Artist Career Resources & Handouts
Unlocking Europe Creative Capital Webinar Participants: Here are the resources from the live webinar. If you need to get in touch the contact page will work if you’ve lost the email I sent.
Download my tech rider example
Download a tech rider more focused on outdoor ticketed events rider example
Download an example of my quote doc
Check out the list of North American festivals organized by date.
On lessons learned the hard way, a story from my first gig, How to Catch Pneumonia in Sydney .
How to write an artist production tech rider:
We covered this in the webinar, but now here for everyone, these are the basic bullet points. Please note this is organized for touring a non-theater performance. Theater riders have a different set of needs and include lighting, sound, set etc.
what do you need in a tech rider?
- ‘What is it?’ overview: 2-3 lines describing the work as a process
- Timing: hours/days in a performance & tech, this is your process schedule
- Your Team: who & how many hotel nights, include your advance tech time and load out
- Your Team Travel: what cities they are each flying from, so tickets can be priced
- Local Crew needs: skilled people you need, how many hours a day you need them
- What you provide: this is what you’re bringing with, it helps them to know your resources
- Shipping: if you need to ship, dimensions, weight and shipping class so they can get a quote*
- Equipment: anything to be rented or acquired locally
- Site Visit if you need it
- Press & Media
International Shipping Links:
These are things I referenced in the Unlocking Europe webinar. A few specifics to get you started, but not a guide to shipping! That is a whole book.
Keep out of trouble tip: If you are shipping, make sure to always use a reliable freight forwarder, and have custom clearance included in your quote. Believe it or not, YES you can get an international shipping quote that does not include the full cost of actually getting your stuff over an international border. It’s a bad surprise.
You will need your freight class to get quotes. Use a freight class calculator to figure this out for your shipment, it’s mostly about density. These are two options.
https://smallbusiness.fedex.com/freight-classification
https://www.freightquote.com/how-to-ship-freight/freight-class-density-calculator
For a ATA Carnet, get a quote for a Carnet from atacarnet.com, aka Boomerang. If you buy one, ALWAYS get the document insurance! The Carnet must physically travel with the shipment and they are lost all the time, so buy the insurance. FedEx lost mine last time a presenter shipped with them. Why you need one can be confusing, it’s like a passport for goods that are returning, so you can skip customs fees. But even if your presenter is doing the shipping, if they or the shipper asks for an ATA Carnet then you have to get it. Only the US owner can obtain one. Pass the cost on to them.
European Festival & Presenter List:
note: I’m working on a new master list and will let everyone on the mailing list know when it’s ready. Unlocking Europe webinar participants will be notified. So this is in no way complete, but it’s a good start. If you’re impatient I understand, feel free to email me!
In-Situ
A great group, many festivals I work with are in this network. Run out of Marseille. “European platform for Artistic Creation in Public Space.”
Trans Europe Halles
This is a bit more of a kunsthalle list, but the In-Situ folks suggested it. “A European network of citizen-initiated cultural organizations.”
European Festivals Association (EFA)
Tends to be bigger ticketed festivals. “The EFA is the umbrella organization for festivals across Europe and beyond. One of the oldest cultural networks in Europe. A dynamic network representing about 100 music, dance, theatre and multidisciplinary festivals, national festival associations and cultural organization from 40 countries.”
Dance
European Dancehouse Network (EDN)
Contemporary Dance Network. “EDN is a network for trust and cooperation between European dancehouses sharing a common vision regarding the development of dance art across borders.”
Performing Arts
New European Theatre Action (NETA)
“NETA is a network of theatres and festivals that promote theatre and performing arts, encourages skill sharing and good practice, and aims to develop theatre and culture at a global level.”
European Network of Information Centres for the Performing Arts (ENICPA)
“ENICPA is a network of specialists from Europe in the field of performing arts information, documentation and collections.”
International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM)
“IETM is a membership organization which exists to stimulate the quality, development, and contexts of contemporary performing arts in a global environment.”
European Theatre Convention (ETC)
“ETC is a network of European public theatres founded in 1988 to promote contemporary drama theatre, to support the mobility of artists and to develop artistic exchange throughout Europe and beyond.”
Union of Theatres of Europe (UTE)
“UTE is a European network of theatres, companies, and artists that aims to develop international and transnational artistic collaborations within Europe and beyond.”
Performing Arts Employers Associations League Europe (PEARLE)
For ticketed theater based work, possibly a resource. “PEARLE is the European trade federation of performing arts organizations and it represents more than 4,500 theatres, theatre production companies, orchestras and music ensembles, opera houses, ballet and dance companies, festivals, and other organizations within the performing arts sector across Europe.”
Life Long Burning (LLB)
“LLB is a project dedicated to the sustainable support of the European contemporary dance and performance field and the enlargement of its audience.”
Circostrada
These folks are doing interesting things, a few festivals I’ve worked with are members. Circus is totally different in Europe and can also mean ‘street art’. Worth checking out for sure. “Circostrada is a European network for street arts and contemporary circus, dedicated to information, observation and professional exchanges.”
FOAM
Ok not a festival, but interesting interdisciplinary multi-city group working with artists. “A network of cultural labs intersecting art, science, nature and everyday life.” Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Falmouth.
Festivals I’ve worked with that are worth checking out:
https://luminatofestival.com
https://www.nnfestival.org.uk
https://perthfestival.com.au
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk
https://www.30cc.be
https://www.festivalcite.ch
https://www.lestombeesdelanuit.com
https://www.giaf.ie
https://www.escalesimprobables.com
https://www.mons2015.eu/en
https://www.novartbordeaux.com
https://www.lieuxpublics.com
https://www.larueestaamiens.com
https://www.zomervanantwerpen.be
North American Festivals are over here now!
Creative Capital Residency list
This is on their blog and seems to be sorted by posts on upcoming dates, so not comprehensive but it could be timely.
Other Stuff:
Live Art Development Agency (LADA) in the UK & ArtsAdmin has compiled a downloadable resource guide intended for artists who work in Live Art and contemporary performance and are at the start of their career. In the UK for a British artist audience, I agree with some of this, not all. But still valuable.
their link: https://www.artsadmin.co.uk , or if that gets broken, my link: ArtsAdmin guide
If you see something missing, or want updates as new info or articles are posted, drop me a line on the contact page.