Host, venues & cities
Each Atelier for Young Festival Managers is characterised by a different host city, its festivals and cultural life. The 16th edition took place in Kortrijk (BE) and Valenciennes (FR) and participants got to know the many facets of the city through local cultural players, artists and political representatives. Sessions took place at various venues connected to the local scene, hence the cultural life and context of NEXT festival were be experienced and analysed as part of the training.
Host & organising partner
NEXT Festival, launched in 2008,
is a yearly, international performing arts festival in the cross-border
Eurometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai & Valenciennes, organized by 6 French
and Belgian co-organising artistic houses and 10 to 15 associated partners. The
artistic programme focuses on referential work and new tendencies in
contemporary theatre and dance in and outside Europe. NEXT invites every
year about 30 international artists to create and present in the cross-border
region. They tour the Eurometropolis to present in more than 20 venues and
interact with the public during multiple forms of workshops and meetings. NEXT
has become a landmark event for cultural and artistic professionals from all
over Europe. During multiple moments and formats for professionals, NEXT
encourages and facilitates intercultural dialogue amongst programmers,
artists, festival organisers, cross-border politicians, students, the broad
public...
NEXT wants to be “cross-border” in the broadest possible way: literally as an
international arts festival, in its programming (multidisciplinary forms of
expression, mixtures, languages), in the field of production of international
work and in the way it deals with the audience. It brings together disciplines,
communities and cultures and encourages exchange of cultural diversity. Emerged
from this cross-border context, it developed a firm European orientation and
identity. It is a pilot project, bringing the European idea to day-to-day
practice and giving it the large visibility through the festival itself.
Cities & Region
EUROMETROPOLIS
The Eurometropolis Lille - Kortrijk – Tournai brings together French and Belgian governments, working together to erase the "border effect" and make day-to-day life easier for its 2.1 million inhabitants. EUROMETROPOLIS is a hub for all cross-border information, activities and services, supporting their exploitation and development and sometimes even adapting them. Institutions, companies, artists, associations and clubs, various organisations, etc. are all invited to coordinate and pool their projects, allowing them to speak with one voice. EUROMETROPOLIS develops concrete ways helping people to better study, work, travel, indulge in cultural activities, visit each other, have fun, participate in society, etc. Located between France and Belgium, between town and country, the Eurometropolis Lille - Kortrijk - Tournai has a wealth of opportunities to offer, in a bilingual (French and Dutch) and multicultural region full of different landscapes