Resilience? Not a solo show.
An action research process funded by m2act.
The Project
The research project by auawirleben explores organisational resilience in the performing arts. At its core is the question of which structural mechanisms enable organisations to remain capable of acting in times of crisis, and how they can emerge stronger from challenging situations in the long term.
As part of an action research process, auawirleben, together with the systemic organisational consultants Dagmar Walser and Katja Sonnemann, develops practice-oriented models and methods tailored to the specific working and production conditions of the performing arts. The project is based on the assumption that valuable experiential knowledge on dealing with crises already exists within both local and international scenes.
Through research interviews with groups, artists, and stakeholders from production venues and festivals, this knowledge is systematically collected and analysed. The findings will be reflected upon and discussed with the public accompanying programme of the 2026 festival edition. The aim is to develop a practical “compass” that provides organisations, independent groups, and artists with tools to strengthen their structural stability and resilience.
Key Questions and Perspective
What makes small organisations in the performing arts resilient? How can they remain flexible in times of financial and political pressure?
Since autumn 2025, we have been interviewing artists, companies, and stakeholders from various contexts about their experiences with crises. We are particularly interested in the following aspects:
Which factors in everyday work consume energy?
What has a stabilising effect within team collaboration?
What role do relationships with cultural policymakers, funding bodies, and networks play?
Resilience has also become a buzzword in the cultural sector and is often reduced to individual capacities. In contrast, we understand resilience not primarily as a personal trait, but as the result of structures, dynamics, and organisational interrelations.
We focus on the interplay between individual, team, organisation, and environment, asking:
How can an organisation take responsibility so that pressure is not shifted onto individuals?
What helps organisations remain stable and capable of acting in an increasingly fragile environment?
How can a sustainable and vibrant ecosystem for the performing arts be shaped, both locally and internationally?
Interviews conducted so far with stakeholders from different regions of Switzerland as well as from Eastern Europe, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Portugal offer insights into diverse experiences and perspectives on resilience at the intersection of organisation and environment.
LAB
Based on the conviction that a great deal of knowledge on dealing with crises already exists within the field, we would like to further develop this research together with you in the lab.
We invite you to pause and bring in your own experiences:
Together, we reflect on how to train the “muscle” of resilience.
We share initial findings from our research.
Your experiential knowledge becomes part of the collective exchange.
We weave these perspectives together and explore what it takes for organisations to remain adaptable and resilient in challenging times.
The project is funded by m2act – we are grateful for their generous support.