Intro
On 16 March, Pearle* members exchanged views about the situation of Ukraine and their respective actions taken by their organisations and/or members to help Ukrainian artists, cultural organisations and refugees following the Russian invasion on 24 February.
It was also discussed in which way further cooperation with Russian artists and cultural organisations can be considered and how to support artists and refugees coming from Russia and Belarus opposing Putin’s war against the Ukraine.
On this website, we gather information about actions taken at the European level and at the national level by Pearle* and its members as well as by partners in the cultural field.
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Actions taken by the live performance sector
Throughout Europe, numerous actions were taken by the live performance organisations to support Ukraine, its artists, cultural organisations and refugees fleeing the war, such as:
July 2022: New programm promotes cooperation between German theatres and artists fleeing their home country
With the new federal program U*act, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Claudia Roth, together with the German Theater and Orchestra Association, Deutscher Bühnenverein, is promoting cooperation between theaters in Germany and artists who left their homeland because of the war in Ukraine.
More information on the website of Deutscher Bühnenverein in German language. Applicants can download all necessary documents to get funding. Deadline for applications: 31 August 2022.
April 2022: Online platform "StayOnStage - Support in the Performing Arts" created in Germany
The German Theatre and Orchestra Association, Deutscher Bühnenverein (DBV) together with the International Theatre Institute Germany created the platform that went online on 22 April. It aims to support people who have fled war and violence and are looking for work or performance opportunities in exile. The website https://stayonstage.iti-germany.de lists job offers in the performing arts from all artistic, technical and administrative areas, with references to possible accommodation. Also listed are artist residencies, offers of guest performances, use of rehearsal rooms for performers, musicians and dancers, and other support opportunities. The offers are posted by the members of DBV as well as its partner associations in Switzerland and Austria.
April 2022: Ukrainian orchestra to be founded in Poland
The orchestra is formed of refugee musicians. It will be affiliated to our National Opera in Warsaw.
In addition, after Easter, a programme of residencies and stipends for Ukrainian professionals will be launched. It will channel financial support to orchestras offering such residencies/stipends to musicians, graphic artists, stage technicians and other professionals an orchastra may need. A similar programme is already run by Polish theatres.
March 2022: The Melodia project
With the aim to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine through live performance, member orchestras of the Society of Polish Philharmonics started a campaign around the music piece “Melody” by the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk (1938-2020). On Friday 18 March, or around this date, orchestras in Poland included it in their programmes. Orchestras from other European countries followed up on the initiative to create a wider campaign. Under the hashtags #OrchestrasWithUkraine and #Melodia4Ukraine Pearle* as well as orchestras, musicians and the International Federation of Musicians FIM shared the campaign on social media. See Pearle's tweet on the campaign.
Resource websites for Ukrainian artists:
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Employment: Job offers in the live performance sector
On its platform for jobs, Pearle* offers an overview of relevant websites, with the aim to facilitate job searches in the live performance sector, be it for technicians, artists, managers, communication officers, project managers or other positions.
Pearle* will extend this website to include specific sites for Ukrainian artists looking for a job in European countries.
European Sectoral Social dialogue live performance
On 4 March 2022, Pearle* held an exchange with its social partners at the European Sectoral Social dialogue meeting about actions taken by the individual members organisations in their respective countries.
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EU wide statements in the live performance sector:
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Statements of Pearle* members in their respective countries:
AFO, Les Forces Musicales, ROF, France
ABO, UK
DBV, Germany, general statement
DBV, Germany, on the destruction of the theatre in Mariupol
APD, Czech Republic
Filharmonie Brno, Czech Republic
Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc, Czech Republic
FEAS, Belgium
MSZT, Hungary
VNPF, Netherlands
NTO, Norway
orchester.ch, Switzerland
Other Pearle* members signed statements of the wider cultural sector in their respective country.
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Declaration of Culture Ministers of the EU on the situation of Ukraine:
In a declaration approved on 7 March at a meeting of Culture Ministers in Angers, France under the French Presidency, EU Member States express their support for artists, journalists, cultural and media professionals. They recall the principle of freedom for the press and media pluralism as well as the importance of freedom of expression and artistic creation.
Read the declaration