Montreuil delivers battle

On June 9, at the Théâtre Public de Montreuil (93), the general assembly of the collective was held Fight Battle. Armed with a charter that brings together more than 500 signatories, artists and companies are organizing to make themselves heard in the face of budget cuts des collectivités and the State which affect the cultural sector.

Never has the political desire to drastically reduce funding for live entertainment been so brutal and so quickly implemented. In numbers, regions, departments, cities are disengaging. As for the reduction in the budget of the Ministry of Culture which affects the entire cultural landscape, it primarily impacts the artistic teams, that is to say the matrix from which the sector is organized and bases its legitimacy. Everywhere, public funding for independent companies and venues is becoming rarer.and the award criteria are becoming more complex. Administrative constraints, the logic of control and precariousness are increasing. Competition between artistic teams and the laws of cultural engineering have become the rule. Faced with this almost total loss of control over the conditions for exercising our professions, and faced with the lack of consideration of our realities, it no longer seems possible for us to remain isolated and silent.

The way of thinking and organizing our practices, our temporalities, our modes of production, of distributing funding, of meeting the public and of administering theaters concerns us, it is up to us to become aware of it and to dare to make a word heard that no one will speak for us. We – more than 100 artistic teams – invite those who share our desire to act – artists, technicians, independent venues and their teams – to form a collective which will allow us to weigh in the current and future battle. On the basis of reflection, aspirations and common demands, we will address the public, the press and all the stakeholders concerned (ministry, local authorities, unions, elected officials, political parties…) to defend another conception of our professions and work towards an essential reinvention of public policies for art and culture.

To join the movement and sign the appeal, contact: livrer.bataille@gmail.com

Voices to be heard

In front of more than 350 participants, Irène Voyatzis, co-director of the White Dahlia company and one of the initiators of the collective, explains that the idea of ​​founding this collective came recently, following meetings held at the Théâtre de l’Échangeur, a venue in Bagnoletthreatened with disappearance for a year. “L’Échangeur is a partner for 80 companies per year. So, the hypothesis of its closure is a real threat for them. But the problems of artistic teams are often more diffuse, more hidden. We founded this collective to launch an overall reflection on the functioning of the system and, at the same time, to take action. We must stop being mistreated collectively.”

Manon Ayçoberry, who has been taking action for four months in the Grand Est region, says:“We need something concrete”. We talk about the mobilization which made it possible toturn the situation around in Vanves. The establishment of national coordination is envisaged in September, before the Avignon festival takes place. “There will be at least one general meeting, We are in negotiations with the In so that they can welcome us”. At the end of a evening enthusiastic, everyone is invited to put themselves in battle order. Yonnel Liégeois