Listen Up!
A Conversation Series on Sustainable Models and Strategies for a Vancouver Music Centre
Volume 2: Splendor Amsterdam: a model that works
Featuring two of Splendor’s founding members, David Dramm and Anne Laberge
plus business manager, Norm van Dartel from Amsterdam
Saturday, July 28, 2018, 2-4 pm
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre at SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver – This is an accessible venue
****please enter through the courtyard off Cordova St, Hastings St entrance will be closed for construction****
Free admission (limited space, free registration at listenup2.eventbrite.ca), reception to follow
The second conversation of Listen Up! dives into artist driven spaces to tell the story of Splendour Amsterdam, presented by co-founders David Dramm and Anne la Berge, and business manager Norman van Dartel. Founded in 2010 by 50 musicians and their public, Splendor now has over 1200 registered audience members, presents over 300 events annually, and is considered an alternative central-nervous-system for Dutch music. The evening promises to open doors and minds to the possibilities for live music now and in the future.
In response to the loss of grassroots venues worldwide, a trend is underway to explore new ways to make arts and cultural organizations more resilient by improving their business models and developing their long-term strategic and innovation capacities. One of the most unique initiatives for the live music industry is Splendor Amsterdam (splendoramsterdam.com). Reclaiming the territory between maker, performer and the public, Splendor is a meeting place, club, laboratory and venue. Vancouver’s music visionaries and supporters are invited to take an inside look at the space and its organizational structure through an interactive presentation and lively conversation. Moderated by Vancouver-based writer, musician and organizer Barbara Adler,
audiences will explore Splendor’s innovative approaches to sustainability, financial models, collective thinking, and the challenge of running a musician-run venue without “programmers”. After four years, what has worked and what hasn’t?