La RED Annual Assembly /Performing Americas and La RED at the National Performance Network Annual Meeting Austin, Texas November 29th – December 5th, 2016

The National Performance Network (NPN/VAN) will be hosting La Red de Promotores Culturales de Latinoamérica y el Caribe (The Network of Cultural Promoters of Latin America and the Caribbean (La Red)’s Annual Assembly parallel to NPN’s Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas from November 29 through December 5, 2016 in honor of the 25th anniversary of this pioneering network and collaborator of the NPN. This assembly will gather at least fifteen distinct cultural organizers from festivals, theaters and arts markets from across Latin America and the Caribbean for their annual convening, and will engage with Austin’s cultural sector, with a special focus on the city’s Latino arts and cultural offerings. NPN is proud to be able to facilitate this meeting within the framework of the network’s International Programs, which has served Austin in the past through local partners such as the Fusebox Festival, Women and Their Work, and UT Austin’s Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and Performance as Public Practice Program. Besides being integrated into the full Annual Meeting activities from Dec. 1-5, La RED and other project colleagues from abroad will participate in several meetings in Austin:

• Nov. 30 – International Program Project Meetings – (9am – 5pm)
• Dec. 1 – Community Conversation with La RED at The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, UT Austin – (3pm – 5pm)
• Dec. 3 – Idea Forum – Specialized session focusing on Latin American and Caribbean artists.

About La RED La Red de Promotores Culturales de Latinoamérica y El Caribe — La Red (The Net) — is a nonprofit organization established in May 1991 in Paraty (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), to generate and promote a joint workspace for producers in the areas of contemporary dance, theater and music in Latin America and the Caribbean. One of La Red’s main goals is to break through the traditional cultural isolation of the region, and promote touring opportunities to artists and peer learning for promoter-members, which includes breaking down obstacles for creative exchange with the United States.

About NPN/VAN’s Performing Americas Program
Fourteen years ago, the NPN’s Performing Americas Program (PAP) was formed as a partnership between NPN and La Red. Now a core part of NPN/VAN’s International Program, PAP directly addresses the changing demographics of our country by providing access to the best contemporary performing arts coming out of Latin America and the Caribbean. In turn, PAP has created multiple paths for American artists to share their work in Latin America and the Caribbean. PAP has created a structure for systematic exchange of contemporary performing arts touring in this hemisphere in residencies that provide opportunities for community engagement.