Theatres and Sustainable Development: Articulation, Innovation, and Leadership will be the theme of the 17th Annual Opera Latinoamérica (OLA) Conference, which will take place from 17th to 20th November at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile. Over four days, we will bring together more than 100 global leaders in the performing arts from all continents to work on three central themes in today’s hyper-technologised, ever-changing, and increasingly unequal landscape: articulation, innovation, and leadership. These are three areas where the performing arts and music are positioned as transformative agents contributing to the development needed by 21st-century civilisation.

Learn more about the 17th Annual Opera Latinoamérica Conference here.

The first thematic block is titled Models of Articulation and Circulation, and we will approach it from two perspectives. Firstly, we will examine the usual artistic circulation practices of festivals, theatres, and companies, adding other approaches such as the circulation of ideas and the creation of creative corridors, with a view to promoting articulation models that generate a virtuous ecosystem for innovation, entrepreneurship, and local development.

The second focus of this block presents public-private articulation models that promote the development of economically more sustainable management models in cultural organisations. We will reflect on and showcase experiences that respond to the growing need of the cultural sector to diversify its sources of income by incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria for fundraising.

Creativity and Digital Transformation is the second block of the 17th OLA Conference, where we will observe, through success stories shared firsthand by their protagonists, how technology has been integrated into the value chain of the performing arts in the phases of creation, production, and distribution. What is the role of creativity in a hyper-technologised environment? is the question underlying this segment. Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and video games have much to contribute to this conversation.

Finally, because we believe that the human being is at the centre of our reflection, we will dedicate the last and third block of the conference to Adaptive Leadership in Times of Change. In this section, we will delve into the role and challenges faced by leaders in the arts during times of rapid change. Contemporary society is undergoing a fourth industrial revolution and the advent of new forms and dynamics of interaction subject to digital transformation. It is the opportune moment for the humanisation of the technological revolution, the performing arts, and music to articulate a space of fundamental construction and contribution and become a beacon of deep human vocation.

Finally, and as is tradition in our conferences, alongside the discussions and reflections, we will continue to develop the initiatives that have led us to build the largest Ibero-American performing arts community over these 17 years. Our Project Market will showcase artistic projects from both organisations and the independent world and generate networking opportunities and idea exchanges among over 60 organisations and managers from Ibero-America, the USA, Europe, and Asia. The Women in Performing Arts and Music Forum will once again bring us together to discuss and consolidate concerns related to gender within our organisations. Finally, and for the first time, this year we will inaugurate the OLA Dance Forum to give a dedicated space to an artistic genre that has historically been present on our stages.

We invite you to be part of this journey that we have designed for you to experience a co-creative and transformative experience with our community at the 17th Annual Opera Latinoamérica Conference in Santiago, Chile.

Learn more about the 17th Annual Opera Latinoamérica Conference here.