A couple of weeks ago I attended ISPA’s 63rd conference The Art of Collaboration in New York City. This was my first ISPA conference and, somewhat shamefully, my first time in New York City! For those not in the know, ISPA is the International Society for the Performing Arts and their mandate is to “develop, nurture, energize and educate an international network of arts leaders and professionals who are dedicated to advancing the field of the performing arts.” It was quickly apparent that ISPA members are like a family and it was a pleasure to be welcomed into this community of very accomplished performing arts leaders.
ISPA’s current CEO David Baile is among those accomplished leaders and one of Canada’s own. He was formerly the General Manager of Opera Atelier and before that the Managing Director of Factory Theatre. Other Canadians were also up front and centre at the event, including ISPA board members Janice Price (CEO of Luminato) and Marie-Catherine LaPointe (CEO of Boulev’Art Inc.). Chris Lorway (outgoing Artistic Director of Luminato), Ross Manson (Artistic Director of Volcano Theatre) and Weyni Mengesha (director/dramaturg) were the invited Canadian speakers and Natasha Mytnowich was among 14 international ISPA conference fellows. Upcoming conference co-chairs Claire Hopkinson (Executive Director of the Toronto Arts Council), Jennifer Gordon (National Director of Search Light Canada) and Mervon Mehta (Director of Performing Arts Programs at the Royal Conservatory of Music) were also in attendance. They will host ISPA members in Toronto at the next convention June 15-18, 2011.
The theme of this conference – collaboration – seems to be the hot topic of the day, particularly post-recession as organizations re-imagine how they work in an attempt to adapt to a changed environment. But collaboration itself is not a new trend. In fact, it’s quite apparent that collaboration has been intrinsic to the work of many performing artists and arts organizations for some time. It is essential among artists, between artist and producer, producer and audience, artist and funder, etc… But despite its somewhat obvious necessity, the deconstruction of collaboration and the collaborative process, as well as the identification and analysis of its essential components are interesting and relevant topics for the contemporary environment.
The Art of Collaboration addressed the notion of working together from a number of angles. Akram Khan, a London-based contemporary and classical Kathak dancer/choreographer offered some anecdotes for collaboration in his keynote address. He noted that clarity of vision, strong creative chemistry, the necessity of trust, and an understanding of oneself in relationship
to the creative process were all essential ingredients for success. Though he also confessed that at certain moment, someone needs to take the lead.
I’ve questioned this notion in my own artistic work. Is it possible to truly create collaboratively? In practice I find the process of creating content to be fruitful when collaborative, as it seems natural for innovative ideas to evolve as thoughts and concepts bump up against other thoughts, perspectives, and experiences. However, where collaboration comes into question for me is when it’s time to shape and refine content into art. Whether a dance, a play, an essay or a film, I struggle with the notion that the final work can be achieved in a fully collaborative way. It is the decision-making process that I find challenging in collaboration. For it to work, it seems that a democratic system need be devised in order to address the possibility of conflicting desires. I’m not convinced that, at least when it comes to art-making, democratic decision-making results in the highest quality outcome. Though it’s fair to say that I’m still thinking and experimenting…
On day two of the conference, Dr. Cees Langeveld (Chassé Theater,
Netherlands) gave a compelling presentation on the economics of collaboration, speaking primarily from the organizational perspective. Notably, he illustrated how economic efficiency tends to chart on a bell curve where at first collaboration is increasingly efficient until it reaches a point of maximum efficiency, after which the cost begins to rise. He also suggested that collaboration between organizations are often more effective when the two parties are of comparable size.
Another idea that was explored at the conference was that of the collaborative pair. Joshua Wolf Shenk, author of Lincoln’s Melancholy presented his current research on the chemistry of pairs. He analyses the relationship of pairs in a creative sense, examining examples of working partners who thrive creatively inside the dynamic of two. Balanchine and Stravinsky, Sonny and Cher, Fred and Ginger, Lennon and McCartney. The list is long. While it may be easy to identify these couples, one could argue that it’s equally easy to identify the lone genius. Albert Einstein, Emily Dickenson and Mahatma Ghandi were examples that Shenk gave, and then illustrated that even they had a creative other in their lives that was arguably essential to their working process.
In addition to panels and presentations, delegates were treated to a number of short performances including a sneak preview of The James Brown project: The Anatomy of Funk – a collaboration (still in progress) between a number of companies and artists creating work in celebration of Brown’s life and music. It was a treat to see this performance at the iconic Apollo Theater in Harlem, where James Brown and other famous artists launched their careers. Congratulations to conference organizers for an inspiring and thought-provoking three days! Stay tuned for more musing on my discoveries in NYC…
For now, here’s a final thought on collaboration from George Bernard Shaw. “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea
and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” – George Bernard Shaw
And, a favourite video clip by Steven Johnson on ‘Where Good Ideas Come From’:
Nice post Shannon. The video on where new ideas come from is especially good and actually quite useful (I hope) as something to help persuade others to bring their ideas to the table. Of course the collision of ideas isn’t always voluntary, e.g. Facebook, but it’s often takes someone(s) else to see the genius in an idea and to realize it 🙂
Hi Shannon,
Thanks for letting us know about your blog.
Hope to see you at ISPA again.
Regards,
Eric