Mentors and Guest Speakers

All our mentors and guest speakers at the Ateliers are renowned festival managers and directors, cross-sector experts, cultural activists, and artists. Our guest speakers are part of our programme for multiple days while mentors and facilitators are present for the whole period of the atelier. 

Members of the Alumni community of The Festival Academy are also invited to join the Atelier and take initiative leading sessions and involving professionals from their own networks (find out more about our Alumni-led sessions here).

During their participation, they not only act as lecturers but also as true mentors as they engage in one-on-one discussions with the participants.

You can have a look at the list of experts present during previous editions here.

Thobile Maphanga is a South African dance practitioner, writer/scholar and creative collaborator passionate about her continent and finding more holistic solutions to resolving issues of well-being and full living through the arts. She enjoys working across multiple sectors as she believes solutions can be sourced from varied understandings of the world and how people see and experience it. She believes many secrets to current issues lie in the complex simplicity of nature’s cycles and movement, and that an alignment to our most natural and honest selves is key.

Thobile has worked both in the corporate and artistic sectors and is interested in how these two worlds can interact and prove beneficial for all involved. Her current re-occurring work endeavours are as Project Manager, Assistant Curator and Editorial Steering Committee member for JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, a 26-year-old international contemporary dance festival with an online colloquium. She plays the role of performer, dramaturg and creative collaborator with Hannah Ma Dance and the People United based in Germany and Luxembourg. She is co-convener of the African Festivals Network recently re-established in 2024. And currently serving as Co-Facilitator and Mentor for The Festival Academy.

She is deeply passionate about engaging the public in dialogue around topical societal issues to find solutions for better living and has developed an ardent passion for festivals as driving vehicles for this kind of social change. To this end she is passionate about spaces of workshop, knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning.

Vigdís Jakobsdóttir is a cultural strategist and theatre director with extensive experience in festival leadership and artistic programming. From 2016 to 2024, she was Artistic Director and CEO of Reykjavík Arts Festival, Iceland’s leading multidisciplinary arts festival. Under her direction, the festival became a platform for bold artistic experimentation, international collaboration, and audience engagement across diverse communities.

With a deep commitment to the transformative power of the arts, Vigdís specialises in developing creative strategies, fostering cross-disciplinary projects, and expanding access to culture. She now works as a freelance cultural strategist, collaborating with artists, institutions, and festivals worldwide to shape innovative artistic programmes and strengthen audience connections.

Vigdís has been involved with The Festival Academy since 2019, contributing to its international knowledge-sharing network for festival leaders.

Previously, she was Head of Education and Outreach at the National Theatre of Iceland (2002–2011) and Programme Director for MA studies in Theatre Education at Iceland University of the Arts (2002–2016), where she played a key role in developing arts education in Iceland. She also directed productions at the National Theatre of Iceland and with independent theatre companies.

She is the founder of Þjóðleikur – The National Youth Theatre Festival in Iceland (2008–2017) and UNGI – an international performing arts festival for young audiences in Reykjavík (2013–2016),

Vigdís served on the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People) for six years (2011–2017), holding the role of Vice President during her second term (2014–2017). In recognition of her contributions to the field, she was named an Honorary Member of ASSITEJ in 2021.

Inge Ceustermans is the General Director of The Festival Academy, a non-profit organisation initiated by the European Festivals Association (EFA). Inge Ceustermans has a Master’s degree in Languages and Literature with a specialisation in Theatre Sciences. She was the general manager for the Brussels based artists’ company Needcompany under the artistic direction of Jan Lauwers from 2003-2012 before she started working for the European Festivals Association (EFA), a network organisation of more than 80 festivals in Europe and beyond. Apart from this, she is consulting different artists on their general strategy and international relations. She is also a member of the advisory committee for the Agency of Arts and Heritage in Flanders.

Eduardo is a cultural manager, independent curator, and consultant for various contemporary culture companies and organisations. A Brazilian based in Pamplona, Spain, he has extensive international experience in the field of performing, visual, and audiovisual arts, both at the level of strategic planning as well as in fundraising, production, and curation.

Educated in Performing Arts at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) and Middlesex University (UK), his most recent work has been as project manager of Big Pulse Dance Alliance, a four-year project funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, connecting leading dance festivals and institutions in 12 countries.

In 2025, Eduardo entered on the board of directors of the newly created Dance Festivals Network Europe (DanceFestNet), a network that emerged from the Big Pulse Dance Alliance project. Its goals include advocacy actions for the dance sector and promote projects among festivals members aimed at strengthening the sector, such as Visiting Artists, a EU funded project, already underway, in which Eduardo acts as advisor.

He also works regularly as a mentor in artistic processes and as a strategic consultant for various companies, venues, festivals, foundations, and public institutions in several countries. His collaborations vary from one-off experiences to multi-year engagements, such as with Teatros del Canal (Madrid, 2017–2019), Mercat de les Flors (Barcelona, 2017–2019), and Acción Cultural Española (Madrid, 2018–2019).

He was the artistic and executive director of the Panorama Festival of Rio de Janeiro (2004–2013) and project manager at Artsadmin in London (1996–2001). He has been a founding member of various national and international networks, such as the Brazilian Circuit of International Dance Festivals, the South American Dance Network, the Latin American Forum of Videodanza, and Shared Spaces (Africa, Europe, and the Americas), and was part of the commission of the National Forum of Culture Points of Brazil.

He has also participated as a jury member in several important international events, such as the Caribbean Dance Biennial, the Nordic platform Ice Hot, Rumos de Itaú Cultural, and Rolex’s Mentor and Protégée Program, among others.

Ibrahim Owais is a creative producer, curator and sound artist, as well as the founder of Recordat and one of the co-founders of Radio alHara. He is currently based in Bethlehem, Palestine where he joined the Wonder Cabinet to help shape and build the space for art production and cultural development.

Isabel is a cultural manager and curator with around two decades of experience working between Brazil and Spain, and focusing on two main areas: performing arts and the intersection between art, science, and nature. She is the co-founder of LABEA – Laboratory of Art, Science, and Nature, based in Pamplona, where she also directed Arbola, a Live Art festival for a world in eco-social transition, which will celebrate its third edition in June 2025. In addition to Arbola, at LABEA they also organize projects such as Bosque Móvil (Movil Forest) creative strategies for urban rewilding, or Materia Bosque (Forest Matter), a Video Art Screening Program that celebrate the poetic and symbolic power of trees.

Since 2022, Isabel has been leading the international development area at Dansa Valencia Festival, where she coordinates, among other things, the professional meetings of the Spanish Dance Platform and the Dansa Valencia Mobility and Internationalization program. She also coordinated the professional meetings of the FIT - Ibero-American Theater Festival of Cádiz from 2019 to 2023. In the field of performing arts, she has also been the artistic director of the Navarra DNA Contemporary Dance Festival (2017 and 2018) and director of ComPosições Políticas (2010–2016), a festival focused on art and activism based in Rio de Janeiro. Regarding her formal education, she holds a degree in Art History and a Master’s in Visual Culture from the Reina Sofía Museum - Complutense University of Madrid. She also has a university specialization in Culture and Territory through the Master’s in Artistic Practices and Cultural Studies at the Huarte Center (Navarra) and have completed several postgraduate courses within DESEAA (Diploma in Sustainability, Ecological Ethics, and Environmental Education) at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

Mac Andre Arboleda is an artist interested in exploring the sickness of the Internet through research and dialogue, art and text, organizing and publishing. They are currently an artist-in-residence at Dreaming Beyond AI's "Coalition Building in Times of AI: Intersecting Struggles" and a participant at the Open Social Incubator organized by the Media Economies Design Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder. They are the Director of The Institute of Alice Guo Studies, a research and production agency concentrating on pirate strategies, mediatic capacities, and governance networks that condition another Philippine life. They are the Founding President of the UP Internet Freedom Network and co-founder of the Artists for Digital Rights Network, both alliances dedicated to campaigns, educational discussions, and special projects related to digital justice. From 2015-2020, they co-founded and co-organized Zine Orgy, a biannual expo for independent publishers in Los Baños, Laguna.

They also co- founded and co-organized Munzinelupa, an annual arts festival for independent publishers, musicians, and artist collectives that ran from 2018-2020. Their texts have appeared in publications such as ACM Interactions, Rappler, and Further Reading, and their works have been exhibited in more than ten countries across the US, Europe, and Asia. Mac has spoken about artist-activist practices in RightsCon (Costa Rica), Ars Electronica (Austria), MISS READ (Germany), and has completed residencies and fellowships in Berlin, Dublin, Salzburg, the US, and Australia.

In 2024, they received the Judson-Morrissey Excellence in New Media Award given by the New Media Caucus. Mac holds a bachelor's degree in development communication from the University of the Philippines Los Bayous and is currently finishing an MA in Media Arts Cultures under an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship (University of Continuing Education Krems, Austria; Aalborg University, Denmark; University of Lodz, Poland, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore).

Marko Ahtisaari works at the intersection of technology, design, art, and philosophy. He served as Artistic Director of Helsinki Festival (2019-2024). He currently serves as Board Chair of CMI - Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation. Marko is a co-founder of House of Sound in Ii, Finland (opening in 2027) and plays in the band Construction.

Previously, Marko was CEO and co-founder of The Sync Project (acquired by Bose) and a Director’s Fellow at MIT Media Lab. From 2009 to 2013, he led product design at Nokia, overseeing hardware, user experience, and packaging, including the award-winning N9. Earlier, he co-founded Dopplr (acquired by Nokia) and worked on Blyk, the free ad-funded mobile network. He has held board positions at Artek and F-Secure and served as a juror for Prix Ars Electronica and DA&D Awards. As an investor, he has backed companies like Oura, Formlabs, and Steady Energy.

Born in Finland, Marko grew up across three continents in Helsinki, Dar es Salaam, and New York. He studied philosophy, economics, and music at Columbia University, where he later became a lecturer and Faculty Fellow in the Department of Philosophy and first met the Internet.

As an artist she develops her creative work in Uruguay, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. With a strong interest in the relationship between art and social organization, she co-founded the South American Dance Network, where she led several regional meetings as well as collaboration, mobility and training programs for the sector (2000-2013).

Since 2014 she has been working on the development of regional cooperation with a focus on dance, through the creation and development of the Ibero-American Dance Platform, which brings together cultural ministerial representatives and is dedicated to the coordination of objectives, actions and resources.

Through this experience, she has helped build networks and create spaces for collaborative management, seeing it as both a research process and a way to create meaning. In Uruguay, she served as president of the dance workers' union and played a key role in shaping public policies, including the development of the National Dance Plan (2016-2022).

As a curator, she collaborates with festivals and programs worldwide, including FIDAE (Uruguay), Tanzmesse (Germany), the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Programme (Switzerland), IPAM-GREC (Spain), Southern Exposure Performing Arts of Latin America (USA), Rose Prize at Sadler’s Wells (UK), as well as jury in open-calls for creation of the ministries of culture of Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay.

Currently, she is exploring ways to foster dialogue and collaboration across the Global South—rethinking how we connect, create, and work together in response to the growing demands of social, political, and environmental movements.

Orwa Nyrabia is a prominent figure in documentary film and art. Since 2018, he has been the Artistic Director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the world's largest documentary festival. Under his leadership, IDFA made strides in international representation and gender parity. Before IDFA, he co-founded Syria's first independent film festival, DOX BOX, and produced films such as "Republic of Silence" (Diana El Jeiroudi, Venice 2021), "Notturno" (Gianfranco Rosi, Venice 2020), "Silvered Water" (Ossama Mohammad, Cannes 2014), "Return to Homs" (Talal Derki, IDFA 2013), and "Dolls, A Woman from Damascus" (Diana El Jeiroudi, IDFA 2007). His work has earned awards, including the George Polk Award and the HRW Courage in Filmmaking Award. Nyrabia is a member of AMPAS, the German Film Academy, and the Dutch Film Academy, and serves on the boards of several prominent organizations.

PRINCESS A SIBANDA is a scholar artivist. Her work sits at the nexus of popular participatory performance, gender and sexualities research in Africa. She has taught, directed and curated numerous theatre projects on Sexual Reproductive Health, Climate change and LGBTIQ+ activism in South Africa and Zimbabwe. In 2018, she was honoured with the Canon Collins Scholars Scholar award and a community engagement award (UKZN) in recognition of her scholar-artivist work. She holds a PhD from the University of KwaZulu Natal and MA in Drama & Performance Studies (summa cum laude) from the same institution. Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow under the SARChI Chair in Waste & Society at the University of the Western Cape and affiliated with groundWork as the creative coordinator and lead of the Zero Waste Campaign.

Priscila Santana is a curator, conductor, educator, and scholar passionate about using music for social change. She is the Programming Manager for the iconic SummerStage Festival, where she curates 60-80 free cultural events annually in Central Park and across NYC, including the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. Priscila is also pursuing a doctorate in music and music education at Columbia University- Teachers College, focusing on leadership, cultural policies, and black feminist studies. Originally from Bahia, Brazil, she lives in New York City and is the mother of Sofia Eloah.

Graduate in Audiovisual Communication (UPF) and Master in Teacher Training: Art Education (EHU). She has been linked to the San Sebastian Festival since 2011, where she has held various positions. She is currently in charge of the Documentation and Films department, is part of the Z365 area work team and is Head of the Thought and Discussion area. The cross-cutting area of the event that seeks to respond to the challenges faced by international festivals and contemporary film culture through proposals that extend throughout the year.

Eloisa Vaello Marco has a degree in Systems Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and a Master in International Relations and Communication from the Complutense University of Madrid. She has pursued postgraduate studies in African Reality, at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and in International Cultural Cooperation and Management, at the University of Barcelona.

Her work with the Spanish Cooperation began as Programming Coordinator for the Cultural Center of Spain in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 2007 to 2011. She was later appointed Director of the Juan de Salazar Cultural Center of Spain in Paraguay, a position she held until July 2017. In August 2017 she moved to El Salvador as Director the Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador. Since 2023, she is the subdirector for Cultural Cooperation in the Spanish Cooperation Agency.

Eloisa has broad and extensive experience in leading and implementing cultural and developmental projects in various contexts and countries, with a special emphasis on issues of cultural diversity, human rights, memory, inclusion and gender, tangible and intangible heritage, environment and natural resources, citizenship, social participation and public space, and cultural policy. She has coordinated international projects such as Chaco Ra’anga, a cultural and scientific trip through the Chaco, and citizen participation projects such as La Casa Tomada.

Gerardo Salinas was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he studied literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He later worked as an editor and editor in chief on various projects and publications. He was an active participant in the battle and lawsuits against the last Argentine dictatorship and published – 1 (2010, poems and essays) and El Cañón de Vladivostok (2012, novel) for Editorial Clase Turista.

He has been active on the Belgian artistic scene since 2002 and studied socio-cultural work at KHL. He collaborated on CORDOBA, an initiative by the Flemish Community to employ people from diverse cultural backgrounds at the organisational level in cultural organisations, and specialised in cooperative working methods and processes of change within organisations. He created initiatives like Dialectica (a course for institutes and social organisations), Murga Trajectory (a network of neighbourhood-based street companies), MAF (Mestizo Arts Festival), WIPCOOP (Work In Progress COOPeration) and PRÓXIMAMENTE (cooperative platform for artists and organisations from Latin America and its diaspora). Through concepts like Nieuwe stedelijkheid [New Urbanism] (2007), Sociale Technologieën [Social Technologies] (2007) and Stadsdramaturgie [City Dramaturgy] (2011), he created his own instruments for defining and developing his practice.

As a dramaturge, he was involved in amongst others Dear Winnie, L’Homme de La Mancha, Who’s Tupac?, Drarrie In De Nacht, and Vaderlandloos. He has also developed installations, exhibitions and performances around immaterial heritage including Altaar van Antwerpen (MAS, 2012-today), MURAL (2015), PLAYLIST (2020), MAPping (Mechelen, Antwerp and Brussels) and Colección (2021). He previously worked for cultural centre de Warande, film festival Open Doek, Arenbergschouwburg and Mestizo Arts Festival. He is currently part of the artistic staff at KVS in the capacity of city dramaturge.

Born in 1974 in Wasserburg am Inn and was head of dramaturgy at the Schaubühne from 2013 to 2019. Currently one of the curators of Festival International New Drama (FIND). Studied literature in Berlin, Havanna and Paris. In 2006 conferral of a doctorate in philosophy with the graduate thesis about the history of the discovery of America. In 2006 he was awarded the Bayerische Filmpreis for the documentary movie »Habana - Arte nuevo de hacer ruinas«. He is a filmmaker and works as a literature critic and curates the international programme at Filmfest Munich.

Born in Chile, she has been living in Mexico for over 10 years. With more than 20 years of experience, her work has focused on curating performing arts, project design, creative production, international collaboration, and the development of multidisciplinary connections that enable the creation and transfer of knowledge both nationally and internationally. She also fosters dialogue between the performing arts scenes of Latin America and Europe.

In 2014-2015, she was curator for the Contemporary Playwriting Festival Heidelberger Stückemarkt 2015 in Germany, in charge of the selection of plays and productions from Mexico as guest country. In 2016, she curated the Endstation Sehnsucht Mexican Theater Festival, which took place at the Münchner Kammerspiele in Munich, Germany. In 2018, she was a jury member for the Muestra Estatal de Teatro de Jalisco (Jalisco State Theater Showcase) in Mexico, and in 2019, she formed part of the national play selection for the Festival Internacional de Artes Escénicas FIDAE (International Festival of Performing Arts) in Uruguay. She is also curator of the ¡Adelante! Ibero-American Theater Festival in Heidelberg, Germany, which was first held in 2017 and had its second and third editions in 2020 and 2024.

Born in Donostia / San Sebastián in 1963, Norka Chiapisso is the current Director of Performing Arts Programming at the Victoria Eugenia Theatre and the Teatro Principal in Donostia / San Sebastián. He has held this position since 2000. In that year he also took on the role of director of dFERIA, the Performing Arts Fair in the same city.

Between 1996 and 2009 he combined his responsibilities at Donostia Kultura with that of Theatre Advisor for the Department of Culture of the Basque Government. For a period he coordinated the Basque Theatre Network, SAREA, and its corresponding committees.

His work began in 1987, when he opened and began directing the Loiola Cultural Centre until 1993; the year in which he opened and directed the Lugaritz Cultural Centre in the Antiguo neighbourhood of San Sebastián.

He studied Basque Philology at the University of Deusto.

Koldo Doman Marañon (1978). I am a production and management technician in Donostia Kultura in San Sebastian in the Basque Country. I was born and raised in San Sebastian where I studied Tourism in Deusto University. After college I made a post grade in Hotel Managing in Les Roches Marbella, prestigious school o Global Hospitality Education. During my days as hospitality professional, focused mostly in event organisation, I got to work in different companies in Spain (Tenerife, Pamplona y Barcelona) and Europe (Paris y Hamburg)

After these first professional years, and thanks to the experiences learned working in event organisation I had the opportunity to work for Donostia Kultura witch is a Public Business Entity that aims to position culture as one of the main assets of development and projection of San Sebastian. Since 2006 until now I have been working in the Theater and Dance department. Part of my work is to organize parallel activities to the programming focusing on the creation of new audiences and working on spectators cultural awareness, which I really enjoy. We develop as well different cultural programmes related to the performing arts such as creation of new dramaturgies, cultural sensibility and mediation in general.

In addition to this work, we organize every year dFERIA, the Performing Arts Fair of Donostia / San Sebastián, which is a national reference point in Spain for professionals in the performing arts and it is every year and step by step settling in Europe. I have been working in dFERIA since 2006 therefore the next edition will be my 20th.. I am part of the Management Team of dFERIA and currently my main task is to arrange everything related to international guests.

Cultural Affairs consultant and artistic director for the UNESCO Spanish World Heritage Cities, and performing arts associate-curator for several institutions in Spain and abroad.

He holds a degree in Translation and Interpreting, as well as postgraduate studies in Cultural Project Management, International Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility from several European universities in France, UK, Germany and Spain.

Based in Madrid since 2009, he has collaborated as creative executive producer for different theatre and dance companies and independent artists. He served as associate curator for several major theatre and dance festivals and seasons in Spain (Festival Internacional de Teatro Clásico de Almagro, Festival de Otoño, Teatro Español y Naves del Español en Matadero, Teatro Victoria Eugenia Donosti, MEETYOU Festival Teatro Calderón Valladolid, Festival 10 Sentidos Valencia, and Festival ACTUAL Logroño) and abroad (Wiener Festwochen, GIFT Festival Tblisi, Neuss Shakespeare Festival, Electrotheatre Stanislavski Moscow, LA ESCENA Los Angeles, REGARDING Festival Tel Aviv, and Fabbrica Europa in Florence).

He frequently participates in educational and academic programs as a mentor and guest professor, coaching on creative production, curatorship, festival management, and internationalization strategies in the cultural sector and he is coordinating different European and international cultural cooperation projects.

He actively promotes the internationalization and decentralization of the arts with a particular focus on fostering artistic residencies as a model to nurture emerging talent and build meaningful connections between local and international communities.