The event, to be held in April, will focus on migratory movements

The Auditorio de Tenerife will be ground zero for the 17th INAEM Conferences on Inclusion in the Performing Arts from 22 to 24 April. The Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música (National Institute of Performing Arts and Music – INAEM), part of the Ministry of Culture, is leading the event, which explores displacement and migration as part of our past, present, and future, as well as the challenges these issues present. The Tenerife Island Council and INAEM, in partnership with the Government of the Canary Islands and the Spanish Theatres Network, are organising this edition, supported by several collaborating institutions from the archipelago and mainland Spain.

This edition of the conferences will feature in-person events in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with the Auditorio de Tenerife acting as the main venue. Additional activities are planned at other performance spaces in the city, such as Espacio La Granja and Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA). The programme also includes events in unconventional locations, such as the Penitentiary Centre Tenerife II in El Rosario and the San Matías neighbourhood of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

As of today, all those who wish to attend the conferences may sign up at the website inclusioninaem.inaem.gob.es.

With the slogan ‘Displacement: Stages of Resistance’, this new edition of the INAEM-sponsored event focuses on migratory phenomena, diaspora, and the challenges posed by the diversification of repertoires, ethnic plurality, and the interculturality of work groups and creators in performing arts and music. The scheduled activities, which are more numerous than in the preceding edition, are made possible by the active involvement of a network of local institutions, associations and entities. They will include shows, projections, workshops, talks, mentoring and other initiatives that have real and perceivable impact on society and challenge us to think and actively practice inclusion in the venues, scheduling and institutions of performing arts.

This 17th edition includes five shows, three staged offerings, five areas for reflection and thought, six workshops and the projection of two documentaries. In addition, six projects based in Spain will be presented in the performative space ‘En el foco’ (formerly ‘Comunicaciones’), and there will be a new mentoring programme with renowned performing-arts figures. The call for submissions of public projects and mentorship applications will be posted on the website on 16 February.

Conference programme

The scheduled events will begin with a sample of proposed performing arts titled ‘La Placita’, consisting of a showing outside the Auditorio de Tenerife of around a dozen pieces, each lasting eight to ten minutes, created by persons from the cultural and artistic scene in the Canary Islands. Completing Wednesday’s events, the show Vagabundus will be performed by Mozambique-based Converge+ Dance Company. The work features choreography by Idio Chichava and takes a closer look at concepts such as community, roots, and belonging by intertwining corporeal and performative languages, with 13 artists who dance and sing in the styles of folklore and gospel.

Palestinian and African voices

Thursday, 23 April, will see a large part of this edition’s activities, with three of the artistic offerings taking place. The Auditorio de Tenerife’s La Salita hall will host Preso en la esperanza, a creation of Unavezenlavida Producciones and The Freedom Theatre, and a project of Palestinian artist Nabil Al-Raee and Spanish creators Miguel Oyarzun and Juan Ayala. Drawing on the banishment and silencing of Palestinian voices, this work explores the vital experiences of Al-Raee to analyse the mechanisms used to construct hegemonic narratives. The second offering of the day, held outside the auditorium, will be Mahmud y no solo Mahmud, of Madrid-based Puntocero Company, whose members are migrant artists from the African diaspora. The show tells the true story of Senegal-born immigrant Mahmud Traoré through words, circus language and song. The work speaks for millions of displaced persons who face labour exploitation, racism and the lack of legal resources that would provide them with safe mobility.

Audio-visual projects for inclusion

As part of the event, El canto de las manos will be shown at Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA). The film reflects the commitment of these conferences beyond the scope of this edition, with subject matters such as the inclusion of persons with diverse disabilities. This documentary, directed by actress María Valverde, explores disability through the experiences of three deaf Venezuelan musicians and their sensorial experiences, using Beethoven’s Fidelio as a vehicle of expression, with conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Additionally, in another audio-visual offering connected to the event, the film Frontera will be shown on Tuesday, 21 April, to inmates at the Penitentiary Centre Tenerife II. It is the first Spanish documentary about the staging of a theatrical production within a prison.

Battle of gamecocks and polkas and documentary theatre

On the final day of activities, the program will continue with three more artistic offerings. The first, a ‘battle of gamecocks and polkas,’ will bring together urban music with local artists from diverse backgrounds. Following this, Polígono, a documentary and community theatre piece by La Escrig, draws on testimonies of residents of Jinámar to tell the story of the exploitation and degradation of this social housing site. Concluding these activities, on Saturday, 25 April, the Auditorio de Tenerife will premiere the opera Bluebeard’s Castle. This adaptation of Béla Bartók’s score addresses subjects such as memory, body, trauma, desire, identity, and oppression through the story of a woman trapped in a man’s body.

Diversity and heritage

The event will feature four performative areas to share thoughts and actions under the title ‘Del ensayo al acto”’ (From Rehearsal to the Act). During these encounters, a group of performing-arts figures and sector experts will engage in dialogue with participants in four main themes of discussion: the implications of mobility and displacement in today’s world, diversity and interculturality in artistic programmes, invisibilised or unacknowledged heritages and imagery, and practices and methodologies with migrant persons in performing arts and music. In addition, Canarian dancer, choreographer and director of Centro Coreográfico de La Gomera, Martín Padrón, will present the ‘DAD’ method (Spanish acronym meaning ‘extended dimensions of dance’), which he uses to democratise culture and to explore the limits of choreography and the body’s role in our everyday lives.

Registration for mentoring

This 17th edition of the INAEM Conferences on Inclusion in the Performing Arts will include other new activities. The first is a mentoring programme in which renowned performing-arts professionals will offer guidance and advice to administrators and creators on their ideas. The call for registration will be announced on the conference website and through other conference channels. This edition will also see the renaming of one of the most highly anticipated activities: the performative space ‘Comunicaciones’ will now be known as ‘En el foco’. This activity allows participants to present inclusion-themed projects. The six selected initiatives will be provided with times and locations for their public presentations.

In this edition, Mesa Técnica, an agency comprised of several cultural and social institutions of Tenerife, will provide the organising entities and collaborators with an assessment.

The definitive programme of the conference events, including the complete list of collaborators, activities and timetables, will be made available on 12 March. That day, attendees may make reservations for activities in performative areas with limited seating.