IETM’s new report explores how theatres, festivals, and performing arts organisations can move beyond audience development to create meaningful relationships and a lasting sense of belonging.
Bringing people together for a performance is one thing. Building a community around the performing arts is something much deeper.
A new publication from IETM – International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts, titled Community Building in the Performing Arts: Stories, Reflections and Lessons from Practice, explores how artists and cultural organisations can develop lasting relationships with the people and communities around them.
Published in October 2026 and written by Matina Magkou and Herman Bashiron Mendolicchio, the 50-page report examines a question increasingly important to the performing arts sector: How can cultural organisations move beyond simply attracting audiences to creating genuine connections, participation, and belonging?
From Audience Development to Community Building
Traditionally, audience development has focused on attracting more people to performances, reaching new demographics, and improving access to cultural experiences.
Community building takes this a step further. It asks how people can become active participants, collaborators, and even co-creators in artistic life.
The report draws on the experiences of performing arts practitioners from different cultural and social contexts, exploring what makes these relationships possible and why they can be difficult to sustain.
Real Stories From Around the World
One of the publication’s most engaging sections presents seven real-world stories of community-building practices.
Readers discover how:
- Chão de Oliva in Portugal has developed long-term relationships with local communities, beginning artistic projects by listening to residents and learning about their everyday lives.
- Synikismos Festival in Greece and Cyprus has worked with communities shaped by displacement and migration, bringing residents’ stories and experiences into the creative process.
- ArtHouse Jersey has explored a different approach to opera, inviting local residents to help shape an original production based on their experiences of identity, belonging, and place.
These stories offer more than inspiring examples. They reveal the challenges, unexpected discoveries, and sometimes uncomfortable questions that arise when artistic organisations work closely with communities.
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Why This Report Matters
At a time when cultural organisations face growing pressure to demonstrate their social value, the report raises important questions about how we define artistic success.
Is a successful community project measured by audience numbers? By the quality of the artistic work? Or by the relationships that continue long after the performance ends?
The publication also explores the practical realities of community building, including funding, trust, artistic responsibility, and the often-invisible emotional work involved in creating meaningful connections.
Rather than offering a fixed formula, IETM invites readers to reconsider the role performing arts organisations can play in the social and cultural life of their communities.
The publication also lays the groundwork for the IETM Community Building School, launching in 2027, which will explore community engagement, participatory artistic approaches, and new ways of developing performing arts organisations and venues.
For theatre makers, producers, festival organisers, cultural managers, and policymakers, this publication offers valuable perspectives and practical reflections.
The full report is well worth exploring, particularly for anyone interested in how the performing arts can create connections that extend beyond the stage.
Download the full IETM report – Community Building in the Performing Arts (Free PDF)
Source: IETM – International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts, October 2026.
This post was last modified on November 7, 2026 6:11 pm