XTRAX supports inspirational outdoor performance; running projects, festivals and showcases designed to promote innovative outdoor work from UK and international artists.
18/07/2023
Join us in Stockton!
XTRAX is pleased to be hosting some professional networking meetings alongside the fantastic Stockton International Riverside Festival, 3-6 August this year.
We are delighted to be hosting a delegation from some of the major street arts festivals in South Korea, as well as a number of other festivals from Europe and the UK. There will be an informal presentation about the street arts scene in South Korea on the Saturday morning as well as other networking opportunities. If you’d like to join us please register on the form https://xtrax.org.uk/news/registrations-now-open-professional-networking-at-sirf/
XTRAX is delighted to offer a weekend of professional networking and meetings alongside the Stockton International Riverside Festival. We invite colleagues to...
30/03/2023
📣Important reminder!📣
From April 2023, XTRAX will step back from managing the Without Walls consortium.
XTRAX staff will become direct employees of Without Walls, while XTRAX will focus on developing further international projects under Maggie Clarke's continued leadership.
📷Frock by Stopgap at La Mercè 2022 @ Christian Bretrand
23/03/2023
We're very excited to share our friends' City of Wings Gevleugelde Stad programme announcement, including UK companies Motionhouse with Wild, Ockham's Razor with Public, Pif-Paf Theatre with Celestial Sound Cloud, and Rogue Play with Forests!
🎉We are delighted to report on the fantastic impact :UK has had over the last National Portfolio period🎉
🎪50 showcases
🌎24 international partners
👥1,590 professionals to our events
🎩99 performance opportunities for artists
🎤142 pitching opportunities
🗣️6,127 conversations facilitated
📛367 festival representatives
📍154 international festival representatives
🌐37 countries involved
Only a few days left to register for "The State of Culture: Bilateral cultural relations between Spain and the UK"!
In collaboration with British Council España, the event will explore artistic cooperation between Spain and the United Kingdom.
📅15 March 2023, 2 - 5pm
⏱️register by Monday 6 March
📍HOME, Manchester
👉Find out more and register http://ow.ly/ngwA50MLFI8
📷Panel discussion at XTRAX/SIRF 2022 Outdoor Arts Showcase
21/02/2023
Don't miss our next Dealing with Brexit: Open Conversations!
📅Wednesday 1 March, 2.30 - 3.30 pm, Zoom
🎯focus on movement of vehicles and goods from the UK to Europe
🗣️with Terry James, General Manager at Rock-it Global, a freight forwarding and logistics company
👉find out more and register at http://ow.ly/OAG550MX4Uc
Interested in international exchange and bilateral relations?
Join us at "The State of Culture: Bilateral cultural relations between Spain and the UK", an event in collaboration with British Council España. The aim is to provide a space for conversation in the framework of a sustainable and solid cooperation between Spain and the United Kingdom.
The event will be hosted by HOME Mcr in the context of VIVA! Festival, their annual celebration of Spanish and Latin American culture.
📷Panel discussion at XTRAX/SIRF 2022 Outdoor Arts Showcase
09/02/2023
Plenty of opportunities at Without Walls!
Whether you are looking for a new job, a peer artist work group, or joining the Board - check it out!
02/02/2023
👀 Are you an outdoor arts promoter looking for a new show?
🤹 Are you an artist wanting to showcase your company and work?
💡We have a FREE online directory for artists, bookers, promoters and producers - featuring over 1,000 artist profiles, 400 promoters and events, and shows of all genres, sizes and art forms from all over the world.
Following XTRAX's decision to step back from our management role in the Without Walls consortium, we are very pleased to announce that a new Director has been appointed for Without Walls.
Ralph Kennedy, currently Associate Director of XTRAX, will officially take on his new role in April. We are delighted to know that Without Walls will be in such good hands.
XTRAX will concentrate on its other projects under Maggie Clarke's leadership - exciting plans for the future to be announced soon! 🎉
🎉Happy New Year to all our partners, friends, collaborators, and the wonderful artists and festivals working with us!🎉
2022 marked the end of Platform 4: UK, a strategic programme designed to support the UK outdoor arts sector to build international connections and networks.
Read more about Platform 4: UK activities here 👉http://ow.ly/18Eq50MhfNi
We're not stopping here, though - our plans for furthering international connections will be revealed during 2023. Keep an eye out for further announcements!
🎉That's a wrap!🎉
As we approach the end of 2022, we'd like to thank all the partners, collaborators, artists and festivals who worked with us this year.
👉We delivered 2 Showcases in collaboration with Birmingham International Dance Festival, Fabric and Stockton International Riverside Festival, with opportunities for delegates from 21 countries to see great new work from over 60 companies.
👉We continued our Catalonia-UK Exchange with Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises (ICEC, Catalan Arts), FiraTàrrega and La Mercè.
👉We supported artists and presenters navigating Brexit-related challenges, by delivering Dealing with Brexit: Open Conversations sessions, a practical workshop, free tailored visa advice and ATA Carnet training sessions.
👉We came to the end of our Platform 4: UK programme, supporting the UK outdoor arts sector to build international connections and networks.
We look forward to seeing you in the New Year as we make plans for the future following our decision to step back from managing the Without Walls consortium from April 2023.
🌐Read our latest Global Conversations blog post!🌐
Following our recent collaboration with FiraTàrrega 2022, Anna Giribet and Mike Ribalta share their experiences of presenting several UK companies in a post-Brexit landscape, as part of XTRAX's Catalonia-UK Exchange programme.
🗣️ "The UK outdoor arts sector has developed its own brand of festive celebratory acts, close to the community, that combine public entertainment with social claim, in a very distinctive way. This makes it unique and very interesting to show to audiences outside the UK. Their approach to accessibility, diversity and environmental sustainability is something to learn from. The increasing artistic standards of many of the companies make them key players in the international scene.
In addition to the artistic interest, the UK outdoor arts sector is a model of governance, cooperation and development. The work of networks and membership organisations such as Outdoor Arts UK or the Without Walls consortium is a guide of best practice. Their advocacy has been key to propel the creation and creators of the UK all over the world."
Don't miss our last Dealing with Brexit: Open Conversations session of the year, on Thursday 15 December!
We'll hear from Jens Frimann Hansen, Artistic Director of PASSAGE Festival (Elsinore, Denmark) and SO Festival (UK) and Toby Smith, Associate Director at FESTIVAL. ORG (Greenwich+Docklands Festival and Global Streets), who will share their experience on working with international artists from a festival organiser perspective.
We are pleased to share news about some structural changes underway in the work we undertake at XTRAX.
After 15 years of successful work on Without Walls, XTRAX as an organisation will be stepping back from its management role in the consortium from April 2023 to concentrate on its other activities.
Did you know we have a wide range of free resources available on our website?
From Brexit guides to helpful information on pricing outdoor work - plus workshop and webinar recordings on international collaborations, sustainable touring, and much more.
We are launching a Post-Brexit touring survey to continue understanding the impact of Brexit on artists and presenters.
Now that some international touring has re-started, it's crucial for us to gather data so we can demonstrate the consequences of Brexit, advocate for change and identify how to continue supporting international touring for outdoor arts.
Please take a few minutes to complete the survey no later than Saturday 10 December. Your contributions are really appreciated!
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Xtrax posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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Videos
New to our showcase events? Watch our short trailer and find out what this week's upcoming showcase at Stockton International Riverside Festival is all about 🎬
There's still time to register for the online and in-person programmes: http://ow.ly/iM6T50K8sr9
XTRAX has over 15 years of knowledge and expertise. We are based in Manchester with a global reach.
The XTRAX showcase was established in 1997 by Manchester International Arts (MIA) as part of the Streets Ahead Festival, Greater Manchester’s outdoor festival of arts and cultural animation.
Led by MIA Directors Anne Tucker and Jeremy Shine and inspired by some of the large and well established European showcase festivals, XTRAX was set up to attract promoters of venues and festivals from the UK and overseas to Manchester to see the best UK (and some international) performance work with a view to booking it. It was a strategic attempt to create a showcase that would enable artists to sell their work to the specialists who could book it, in the context of a popular street festival.
XTRAX became a separate company in 2001 and began to expand the programme and develop the scope of the showcase and the work of the company. XTRAX ran two showcases of culturally diverse performance in 2003 and 2005 in association with decibel, a Department of Arts Council England.
In its present form, the company works as a street arts development agency running a range of projects and events to support the development of street arts in the UK and has grown and reputation. As of 2016, XTRAX is recognised as one of the UK’s leading experts in the European Street Arts scene; experts in international networking and relationship-building, and a driving force for excellence in UK outdoor arts.
XTRAX has over 15 years of experience of programming, managing, delivering and evaluating festivals and events and from getting out there, in the field, and meeting the people who make these events possible. We’ve delivered over 25 large-scale, multi-art form, international showcase events in partnership with festivals across the UK and internationally. Our signature showcases have become the must attend events of their kind in the UK. We’ve programmed festivals and events across the UK and in Europe and we previously organised three editions of Platform 4, a festival in Manchester with a line-up of UK and international artists and was headlined by a world-class night-time spectacular.
XTRAX is committed to the democratic nature of outdoor arts. That festivals and events of all shapes and sizes can be used to breathe life in to the many events that take place across our towns, cities, parks, villages and public space. We’re also firm believers in the benefits of these kinds of events; we know from first-hand experience that these types of events can regenerate and revitalise an area, extend tourism season, and bring new money into the local economy.
