{"id":60135,"date":"2025-01-16T19:49:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T15:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/?p=60135"},"modified":"2025-01-16T19:50:37","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T15:50:37","slug":"five-lessons-from-ten-years-bill-bragin-reflects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/five-lessons-from-ten-years-bill-bragin-reflects\/","title":{"rendered":"Five lessons from ten years: Bill Bragin reflects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As we celebrate our first decade at The NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center I\u2019m proud that our journey has helped to spark a transformation of the way performing arts are experienced in the UAE. Here are five ways that we have tried to accomplish that.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/mark> Trust your audience<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our tagline \u2018Come Curious, Leave Inspired’ emphasises trust in our audiences. Even if unfamiliar with an artist or art form, we believed an open mind could lead to excitement and, just maybe, transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in our early years, we were uncertain about attracting audiences to contemporary dance shows, as this art form was not commonly presented in the UAE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think back to our first season, in 2016, when we presented Aakash Odedra\u2019s solo contemporary kathak piece about dyslexia (the first of many in a multi-year partnership): or 2017 when we staged site-specific early works of Trisha Brown, a choreographer who was crucial to the beginnings of postmodern dance. That was a big and uncertain step in terms of how the audience would react. And then in 2019 we presented the work of Merce Cunningham, which can continue to challenge audiences even 50 years after it was first shown; I worried that people might not make it past the intermission \u2026 but the most experimental piece on the program was what they liked the most!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trisha Brown Dance Company\u2019s In Plain Site (2017) allows Brown\u2019s dances to be performed in unexpected locations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This taught us that people here are a lot more receptive than we sometimes imagine. And we also discovered that the UAE\u2019s dance culture is more evolved than we realised, prompting us to map the dance scene so we can contribute to its development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2<\/mark> Don\u2019t be afraid to be audacious<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our mission is to stage shows that others might not consider. For instance, Lars Jan\u2019s Holoscenes<\/em> featured an 11-foot-tall aquarium filled with water, where performers executed tasks as the water levels rose. Was this a living aquatic sculpture? Theatre? Dance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Holoscenes<\/em>, an installation\/performance work by Los Angeles artist Lars Jan, features a water-filled aquarium-like sculpture cum performance space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The answer is “all of the above”, but best of all is that the witnesses asking questions about climate change and about artistic form included young families who came to watch the underwater performances instead of television before bedtime. This for me is the definition of a thriving cultural scene: challenging and thought-provoking, but also inclusive and playful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the pandemic, when we couldn\u2019t gather in person, we reimagined out digital spaces via theatrical telephone calls and 3D-audio headphone pieces. That sense of experimentation continues with a VR-based piece we\u2019ve co-commissioned for a future season; it starts with an Afghani mother who is trying to keep a school for girls open in Afghanistan, and then moves back in deep time to the point where homo sapiens and neanderthals coexisted. It conjures thoughts about the constant conflict that is a feature of mankind but also how similar we all are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3<\/mark> Breaking down barriers<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We believe in providing access to diverse art forms by removing unnecessary barriers like jargon, ticket prices, and formality. I want people to think of attending a performance not as a special event where you have to wear a tuxedo or a gown \u2013 but you can just as easily show up in your work clothes with your buddies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ultimately, I want the act of going to performances to be part of the habit of people\u2019s lives. That\u2019s a big reason why we\u2019re bringing back our membership plan, to encourage people to experience our offerings on a regular and ongoing basis, even if it\u2019s outside their usual comfort zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4<\/mark> Passing on the lessons<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Access to a wide range of arts is crucial for young people to discover their passion early. Through artist residency programs, workshops, and collaborations, we\u2019ve provided a platform for Emirati and UAE-based artists to develop their craft and gain international exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Numoo programme helps artists grow professionally and build a sustainable artistic community. This has been particularly important in a city where the arts scene is still relatively young and where opportunities for emerging artists can be limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development of artists for viable careers reminds me of lessons from Michael Kaiser, former president of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He developed an approach called \u2018The Cycle\u2019 to think about how cultural organisations can be sustainable. The Cycle always begins with great art, which is why you exist. But then you use marketing to share key points throughout the year where you celebrate the organisation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This helps to grow your \u2018family\u2019 of stakeholders: fans, donors, sponsors, press, and, of course, artists. This leads to revenue, which is not the end goal but is critical to reinvesting back into great art. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that allows the cycle to continue \u2013 which is why The Arts Center invests in young people: as artists, as audience members, and as arts administrators, as a key part of our family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5<\/mark> Growing a scene<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Culture doesn\u2019t emerge from a vacuum. After 10 years, I see The Arts Center\u2019s intergenerational impact on the arts scene here. Supporters who first visited on school trips have graduated and are now making art worldwide. A number of our alums are working at leading arts organisations around the UAE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Hamour<\/em> Doesn\u2019t Leave the Cubicle<\/em>, produced at The Arts Center in October 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By providing platforms for local artists, like NYUAD alumnus Reem Almenhali, we ensure programming reflects our community\u2019s diverse cultural identities. Hamour Doesn\u2019t Leave the Cubicle<\/em>, a play about the absurdities of workplace bureaucracy written by Ahmed Almadloum and directed by Almenhali, was a highlight of our fall schedule. Our upcoming edition of Hekayah, celebrating the UAE\u2019s National Day, features a line-up of established and up-and-coming locally based artists, each drawing from their own backgrounds, and connecting it to the place they call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019s not just about how we affect Abu Dhabi\u2019s cultural development, but also how we affect the people who affect the culture!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bill Bragin is the founding executive artistic director of The Arts Center at NYUAD, and has been influential in shaping the arts scene in the UAE since The Arts Center began programming in 2015 on Saadiyat Island. Bragin is also a co-founder of the not-for-profit world music festival globalFEST, and was formerly director of public programming of NY\u2019s Lincoln Center (2008-2014) and before that director of Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater (2001-2007).<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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