The performing arts sector in the Valencian Community continues to work on creating a reference manual that establishes ethical and labor practices. This project, driven by the Comité Escèniques, aims to promote high-quality, diverse, and accessible performing arts for all citizens. The next working session, focused on the Social Value of Performing Arts, will take place on April 16 at the Sala Polivalent of the Teatre El Musical in València.
One of the fundamental objectives of this initiative is to ensure that performing arts and culture are within reach of all citizens, whether as spectators, participants, or creators. Furthermore, performing art is conceived as a tool for social transformation, going beyond mere entertainment.
To address this topic, experts from various fields who use performing arts with an integrative, educational, or mediation approach have been invited. Participants include Aurora Diago, representative of Mobilitats Diverses; Maribel Bayona, mediator and scenic creator; Elena Pizarro, Artistic Baccalaureate teacher; Josep Lluís Peris, ESO and Baccalaureate teacher; and Álvaro Devís, journalist from Culturplaza.
How to approach the public? Participants in the first sessions of the guide asked themselves. Education is one of the main axes for working on citizen involvement in the scenic world. A plurality and variety in expressions is also desirable, whether by theme, age, subversiveness, etc. Bringing all types of proposals to the public and ensuring equitable access, that is, promoting cultural democratization.
Art fosters empathy, cultural identity, and critical thinking, acting as agents of social change by promoting inclusion, diversity, and intercultural dialogue. An example of this philosophy is Mobilitats Diverses, a project of non-exclusive scenic practices. Aurora Diago, project representative and scenic creator, explained that in this project “diversity is not integrated, but becomes a starting point. We work from the body, coexistence, and creation to generate real meeting spaces between people who normally do not coincide. Our value lies in sustaining processes where difference is not a problem to be solved, but a creative and relational engine.”
The Comité Escèniques encourages all individuals and entities involved in professional performing arts —artists, companies, producers, venues, programmers, cultural managers, technicians, public and private institutions, and festivals— to join the upcoming sessions. The ultimate goal is to provide the sector with a reference tool that contributes to improving professional practices and strengthening the Valencian performing arts fabric from an ethical, sustainable, and inclusive perspective. The breadth and diversity of voices are key for the guide to capture the complexity of the sector and become a useful and representative tool.
