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Description
This project strengthens and develops Vision for Dance (Vize tance), an NGO cultural association founded in 2008.
The association brings together independent professionals and organisations working in the dance and movement arts field in the Czech Republic. Artists, producers, technicians, programmers, mentors, theorists and journalists are thus united within the same organisation. All members are part of the contemporary arts scene and work on a predominately freelance basis.
Vision for Dance aims to bring them together to redefine the objectives for the development of the field, to determine strategies for implementing them and to adapt the structures of the field in relation to these newly identified needs.
Vision for Dance is an association. Members meet to share ideas and know-how and to help their common field. They map the field to identify its strengths and opportunities for growth, to ascertain the positive impact of the field’s work on society and to develop concepts for future projects that will further develop the field.
Vision for Dance partners with other institutions, including foreign and domestic networks and platforms, to collectively create a better context for the field’s activities.
Summary of project results
The association "Vision for Dance" brings together independent professionals and organisations working in the dance and movement arts field in the Czech Republic. The association focuses on improving the conditions for dance and movement arts and supports their development in various areas. The main activities of the association include cooperation with other platforms and experts, sectoral advocacy across target groups, partnerships with institutions addressing professional issues, and raising awareness of the field among the general public. We needed to strenghten the membership base and join forces in broader cooperation of members with the aim of further building a strong profiled association that develops partnerships with institutions and opens up new directions of reflection.
During project implementation, we established six working groups which focused on specific topics such as development and workwith the audience, marketing and funding opportunities, publicity, advocacy, professional support, etc. Each group carried out its own SWOT analysis of the current situation, set up priorities and drafted separate chapters of the development strategy. A total of 31 moderated meetings took place. Both Czech and foreign professionals took part in the working groups, which were aided in their research by 5 implemented workshops. The results were evaluated and shared with other members at 3 roundtables and 2 public conferences. Alongside the strategy, inspirational project sheets were created; these were published on the web and distributed to key stakeholders. Additionally, a new administrative and coordination team, a new website and a new system for communicating with the field''s professional community were put in place. The number of trained cultural professionals amounted to 163 and the number of cultural entities with strengthened capacity reached 150. Members of Vision for Dance gained increased competency in creating strategic documents, while raising the significance of the professional organisation for other artistic fields and public institutions.
The project''s intended result was the revitalisation of an organisation of key significance for the development and visibility of an important branch of contemporary art. Vision for Dance has once again come to the fore and has a clear goal defined by its members. Professionals have seen their skills strengthened through collaboration across disciplines, establishing an understanding both among themselves and with their international colleagues, and creating a new network with common interests.