The Initiative just got word of a “Greening the Arts” panel relating at this year’s Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York City, being held at the New York Hilton at 1335 6th Avenue, this Sunday, January 11th, from 9:30 to 11:30.  The panel features five speakers from the UK, Canada, France, and Belgium with experience and expertise in greening the performing arts venues, and is moderated by Brian Allenby of Reverb. Information from the British Council’s website and the APAP website follows below:

Greening the Performing Arts: Here and Abroad

Featured Speaker:
Ben Todd, Executive Director, Arcola Theatre (London)

Facilitator:
Brian Allenby, Manager of Operations and Education, Reverb

Discussants:
John Hartley, Arts and Ecology Strategy Officer, Arts Council England; Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Artist; Neil Woodger, Acoustician, ARUP

In what ways does the presenting field benefit from engaging in the greening movement? Who are the leaders and what have they learned from integrating environmental initiatives in performing arts programming and presenting? This session features the work of individuals and organizations, both in the United States and United Kingdom that have demonstrated the effective integration of greening policies and outcomes in performing arts initiatives.

The British Council brings a distinguished group of international experts in the emerging field of arts & environment to New York as part of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters annual conference.        
With unique experience managing environmental reporting and performance, arts professionals from the UK, Canada and Europe can meet with you to explore the hows and whys of sustainability in the performing arts industry.

 EVENTS        

These free events are open only to registered attendees of the Arts Presenters membership conference in January 2009. See the conference website for full details on these and other sessions.
 Greening the Performing Arts: Here and Abroad
Sunday, January 11, 2009
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
An APAP Professional Development session - see details in MyPlanner on the conference website.        

In what ways does the presenting field benefit from engaging in the greening movement? Who are the leaders and what have they learned from integrating environmental initiatives in performing arts programming and presenting? This session features the work of individuals and organizations, in the United States, Canada and the UK, that have demonstrated the effective integration of greening policies and outcomes in performing arts initiatives.

 TREETOP SESSIONS

Is your venue, festival, consultancy, production house or service body keen to engage with the most important global issues of the day?

Thinking about environmental sustainability in your business operations and public programs can help you demonstrate your responsibility in a new way to the audiences, partners and cultural communities you serve.

Join us at the Arts Presenters membership conference in 2009 for a series of ‘green consultation’ sessions: intimate Q&As with international colleagues about how they approach environmental issues in their arts work. Feel free to bring specific questions or problems you’d like ideas on how to solve.  

Even if you’re at the very beginning of thinking about environmental challenges and how to tackle them, this is a great opportunity to learn about both immediate and long-term practical solutions.

Email us to sign up for one of the consultation slots below – please include your name, title, organization, contact email and telephone in your message. All consults are held at the British Council Booth 309 in the Rhinelander Gallery of the Hilton, unless otherwise indicated. See bottom of page for participant biographies:

CHRISTOPHER CRIMES
Director, Le Domaine d’O

Christopher Crimes was born in England and moved to France in 1974, becoming a French citizen in 1979. Initially trained as a language teacher, he originally worked for a national resources center for the French Education Service. In 1982 he became Administrative Director of La Maison de la Culture in Le Havre (now known as Le Volcan). In the following years Christopher served as a manager and director for several major theaters and arts venues in France including La Filatureand Le Quai, which he opened as Director in 2007.

As of January 2009 Christopher will be Director of Le Domaine d’O in Montpellier, a historical site devoted to cultural events, and will focus on projects around arts and the environment including the influences of sustainable development.

GUY GYPENS
Artistic Director, Kaaitheater

Guy Gypens served as financial director of the Belgian dance companyRosas for many years and was involved in the founding of P.A.R.T.S., the dance school of the influential European choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.  He now serves as co-artistic director of the Kaaitheater in Brussels.  

The Kaaitheater was established in 1977, originally as a biennial international festival. Since 1987 its work has extended to full seasons; the Kaaitheater presents theater, dance and concerts, with a special emphasis on innovative work and productions/co-productions with national and international artists.

JOHN HARTLEY
Arts and Ecology Strategy Officer, Arts Council England

John Hartley is Arts Council England’s Arts and Ecology Strategy Officer, supporting the development of practice and infrastructure in the face of changing contexts. John led on developing ACE’s self-assessment toolkit to help arts organizations implement effective energy management programs. Implementation of the program can reduce energy usage and carbon emissions, potentially reducing energy costs by up to 20% 

John also works on the Arts Council’s Arts and Ecology partnership with RSA, is on the GLA steering group for Greening London’s Theatres and the DCMS Climate Change Project.  Previously John has worked in the visual arts, architecture and interdisciplinary arts teams of the Arts Council’s National Office developing, among other things, ‘Art in Industry Placements’, through action research with industrial partners across the UK, India, the Americas and Asia. He is also a practicing artist, directs a collaborative experimental music group and has co-written a book published by Transworld.

NATHALIE HEBERT
Programming Agent – Circus Arts, la TOHU

Following a number of years’ experience in the circus arts – as an aerialist, choreographer and producer – Nathalie co-founded the Davaï Project, an agency specialising in circus and the production of circus-cabaret. After her retirement from the stage she worked with Cirque Éloize and the Cirque du Soleil in Montreal, developing a particular interest in outreach programmes and audience development. 

She joined la TOHU in 2007, enthusiastically taking on the challenge of programming circus arts and developing an audience for contemporary circus within an organisation which places a strong emphasis on the environment and the community.

A non-profit organization founded by En Piste (the Canada national association of circus arts), the National Circus School and Cirque du Soleil, la TOHU is a circus arts training, creation, production and performance center. La TOHU’s mission not only involves making arts and culture readily available to local audiences, but also informing and raising environmental concern among its visitors.  The organization is located in the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex, the largest urban landfill in North America, and actively participates in environmental activities to renew and revitalize the site. 

BEN TODD
Executive Director, Arcola Theatre

Ben Todd brings scientific expertise to his role as Executive Director of London’s Arcola Theatre. He completed his PhD on the Modelling of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Power Generation at Cambridge University Engineering Department. He has worked in R&D, technical and strategy consulting on both commercial and government projects. As well as managing Arcola Theatre, Ben works as a technology broker for theLow Carbon and Fuel Cell Knowledge Transfer Network run by the UK Technology Strategy Board.

Arcola Theatre aims to become the world’s first carbon neutral theatre venue and to create the first center for new energy technology in the arts. The theatre intends to install biomass heating, solar panels, fuel cells and state-of-the-art energy saving technologies throughout the building alongside a dedicated work space for arts and science professionals to collaborate.

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