artsmanager

Volume 17
INTERNATIONAL Issue 13
08 July 2021
£12 (UK)
€20.00 (EU) / $28 (US)

Ruhrtriennale
The festival that regenerated a
region makes its return
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

F
resh challenges abound in
this edition of IAM, as we
look for new sources of
inspiration. How do you keep
from going stale? Where do you
find motivation? When is the
right time to make a change?
Let’s start with Toks Dada, the
newly installed head of classical
music at the Southbank Centre in
London. The curator is bringing
a fresh perspective to the venue,
Andrew Anderson and has already revolutionised
consulting editor the way it presents its
programme.
“My idea is that we should view
COVER audiences as collaborators,”
PHOTO: Cascade, part of the Ruhrtriennale he explains in our interview on
© Martin Argyroglo
pages 9-11 “We have to reach
people that we’ve not reached
before, and giving them agency
to curate their own programmes
is the start of that.”
Barbara Frey is another person
who is fresh in her post, as she
begins her tenure as artistic
director at Ruhrtriennale. “We
want to work with people in a
continuous dialogue, rather than
just inviting people to quickly
jump on and off the festival
carousel,” she says, as she
outlines her long-term plans for
the festival (pages 21-23).
As for Fedina Zhou, she’s leading
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
into a new era. SSO is exploring
the possibility of keeping its
digital season alongside its
regular one, and has also
launched a hugely successful
app. You can find out more on
pages 17-19.
Finally, Alex Walter from WOMEX
discusses the ethos behind the
worldwide music expo. “Our core
philosophy is to be as ambitious
as possible and as diverse as
possible,” he says in our interview
on pages 13-15. “Let’s give a
platform to as many amazing
musicians as we can.”

CONTENTS
05 News
• Camille Walala commissioned for Plymouth sculpture
• Met Opera finally reaches pay deal with stagehands
• Competition entrant claims jury only listened to 20 seconds of his music
• Khori Dastoor joins Houston Grand Opera as general director and CEO
• Jakub Hrůša heads to Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
• Australia Council explores changes in digital culture
• San Francisco Opera lecture programme focusses on Latin America

09 Introducing
Introducing: Toks Dada 09-11 • Southbank Centre’s Toks Dada shares his vision for classical music

13 Feature
• Live music is back as WOMEX heads to Porto

17 Diary
• A view from Shanghai with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s Fedina Zhou

21 Advice
• What does it take to put on a successful festival in 2021? Barbara Frey from
Ruhrtriennale shares her insights

Advice: Barbara Frey 21-23

WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM 3
11TH QUADRENNIAL
INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN WWW.VIOLIN.ORG

COMPETITION
Jaime Laredo, Jury President
Deadline for application: February 28, 2022

OF INDIANAPOLIS
September 9 - 25, 2022
The Indianapolis
might well be the
world’s leading
violin competition in
terms of cumulative
prizes and career
development for
its winners.
Richard Lin – The Strad
2018 Gold Medalist Leonidas Kavakos
Augustin Hadelich Marco Rizzi
Liviu Prunaru Stefan Milenkovich
David Chan Robin Sharp Bin Huang
Ioana Cristina Goicea Dami Kim Yura Lee
David Kim Svetlin Roussev Yuval Yaron
Yuriko Naganuma Barnabás Kelemen
Anna Lee Luke Hsu Bella Hristova Ivan Chan
Chin Kim Simone Lamsma Benjamin Beilman
Jinjoo Cho Nai-Yuan Hu Antal Zalai
Andrey Baranov Judith Ingolfsson
Jaakko Kuusisto Susie Park
Haoming Xie Ida Kavafian
Soovin Kim Pavel Berman
Juliette Kang Ye-Eun Choi
Sungsic Yang Frank Huang
Mihaela Martin Ji Yoon Lee
Alina Pogostkina Andrew Haveron
Soyoung Yoon Yoojin Jang Andrés Cárdenes
Risa Hokamura Annick Roussin Shannon Lee
Virginie Robilliard Sergey Khachatryan
Martin Beaver Ju-Young Baek Olivier Charlier
Kyoko Takezawa Ji Young Lim Michiko Kamiya
Celeste Golden Boyer Clara-Jumi Kang Tessa Lark
FOUR DECADES OF DISCOVERY
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

in the news

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX: Sculptor

Camille Walala has been commissioned to
is proud to be the official media partner of create a sculpture outside new art museum
The Box, in Plymouth, UK. Walala’s works
– known for their colourful patterns and
ispa.org geometric forms – have previously been
installed at Tate Modern in London and
at Facebook’s European HQ in Ireland. “I
always want to create an optimistic, happy
mood and I think the colour and pattern I
contacts SUBSCRIPTIONS No part of this publication may be reproduced, use is a great way to do that and to bring
Amy Clark stored in a retrieval system or trans­­mitted in any
PUBLISHER amy@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk
form or any means electronic, mechanical, joy – especially in a town that’s usually
Simon Lewis photocopy­ing, recording or otherwise without the
Tel: +44 (0)1825 983119
Tel: +44 (0)1825 983105 prior permission of Lewis Business Media (Arts) grey,” commented Walala. “I always try to
Ltd.. The views expressed here are those of the
International Arts Manager
EDITORIAL is published monthly
authors and not of the publisher, editor, Lewis bring out people’s inner child.” Titled Putting
Consulting editor Andrew Anderson Business Media (Arts) Ltd. or its employees. We
iameditorial@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk
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responsibility is accepted for returning photographs installed from 15 July – 5 September. Built
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ADVERTISING SALES
Commercial manager
Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, from marine plywood, Walala described the
River Way, Uckfield, East Sussex,
Sabrina Bhaloda
sabrina@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk
TN22 1SL, UK piece as “an energetic dance of contrasting
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DESIGN
Art editor Sarah Crowhurst
info@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk patterns.” PHOTO: Rendering of Putting
www.lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk
Designers Chrishna Othendee, Stuart Things In Perspective © George Proud
Crowhurst

WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM 5

people
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has named
Khori Dastoor (pictured) as its new general
director and CEO. Dastoor joins HGO from
Opera San José where she’s been general
director since 2019. She is currently
co-chair for Opera America’s Learning and
Leadership Council, while she previously
worked at the Packard Humanities
Institute. Remarked Dastoor: “HGO has
long led the way in developing new
operatic works that speak to the American
experience, as well as to the dynamism
and vibrancy of Houston, Texas. I have long
admired this storied institution, whose
legacy is rich with new commissions, world
premieres, acclaimed artists, and stunning,
world-class productions. HGO will continue
to propel opera forward by developing
diverse offerings, evolving known stories to
reflect our current world, and celebrating
the incredible artists, musicians, and
creatives who make this artform possible.”
Jakub Hrůša has signed on as music
director for the Accademia Nazionale
di Santa Cecilia in Rome. The Czech
conductor adds this prestigious role to an
already busy portfolio: he’s currently chief
conductor of the Bamberg Symphony,
principal guest conductor at Philharmonia
Orchestra, and principal guest Conductor
for the Czech Philharmonic. Hrůša
has signed a three year deal with the
academy, where he’ll lead at least three
productions each year. In addition, he’ll
take part in education programmes and
lead the academy on both national and
international tours. Hrůša replaces Antonio
Pappano, who has led the academy
since 2005. Hrůša is also president of
the International Martinů Circle and the
Dvorak Society, and was the first winner of
the Sir Charles Mackerras Prize.
INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
opera
Met Opera finally reaches pay deal
with stagehands
The Met Opera’s long fight with its own stagehands
appears to be over, after details of a pay agreement
were leaked to the press. Stagehands have been
locked out since December 2020 after refusing to
accept a 30% pay cut.
Details have yet to be confirmed by The Met,
but according to reports in The New York Times the
stagehands have been given a much better deal
than expected, with just a 4.5% cut in pay. They will
also receive a lump sum worth eight weeks’ salary.
The New York Times reported that IATSE – the
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees,
which represents the workeras – has confirmed the
deal. However, no statement has been released by
either IATSE or the Met.
This deal potentially draws a line under a
competitions
Competition entrant claims jury only
listened to 20 seconds of his music
Accordionist Arseniy Strokovskiy has claimed
that the jurors in the Ysaÿe International Music
Competition (YIMC) only listened to 20 seconds of
his performance. The competition, which has solo
violin and chamber music strands, took place online
and ran from 5-9 July.
In post on Facebook, Strokovskiy claimed that his
submissions were opened only once, and that the
jury listened to just 22 seconds for one video, and
23 seconds for the other. He also claims that one
video submitted by his accompanist, violinist Michiru
Soeda, was not watched at all.
“The videos by our duo were opened only once,
each view was for 22 and 23 seconds, which is a
bit more than 2% of the full length of the videos
sent,” wrote Strokovskiy. “Furthermore, one of the
partner’s solo videos had no views whatsoever at
the moment when the results were published.”
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
disastourous 18 months for the Met. First, it fell out
with its musicians over a pay cut, a conflict that was
only resolved in May. Then came the battle with the
stagehands, with protests over its use of non-union
workers on set construction. On top of that, the
Met’s general manager Peter Gelb said that it has
lost more than USD150m due to COVID.
“The inability to perform is taking a tremendous
toll on our company,” said Gelb. “Our future relies
on making strong artistic strides, while collectively
reducing our costs until the audience has fully
returned.”
The Met is due to return to the stage in
September for a performance of Fire Shute Up My
Bones. It will be the first time it has performed a full
opera since COVID hit in March 2020.
Strokovskiy paid a €110 fee to enter the
competition, and added that he is pursuing legal
action.
“An applicant pays fee so as to be listened to,”
he continue. “In other words, he literally pays for
the jury’s job, and the jury ought to listen to each
participant’s video fully. It does not matter if a
participant plays badly or very well, whether they
have chances for victory or not.”
Strokovskiy went on to claim that organisers Elena
Lavrenova and Ashot Khachatourian decided who
would be in the second round without consulting
the jury. Neither Lavrenova nor Khachatourian has
commented on the claims, and YIMC has yet to
release a statement.
6
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

digital

Australia Council explores changes in digital culture

The Australia Council for the Arts has
released a new report that explores how
audiences are engaging with digital work.
Titled In Real Life: Mapping digital cultural
engagement in the first decades of the
21st Century, the report was created in
collaboration with National Arts Council
Singapore.
In Real Life lists eight key findings. Among
these are an increasing blurring of the lines Australia Council for
between artist and audience; changes in the Arts CEO Adrian
Collette
audience expectations as to what counts as
‘live performance’; the need for new systems
of copyright control to protect artists; and access the arts and cultural experiences.” business models to ensuring all Australians,
the need for debate over whether digital The report also explores the role of the particularly those with disability, older
platforms should really be considered as COVID pandemic in accelerating these digital Australians and those in regional and remote
publishers. trends. communities, are able to access and benefit
“We now have, literally at our fingertips, “We also know these changes – that were from creative participation.”
almost infinite possibilities to discover, already occurring and have been accelerated The full report is available online. Australia
connect, engage and create culture online,” by the pandemic – have deep ramifications Council will also release its Digital Cultural
commented Australia Council CEO Adrian for the creative sector,” added Collette. Strategy on 9 July.
Collette. “We have seen…how digital “There is a need to discuss and respond to
technologies have enabled more people to key challenges – from creating sustainable australiacouncil.gov.au

opera

San Francisco Opera lectures focus on Latin America

San Francisco Opera (SFO) has
launched the latest in its talk
series Opera Aficionado. The
next focus will be on opera
from Latin America, with the
programme starting on 11 July
and running until 25 July.
SFO described the new talks
as, “a summer vacation south of
the border, no mask or passport
required,” and added that,
“ports of call include the origins
of sacred choral music and
baroque opera in the New World,
contemporary Latinx stories
written for today’s stage and the
Zarzuela, the beloved Spanish
tradition of musical storytelling.”
Stage director Emilio Sagi
will lead the first talk on 11 July,
which focuses on Zarzuela.
That will be followed on 18 July
by a talk from academic Laura
Prichard, who will unpack how
baroque opera was reinterpreted
in the Americas, with a focus on
the work of Mexican composer
Manuel de Zumaya. The series
concludes on 25 July with artist
Albert Montañez exploring the
best of contemporary Latin
American opera.
“In today’s operatic landscape,
the old classics still reign,
and the roster of new works
premiered by major companies
is dominated by composers of
European and American birth,”
noted Montañez. “Meanwhile,
composers throughout Latin
America continue to tell their
own stories and heritage through
our beloved art form of opera.”
Each talk will last 75 minutes
and take place on Zoom. The
programme is ticketed.

Zarzuela performance
© Javier Del Real sfopera.com

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Introducing: Toks Dada

Above: Toks Dada
Southbank Centre’s new head of classical music has just released the first © Mark Allan

programme since his arrival – and it’s made a big impression. Toks Dada
shares his big ideas for the future of classical with Andrew Anderson
Destination arts centres have a lot going for That’s the job facing Toks Dada, Southbank Centre’s
them. Obviously they’re big, so they can put on new head of classical music. With over a decade of
large shows. And as the name suggests, they’re experience, including at organisations such as Town
destinations – places that you visit not only because Hall Symphony Hall, Birmingham and Welsh National
of their events but also because of their great Opera, Dada has taken over at a strange time for
facilities, location and architecture. You might spend Southbank Centre – the venue only just reopened,
an evening at a concert hall, but you can spend a having been shut since 2020 – but already he’s
whole day at somewhere like the Southbank Centre settled in, and his ideas are starting to make an
in London. impression.

But there is a downside – or maybe challenge might
be a better word – and let’s stick with that example
of the Southbank Centre. With three huge halls,
eight partner orchestras and tons of other activities
across dance, spoken word and visual arts, how
do you go about creating a cohesive programme?
How do you coordinate all of that content so that
it makes sense for the centre’s four million visitors
each year?
“I think we’ve done remarkably well despite the
pandemic,” he affirms, when I reach him at home in
his London apartment. “The pandemic forced us to
stop, think, reflect, and ask ourselves some difficult
questions.”
Some initial answers to those questions can
be found in Southbank Centre’s latest classical
programme, which Dada and his team just
announced. There are new programming strands

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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
for families and contemporary classical – more
on that later – but the most revolutionary thing is
the way the programme is coordinated, as Dada
explains:
“The traditional model is that each of our Resident
and Associate Orchestras programme, promote
and incentivise audiences within their own series
separately. So, you’d have the London Philharmonic
Orchestra promoting its series, the Orchestra of the
Age of Enlightenment advertising a separate series,
and so on.
“But for the first time, the venue and all our
orchestras are joining together to present a unified
offer. We’ve pulled the majority of our classical
music programme under one audience loyalty
model, which allows audiences to curate their own
journey through our rich and varied programme.”
This seems like an obvious thing to do but,
amazingly, it has rarely been tried before at a multi-
ensemble arts centre. Not only does it allow the
orchestras and ensembles to pool their marketing
resources and cross-promote one another’s shows,
but it also puts more control in the hands of the
audience.
“My idea is that we should view audiences as
collaborators,” Dada says. “We have to reach people
that we’ve not reached before, and giving them
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
agency to curate their own journey is the start of Above: The
Southbank Centre’s
that process.
Queen Elizabeth
Hall Roof Garden
“Eventually, we’re going to start seeing audiences © India Roper-Evans
become more active in our performances too.
I’m having early conversations with a couple of
ensembles about what an experience might look
like where audiences are simultaneously audiences
in the traditional sense – they are watching and
consuming some kind of experience – but they are
also active participants in that experience.
“But before we start that work we have to ask
ourselves, ‘who are the audiences that we’ve
traditionally under-served?’ and ‘how can we be
intentional in our programming in order to serve
them?’”
Dada’s first target groups are contemporary
audiences and families. “There’s a whole suite of
experiences for families in our new programme,” he
begins. “For example, our new partner the Multi-
Story Orchestra is presenting a musical journey
around the entire Southbank site. Then London
Philharmonic Orchestra has an LPO FunHarmonics
family concert. And we also have Orchestra of
the Age of Enlightenment producing an OAE Tots
concert aimed at aimed at early years.
“In contemporary classical, we’re taking a similar
approach. So, we have new artistic partner
10
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
Manchester Collective, who will offer a whole suite of
late-night experiences; the Philharmonia Orchestra
will share their ‘Music of Today’ series which this
year is curated by Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto;
London Sinfonietta will have an experimental jazz
programme; and BBC Concert Orchestra will do a
live presentation of Elizabeth Alker’s BBC Radio 3
programme Unclassified.”
For Dada, his job isn’t to tell the partner orchestras
what to do. Instead, he takes their efforts, and then
he and his team amplify them.
“My job is to pull together what all of our partner
orchestras are already doing so well and then
enhance it,” he affirms. “We pull together these
works and then bring in other partners who can
add a different flavour. Our goal is to tell joined up
stories, exploring big issues that face the world right
now in a way that makes sense for the audience.”
As well as its relationships with different audiences,
Dada also wants to see classical music at Southbank
move away from a curator-artist relationship
towards an artist-as-co-curator model.
Citing the example of Manchester Collective, he
adds: “The pandemic definitely drove us towards
building stronger bonds with UK-based artists. Part
of that is practical, because of sustainability and
the environmental impact of what we do. But also,
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
it allows us to have really deep relationships with Above: The
Southbank Centre’s
amazing UK-based partners. So, with Manchester
Food Market
Collective, we’re not just a programmer that has © India Roper-Evans
booked them to put on a few concerts. We’re
co-curators of a series, which we helped shape
together.”
In another new move, Southbank Centre has only
released part of its season, which Dada says will it
more agile:
“The way I see it, if we’re serious about engaging new
audiences, then at some point we need to ask those
audiences what do they want, what do they need?
We can then use that feedback to immediately
evolve our programme, rather than waiting four
years to make a change – by which time audience
needs might have changed, too.”
There’s a phrase that Dada uses to sum up all these
ambitions: Southbank Centre should be the living
room for London. “We cannot think of ourselves
as simply a place where people come to attend a
concert and then go home,” he concludes. “It’s a
space for the people – all the people. It’s early days,
but that’s our philosophy.”
11
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

The world awaits

Above: The historic
After a year without live events, WOMEX director Alex Walter can’t wait city of Porto will
host this year’s expo
to see performers back on stage. He talks to Andrew Anderson about © Torgerson Design
Partners
flexibility, positive thinking and bringing the worldwide music expo to
Portugal
There’s a sense of déjà vu when Alex Walter and I lucky this year that our venues have a big capacity,
connect on Zoom to talk about this year’s WOMEX, so even if new restrictions are added we’ll still have
taking place in October in Porto. That’s because the enough space to host WOMEX. We’re also taking
first question I ask him is identical to the one I asked precautions where we can – for example, we’ve
him 12 months ago: is a worldwide music expo organised our trade fair with the stands further apart
possible in the era of COVID? for social distancing.”

“Definitely,” he answers. “We’re very optimistic that we
will have a WOMEX in Porto, and our local partners
think the same.”
Walter has reason to be confident: last year infections
were on the rise in the host country Hungary, there
was no vaccine, and people were not used to hosting
socially distanced concerts. Now all of that has
changed, and Portugal is already hosting major events
– though with some limitations on capacity.
WOMEX might be playing it safe when it comes
to social distancing, but its jury programme is as
ambitious as ever, with artists from far afield as Chile,
Mali and Azerbaijan.
“The jury was not afraid to try things, which I’m really
proud of,” says Walter. “Our core philosophy is to be
as ambitious as possible and as diverse as possible.
Let’s give a platform to as many amazing musicians as
we can – that’s our goal.”

“Right now we have approval from the Portuguese If artists can’t make it, WOMEX has a couple of
government,” continues the director. “We’re pretty options, as Walter explains: “If COVID prevents an

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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
artist from travelling, we have the option to present
them digitally. We also have some substitute options
so we can change the programme at the last minute.”
This flexibility is something that Walter and his team
have embraced over the past year, and something
that he is extremely proud of.
“We have really learned to be flexible, because we
always thought it is better to try than to give up,” he
asserts. “Last year when we realised we couldn’t do a
physical event, we knew we needed to do something
as a substitution – just cancelling doesn’t help anyone.
I was surprised that we were able to put everything on
the internet within six weeks. It was like driving in fog,
where you have no idea what is on the road ahead,
but it really brought the whole team together.”
In the end, more than 1,000 people attended last
year’s digital edition of WOMEX. Featuring virtual
showcase performances from artists like Hungary’s
Babra and the Australian Art Orchestra, the expo
gave people from all over the world a chance to come
Below: Ghetto
Kumbé
together and share their stories at a time when it was
© Kata Garces really needed, while generating some ideas that will
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be continued in this year’s programme.
“Even though a digital showcase isn’t the same as a
real live performance, there were some elements
that really worked,” notes Walter. “For example, we
included journalist interviews with the artists as part
of their showcase performances, and people really
enjoyed those. It gives promoters a chance to get
to know the artist and their story, and we hope to
continue those interviews this year.
“However, I must add that we can’t rely on digital for
everything. If you organise a digital event as well as
an in-person event you are basically doubling the
amount of production work. So you have to have a
balance.”
Speaking of balance, the artists in the programme for
2021 are as eclectic as ever. Acts that catch the eye
include Japanese sanshin player, singer and electronic
artist Aragaki Mutsumi; gothic folk troupe Kosy from
Poland; Columbian percussion trio Ghetto Kumbé;
Sudanese songwriter Ebo Krdum; and Angolan EDM
artist Pongo.
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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
Above: Polish folk There will also be talks, round tables and mentoring
troupe Kosy
sessions, and a regional stage of Lusophone
© Wojciech
Nekanda Trepka (Portugese language) performers.
Of course, all of the artists in the programme have
videos on YouTube, songs on Spotify and artist
profiles in online magazines. So why are expo events
like WOMEX still important?
“Online streams are okay, but you can’t replace
live performance,” answers Walter. “People are
always telling me ‘I watch thousands of YouTube
performances and it is hard to judge how good they
are, but when I see an artist on stage with my own
eyes I can make an instant decision about whether to
book them or not’. That’s the power of WOMEX.
“The other thing is the trade fair, which is very
popular,” he continues. “The feedback we get is
that in the five days of WOMEX, people make more
connections and get more work done than they do
from home in one year. That’s why WOMEX is still
important for industry professionals, even in the
digital age.”
Looking ahead, Walter says that we won’t know the
full impact of the pandemic on the industry until a few
years down the line.
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
“Online streams are okay, but
you can’t replace live
performance”
“Right now we’re still in the pandemic, so we don’t
have the perspective,” he comments. “In two or three
years we’ll have a better idea of what all this means.
Will podcasts and digital club nights still be as popular
when people can go to bars again with their friends?
Will people still want to consume as much online
content once concerts and live events are back? It will
take a while to asses and to see how much of our lives
remains in the digital realm.
“But what is clear to me is that there is still a big
difference between a video and a live event, and
that international touring is still important. I see that
people are working crazily on touring schedules – they
are working double or triple time – but they are not
giving up. I see there is the need – and the will – to
tour again. That’s not going to change anytime soon.
Live music expos like WOMEX are still very relevant,
and we’re very excited to share these artists live on
stage.”
WOMEX21 takes place in Porto from 27-31 October.
Register now at womex.com
15
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A view from: Shanghai

We hear about the situation in Shanghai from Fedina Zhou, president of Above: Zhang
Jiemin conducting
the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. She discusses SSO’s latest projects, its Shanghai Symphony
Orchestra
response to the pandemic, and spending quality time with her daughter © Cai Cai, SSO

IAM: WHAT IS LIFE LIKE FOR YOU
RIGHT NOW?
Fedina Zhou: Life and work have always been very
busy, and I always feel like there is not enough
time in the day. We have just finished our 2020-
21 season and are about to start our Music in
the Summer Air Festival, so there is a lot going
on here! We’re also gearing up to announce our
2021-22 season and put tickets on sale later this
month, as well as hosting the 2020 Shanghai Isaac
Stern International Violin Competition, which was
postponed last year due to the pandemic. We
reopened our concert hall in May last year after
months of closure, and our concerts have been
selling out ever since!
IAM: HAVE YOU COME UP WITH ANY
NEW INITIATIVES FOR AUDIENCES
AND STAFF DURING THIS TIME?
FZ: Like other arts institutions around the world,
we focused on online content throughout the
pandemic. From the very beginning, our musicians
recorded videos in their homes to share a message
of hope through music, and later we transitioned
to showing other content including remote
lessons. We found that the lockdown opened
up opportunities for our musicians to share
knowledge with young people at home. Young
musicians from all over the world could access
resources from SSO, which was really exciting.
After we reopened our hall, we decided to
broadcast all of our concerts online. We started
off with 25% capacity last year and finally got back
to 100% capacity earlier this year. As well as our
streamed concerts we have also made an online
series through WeChat, which is a very popular app
in China. Audiences can watch all our online series,
lectures and activities directly through our own
customised section of WeChat.

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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
IAM: WHAT’S THE MOST INSPIRING
OR UNEXPECTED IDEA THAT HAS
COME OUT OF THE CURRENT
SITUATION?
FZ: Our project with WeChat is called “Yi wan
Wonton”, which derives from the nickname
“wonton wrapper” of the Shanghai Symphony Hall,
and broadcasts some of the orchestra’s concerts,
as well as sells merchandise. The idea for the mini-
app came about before the pandemic, but it was
difficult to put our resources into it. However, when
lockdown happened in China it presented us with
an ideal time to work on it, and it is now gradually
starting to make a profit.
Another unexpected idea is that we’ve moved
the semi-finals of the Shanghai Isaac Stern
International Violin Competit that more audiences
can watch it and interact. The participants will be
recorded and filmed performing with a pianist for
“We collaborated with Tencent
Art to try paid broadcasts for our
season, testing the market
capacity for classical music online
performances”
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the semi-final. However, we’re postponing the final Above: Fedina
Zhou’s office space.
itself until our international participants can travel
“There are plants
into China to perform with the Shanghai Symphony and fish in my office
Orchestra. so that I have the
presence of nature,”
says Zhou
IAM: WILL YOU CHANGE HOW YOU
DO BUSINESS IN THE FUTURE?
FZ: Because of the pandemic we have made a
lot of online content, most of which requires
support and input from the government and other
stakeholders. At the moment, we’re exploring
how we can continue this work. For example,
we collaborated with Tencent Art to try paid
broadcasts for our season, testing the market
capacity for classical music online performances.
We believe that paid broadcasts will soon become
part of the income of an orchestra.
IAM: HAVE YOU RECEIVED EXTRA
FUNDS TO HELP YOU?
FZ: In Shanghai, the government has introduced
some measures to help cultural institutions
through the crisis, and we have received some
corresponding support and funding. In recent
years, SSO has also tried some new avenues
for commercial development. For example, we
just announced a new contract with Jaguar Land
Rover China, who will be a named partner of our
concert hall, which will now be known as the Jaguar
Shanghai Symphony Hall.
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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
“I think the pandemic has given
me clarity on my responsibilities
and mission at SSO, through
conversations with audience
members and musicians”
IAM: HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC
AFFECTED YOU PERSONALLY – WHAT
ARE YOU DOING TO STAY WELL AND
MOTIVATED?
FZ: My daughter, who studies in America, came
home to Shanghai because of the pandemic. It has
allowed us to spend some quality time together,
which was unexpected and has been really
enjoyable, especially when she cooks me delicious
food! I am really grateful for this time we’ve had,
it’s given me the opportunity to get to know her
better and to understand our mother/daughter
relationship.
I also think the pandemic has given me clarity on
my responsibilities and mission at SSO, through
conversations with audience members and
musicians. On 8 May last year, some SSO musicians
recorded one of our online sessions and we invited
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
20 members of the public to be an audience. It was Above: East Coast
Quartet
the first time we had an audience for many months
and the applause was so memorable. There were a
© Cai Cai, SSO
lot of tears in the hall that day.
IAM: WHAT EXTRA SUPPORT DO YOU
THINK IS NEEDED TO HELP THE ARTS
THRIVE AGAIN?
FZ: In Shanghai we have passed the most
difficult moment of the pandemic. I hope that the
pandemic can be further controlled through the
distribution of vaccines so that international travel
can be restored as soon as possible.
IAM: CAN YOU RECOMMEND A BLOG,
VIDEO, BOOK, OR PODCAST THAT
YOU THINK WE NEED TO EXPERIENCE
RIGHT NOW?
FZ: My recommended book is Jared Diamond’s
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Destiny of Human Society.
I read this book at home and found it fascinating.
In the current era we need to perceive the present
from a historical perspective, whilst considering the
development of human society.
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s new album The
Song of the Earth recorded with conductor Long Yu is
out now on Deutsche Grammophon.
19
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Q&A with Barbara Frey

Barbara Frey is getting ready for her first edition as artistic director Above: Barbara Frey
in front of the
Turbinenhalle in
at RuhrTriennale. She talks to IAM about programming around COVID, Bochum
© Daniel Sadrowski
combining the arts and the importance of finding new inspirations
IAM: WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO GO In a time of crisis like we’re living through, you
AHEAD WITH THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL, need it even more. Without a precise and
AND WHAT FACTORS DID YOU constant dialogue with all individuals, groups and
CONSIDER WHEN MAKING THAT departments, there would be no festivals at all.
DECISION?
Barbara Frey: We always worked on an analogue IAM: DO THE LARGE FORMER
version of the festival. Together with the ministry INDUSTRIAL SPACES THAT ARE USED
of North-Rhine Westphalia and the health BY THE RUHRTRIENNIALE HELP WITH
departments, we carefully developed a detailed COVID SAFETY?
plan for the whole situation, for the artists, the staff BF: In some aspects. But we also want to respect
and the audience. The most important thing is to the artistic ideas of the set designers. For example,
guarantee everybody’s health and safety. After that, there still has to be a good situation for the
the next most important thing is creating the best sightlines. It is always a balancing act between the
possible conditions for the artists. safety requirements and the artistic vision.

IAM: WHAT’S THE BIGGEST IAM: HOW HAS THE FESTIVAL COPED
CHALLENGE OF ORGANISING A WITH TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS?
LARGE-SCALE FESTIVAL IN THE BF: We have plans for regular COVID testing for
PRESENT CLIMATE? all the artists and staff when they are present for
BF: The biggest challenge is always communication. rehearsing and performing

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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
As for the travel restrictions, we are in a constant
dialogue with the authorities, which is very helpful.
IAM: WHAT GOALS HAVE YOU SET
YOURSELF FOR YOUR TENURE AS
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR?
BF: Working with my team is the most important
thing, and we have a common vision. We want
to explore the sensitive and powerful similarities
between the arts. We try to investigate topics that
all of the arts are concerned with.
For example, how do we define our society in
times of increasing globalisation and increasing
loneliness? How do we deal with the fact that we
are destroying our planet? How can we build a
bridge between tradition – the ideas that have
been inspiring and challenging for us for a long
time – and the present moment? How do we
deal with living together in a world full of new
communication tools, where the speed of life
“We want to work with people in a
continuous dialogue, rather than
just inviting people to quickly jump
on and off the festival carousel”
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might be too quick for our mental and emotional Above: The Life
Work by Mette
conditioning?
Ingvartsen
© Katja Illner
IAM: HOW DO YOU SEE THE FESTIVAL
EVOLVING OVER THE COMING
YEARS?
BF: Our plan is to work continuously with some
international artists over the next three years. This
will give them time to create projects that respond
to our unique venues and situation.
Besides that, we will invite new international artists
– including artists that can not come this year
because of the pandemic – and continue our work
with local artists. We want to work with people in
a continuous dialogue, rather than just inviting
people to quickly jump on and off the festival
carousel.
IAM: WHAT WILL SUCCESS LOOK LIKE,
AND HOW WILL YOU MEASURE IT?
BF: Success is a difficult word. Who decides what
success is? For me as an artist and as a host
for other artists, the most interesting question
is: are we able to touch the audience? Are we
able to inspire people? Can we create a sense of
togetherness? Can we ask basic questions about
humankind that reveal new answers?
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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
Basically, in the arts, it is never about giving
answers – it is about asking questions, with
perseverance and sensitivity.
IAM: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO APPLY
FOR THE JOB AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR?
BF: I was inspired by Ruhrtriennale’s programme,
which combines several art forms in these
incredible impressive spaces of the Ruhr area. My
personal work as a theatre director has always
been inspired and challenged by all other art
forms. Now I have the privilege to of combining
these different visions of the arts together.
IAM: WHAT IS IT THAT APPEALS
TO YOU ABOUT LARGE-SCALE
FESTIVALS, IN A TIME WHEN THERE
ARE INCREASING CALLS FOR US TO
ALL ‘GO LOCAL’?
BF: It is true that in a time of pandemics and
climate change, we have to ask new questions
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
concerning the complex conditions of an Above: Barbara
Frey’s production
international festival that celebrates the arts. I think
Die Toten, part of
that we have to find most interesting combinations this year’s
of international and local artists to keep up the Ruhrtriennale
© Matthias Horn
dialogue. In times of crisis, the real chance is to
redefine the principles of all our habits: let‘s leave
the comfort zone and try to find new inspirations.
They can be local, national, international, global
– but we can no longer ignore that we have to
communicate with more attention, with more
sensitivity, with more solidarity.
The Ruhrtriennale runs from 14 August to 25
September. The full programme is online at
https://www.ruhrtriennale.de/en/.
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