July 2026: Building bridges across projects, places and communities
- Aug 5
- 4 min read
July brought together several dimensions of IM industries’ work: artistic development, European cooperation, stakeholder dialogue, cultural decentralization and audience engagement. Although implemented through different projects and partnerships, these activities shared a common direction: creating stronger connections between artists, organizations, communities and places.
Empowering Dancers in Motion begins its second edition
At the transition from June into July, the second edition of Empowering Dancers in Motion began on the Croatian coast as part of the Creative Europe project dancEUA – Contemporary Resilience.
Coordinated by Studio Contemporary Dance Company, the non-formal training program brings together ten young dancers from partner countries. Its opening phase in Bibinje combined team building residency, daily training, workshops, mentorship and artistic exchange. The participants continued their program in Šibenik, where they worked with dance artists and teachers including Yasmin Frione, Bruno Duarte and Fonsi Lopez.
At the end of July, the group also began the first creation period with choreographer Anna Borràs, developing a new dance performance CALIMA that will continue to evolve throughout the program.
Their learning experience extended beyond the studio. The participants travelled to Veli Iž, where they attended Zitzania by Lali Ayguadé as part of IslanDance. This connected their training process with an international performance presented in a specific island and community context.
During July, a Swedish dance artist Matilda Bjärum completed a job-shadowing placement in Croatia, made possible through her participation in Management Fusion, the dancEUA capacity-building program coordinated by the Romanian partner M Studio. Her placement introduced her to the implementation of Empowering Dancers in Motion, while also providing insight into the wider context in which the program operates. By joining activities connected with IslanDance and other local initiatives, she was able to observe how different projects and platforms can be intentionally linked to create broader learning, networking and professional development opportunities.
Further workshops, artistic encounters and public presentations for Empowering Dancers in Motion will follow in August through collaborations with Stream Zadar and Monoplay.
Croatian dance and cultural diplomacy in Šibenik
On 15 July, IM industries participated in the Šibenik Dance Forum, held as part of the 15th Šibenik Dance Festival under the theme Cultural Diplomacy: Dance as a Bridge for Cooperation.
The Forum explored how contemporary dance can contribute to international dialogue, mobility and long-term cooperation between artists, institutions and cultural communities.
The IM industries presentation, Choreographing Visibility from the Periphery: Croatian Dance through EU Projects and International Collaboration, focused on the concrete opportunities that European projects and international partnerships can create for Croatian dance artists.
Using examples from Beyond Front@: Bridging Periphery, dancEUA - Contemporary Resilience and the international distribution of ALL’ARME dance performance, the presentation examined how European cooperation can support artistic creation, education, residencies, touring, coproduction and access to professional networks.
Five years of IslanDance
July also marked the fifth edition of IslanDance, the contemporary dance manifestation developed by the artistic organization ON/A in collaboration with IM industries.
For the first time, the program expanded to the island of Ugljan, where Re-Garde by Cie MF | Maxime & Francesco was presented in Kukljica. The program continued on Veli Iž with Zitzania by Lali Ayguadé and Joan Ramon Graell.
By presenting international contemporary dance outside conventional theatre venues, IslanDance creates encounters between artists, island residents, visitors and new audiences. Over five editions, it has developed into a platform for cultural decentralization and international artistic exchange within the geographical and social context of the Zadar archipelago.
A particularly important development this year was the organization of the first audience mobility from the mainland to an island performance. An organized group travelled from Zadar to attend the program on Veli Iž, testing a practical response to one of the central challenges of island cultural programming: limited accessibility and dependence on transport connections. The mobility created a new relationship between mainland and island audiences.
Developing Open Relief through dialogue
During July, focus groups were conducted in Croatia as part of the development of the EU funded project Open Relief. The sessions brought together 35 representatives from Croatia, whose professional experiences and perspectives will contribute to the development of the project’s methodology and future activities.
A deliberate approach to creating connections
Although July’s activities belonged to different projects and partnerships, they were connected by a shared and deliberate approach.
Young artists were connected with experienced teachers, festivals and live performances. European cooperation was translated into concrete opportunities for Croatian dance artists. Stakeholders contributed directly to the development of a future project methodology. An established island manifestation expanded to a new island and introduced a new model of audience mobility.
For IM industries, these connections are not accidental. They reflect a considered way of working in which projects and activities are developed with an awareness of the wider cultural ecosystem surrounding them.
Synergy therefore does not mean simply implementing several activities at the same time. It means intentionally creating meaningful connections through which projects, partnerships, artistic processes and public programs can strengthen one another and generate opportunities that continue beyond an individual activity, location or funding period.
