trick here, but you will learn to have substantive conversations with each other. And that produces conflict. Meanwhile, we are there to take that conflict with you and figure it out together.”
Gedeelde grond (Shared ground) is a new series of conversations with arts professionals from Flanders. What do they dream about? What do they worry about? Find out more about the themes that are alive in the arts field.
