Kick-off conference reframing the international

It was a day to talk about international connections, new boundaries, the balance between local and transnational work and inspiring transformation models. Some 100 people with different backgrounds – i.e. coming from different arts disciplines, institutional contexts, having different international experiences – met to talk about the motivations, the changing context and opportunities and challenges for working internationally.

As the invitation stated: “International work is a recurring mantra in arts policy documents and grant applications. Artists and groups from Flanders and Brussels are very active on the international front. And while we are sometimes quite successful ‒ in some places you can even detect an exotic buzz about ‘art from Flanders’ ‒ there is at the same time a general feeling that connecting internationally is increasingly difficult. There is also this growing uncanny feeling in the light of today’s newspapers’ headlines: what is the true value and meaning of international work, in times of retreating government support, the fragmentation of production budgets, city marketing, Brexit, the refugee crisis, the wall of Trump, global warming, outsourcing, offshoring and tax shelters? Should we as artists and organisers still be focusing on export and promotion, nation branding, financial transactions, prizes and prestigious presentations? Or are there more meaningful forms of transnational exchanges in the arts? What will working internationally look like tomorrow?”

Today, the answers to all these questions are already in the making, even if they are not yet always visible. During the reflection day in Bruges, we talked about inspiring experiences, old and new obstacles, experiments with transformation models and challenging ideas for the future. Together, we wanted to find out where the pitfalls and quicksands are and how the wind is changing.