OLA has developed networking forums between theatre professionals, which are opportunities for teams to connect with peers, generate business networks, contacts and share good practices, thus helping to professionalize the sector. The forums that currently exist are: marketing, fundraising, technical, education and artistic programming.

 

One of OLA’s strategic axes is to generate instances of relationship between its associates to enable and generate the exchange of good practices, networking and support in the training of professionals from the organizations that are part of the network.

 

Every year we schedule digital forums that range from meetings between peers to discuss topics related to their areas, business meetings or presentations of artistic projects and forums with the participation of experts who address topics of interest. Below is a summary of the forums we held during 2023 and 2022.

 

We invite you to check out our YouTube where you can relive these and other talks

 

2023 Forums

OLA Digital Forums Cycle: we held a total of 5 forums during the year that addressed the following topics:

Audience development, are audiences returning?

The first digital forum of OLA in 2023 focused on learning more about the behavior of audiences and their return to theatres, through the tools and work of the consulting firm TRG Arts, an English-American consulting firm that works in the arts and culture industry.

 

Through surveys and data collection, TRG Arts provides services and technology to shape organizational resilience, focusing on the areas of customer relations, financial sustainability, organizational framework, and team development.

Check out the article here aquí.

 

Informative session about the call for Opera Austin Texas, an artistic residency for Latinx creatives.

Presented by Annie Burridge, General Manager and CEO, Nathan DePoint, Artistic Director, and Jennifer Basten, Director of Development at Austin Opera, the panel discussed the residency available for Latin American creative teams to develop an opera project. Over the course of a season (September through May), a creative team comprised of a Latin American composer and collaborator will have the opportunity to work with Austin Opera’s artistic staff.

 

 

Presentation of artistic projects

In this session, exclusive to OLA members, we learned about projects from Brazil, Colombia, Chile and the United States, among others. In a Pitch format, each speaker had approximately 7 minutes to present their organization and/or project to artisitic directors and artistic programming teams of OLA theatres.

 

Education and Didactics in European and Latin American Opera Theatres.

In this session of the Education Forum we learned about the experience of the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia (Spain) on the Educational Programme and its educational activities. These are considered good practices for their transversality in educational topics and collaborative work: DIWO (Do It With Others, Do It With Opera) inspired by the LÓVA Project. Victor Gil, head of educational projects, also presented projects on the territory and attracting new audiences such as Les Arts Volant and Babies ONLY. In addition, efforts were analysed to create solid ecosystems in collaboration with educational institutions to attract student interns.

 

Likewise, an extract of the results of the research on Education and Didactics in European and Latin American opera houses was shared, presented by Carlos Garcia Guglietta, Master of Cultural Management; UPV-UV, Valencia, Spain. Research that is part of the objectives for musical education, provided for in the Bonn Declaration: UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development of 2011 and the 2030 Agenda.

 

 

 

Presentation of findings from the World Opera Day survey

In this session of the OLA Digital Forums we present the main findings of the survey carried out in OLA theatres for World Opera Day 2023. We also had the participation of Celia Grau, advocacy coordinator of Opera Europa, who applied the same survey to its members. Celia spoke to us about the process and findings of the European survey.

 

This survey covered 4 fundamental topics of theatre management: Financial, productive, staffing and audiences.

 

More information on this link este link

 

 

2022 Forums

During the second semester of 2022, a series of forums were held on topics of interest to theatres to keep the network connected. The program included topics on the metaverse, fundraising, education, presentation of artistic projects, and archives.

 

Virtual forum on archives and documentation areas

 

Dedicated to all those who are interested in or care about the conservation of tangible material and archives of theatres, it explored the development of this area in the theatres that are members of the OLA network.

 

The activity included a presentation from  Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, who are setting up an area of Memory and Archive through it’s foundation.

 

The meeting is the starting point for a conversation that, in future sessions, will lead to a discussion about the place that memory has in the theatres of OLA network, ways of preserving archives, costumes, and more.

 

For more information, check this este link.

 

 

OLA Education Forum: LOVA Project (Teatro Real) and Opera Prima (Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona)

In this forum we hear the experience of two projects that have managed to connect audiences not only on an educational level but also on a social and artistic level. These are the LÓVA project (Opera, a Learning Vehicle) by the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Opera Prima by the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

 

More information, available here.

 

 

Fundraising Forum: The journey of the English National Opera philanthropist

The topic that brought us together was fundraising, and we had a presentation by the director of Philanthropy at the English National Opera (ENO) Dominic Haddock, who introduced us to the work they do in recruiting philanthropists. From prospecting to cultivation, gift giving, administration and legacy, we learned about the journey of the ENO Philanthropist.

 

More information on this link.

 

Forum: State of the Art in the Metaverse and Immersive Experiences

The accelerated process of digitalization of the artistic sector during the pandemic opened up new scenarios along with changes in people’s cultural practices and habits.

 

Immersive experiences and immersive virtual environments have positioned themselves since 2020 onwards as an expanding field that is advancing steadily. Progressively, the performing arts have been testing models with a favorable response from audiences. In parallel, the digital field is evolving towards a new phase of the Internet that delves into interactive experiences, where the metaverse is seen as a territory to be explored to diversify audiences and languages.

 

During this OLA Forum, Javier Ibacache, a Chilean critic, consultant and programmer, spoke with theatre directors about these topics, analyzing relevant cases and reviewing the analyses and debates that have arisen around the subject.

 

Check the complete article here.

 

 

Forum: Management and programming model of the Irish National Opera Company.

The Irish National Opera Company is a touring company producing high-quality, accessible opera in venues across Ireland and abroad. It features an Opera Studio, outreach programmes and programming ranging from classical repertoire to experimental musical theatre and contemporary opera. Through its artistic director, Fergus Shelis, we learned about the company’s innovative circulation model, as well as its national and international collaborations and programming.