TO TAKE THE LEAD - on empowerment and artistic leadership

How can we, through our artistic competence, contribute to the development of the new forms of leadership that can give us power over processes of change and the development of conditions for artistic interaction and creation.

What constitutes artistic leadership - being a leader in the arts? What is needed to take the lead in our own practices? In others? 

These issueshave occupied my thinking and doing for a long time and have led me to explore the possibilities and difficulties of artistic leadership. In this workshop I would like to share with you experiences of both successes and shortcomings, the conflict between the public recognition and individual perception and strategies for empowerment and change. We will look at your own experiences in relation to the notion of leadership in your daily practice, in institutions and in various “markets”. But foremost we will be visionary and work with our contributions to improvement – on an individual level as well as on a societal level. Let’s take the lead!

Efva Lilja is a Swedish artist and choreographer with a global reach. Her works include performances, visual art, film and writing, often described as innovative and controversial. Her choreographic sequences represent imagery meant to challenge our perception of reality. Some of her most celebrated works were produced for art institutions such as Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, The Stockholm Museum of Modern Art and The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, but she is also highly recognized for experimental site specifics and research-based works in galleries and at alternative venues. In the last few years, her focus is mainly on painting and writing choreography.

After having worked as a dancer and choreographer in Sweden, Britain and the US, Efva Lilja founded E.L.D., an independent dance company based in Stockholm, in 1985. For twenty years, she was the choreographer and Artistic Director of E.L.D., producing and presenting works in more than 35 countries. In 2003 she was appointed Professor of Choreography and from 2006 to 2013 she was the Vice-Chancellor of DOCH, the University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm. In 2014 she was the expert advisor on artistic research at the Ministry of Education and Research in Sweden. From 2016 until May 2019 Efva Lilja was the Artistic Director of Dansehallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark’s national forum and venue for contemporary dance. Efva Lilja is an author of eleven books and a lecturer in great demand world-wide. She has been decorated and received a number of prizes and awards. Efva Lilja is also an activist in cultural politics, for instance on the EU level in Team Culture 2012, 2013-2014 she was invited by President José Manuel Barroso to be part of the project A New Narrative for Europe. 2016 she was appointed member of ECP, European Cultural Parliament and 2018 of Disorderly Woman, a network for female leaders in the arts.

More info on www.efvalilja.se