Sophie Woolley: How you can attend an international arts networking event

What is IETM? The British Council describes it as,  “a major European performing arts networking event — ideal for artists and producers who want to kickstart their international careers.”

Twice a year it holds big networking events in a different European city. No matter where the event is held, everything is in English. The next conference is in Munich 1-4 November and bursary applications are open now.

Thanks to a £500 grant from the British Council, I recently flew to Portugal hang out at the four day, IETM plenary meeting, to chat to international artists and producers.

There is a call out for D/deaf and disabled artists for the bursary for the next meeting (Munich, November 2018) so I thought I would explain what it’s all about.

The IETM network encourages delegates to have informal conversations about being creative, and their creative infrastructures. You are not supposed to go there to pitch your latest show. I felt confused by this idea at first. What would I talk to people about without mentioning the show I was working on?

Like every first timer at IETM meetings, I went to too many panel discussions at first. It was exciting to wander through the pretty Porto streets on a mission, from one beautiful old venue to the next.

But the IETM regulars know that you get more out of the conference if you just take it easy.  It is acceptable to sit in cafes chatting with other artists and producers, instead of going to a lot of lectures and panel events.

I had interesting, and sometimes quite moving conversations with people from all over the world, and met delegates from France who import British shows and fund translations and subtitles. It’s also a good way to meet UK producers, away from their desks and day jobs.

If you are deaf or disabled you can get a travel bursary of £500 to pay for travel and hotel costs.

Deaf access at IETM

I should mention that everyone communicates in English at IETM, wherever it is held in Europe. When you get the bursary offer you can discuss your access with Unlimited.

You can choose two of your preferred interpreters or note takers and, if Access to Work can’t cover all the costs, get help to meet them. All previous bursary recipients have been able to cover costs of interpreters or personal assistants thanks to this all-rounded support.

During IETM Porto, there was a Pastoral Worker supporting the bursary recipient’s access at the conference, and is also a BSL interpreter. This was helpful for some bursary recipients, providing support during access gaps in their day, such as evening events.

I decided to rely on my cochlear implant. This worked quite well, until I attended a session in an echoey church, where the PA systems were placed miles from the audience. I need to invest in a remote mic, which fellow implant users tell me are good for conferences.  

It was much easier to chat to people one on one. The best events were held in lecture halls or theatres, which had good acoustics and sound. Some of the keynote events were partially subtitled (with a Deaf interpreter onstage doing International Sign Language in relay with a Portuguese SLI).

There were 12 British Council bursary recipients with me at the IETM meeting in Porto.  We kept in touch on a Whatsapp group. Everyone messaged all day about where they were in the city, so there was always someone to meet up with.

Details about how to apply for a bursary to Munich IETM:

https://theatreanddance.britishcouncil.org/blog/2018/ietmmunichunlimited/

Sophie Woolley is a writer and performer. She is currently developing Augmented, a one person show, which recently won the Pulse 18 Suitcase Prize.