“What always stays adamant in Boulevard is the yearning to celebrate. At the festival you celebrate life, friendship, happiness and other lotteries in life. Above all, you celebrate art, culture and the freedom to enjoy these. You can do that on your own, but the 35 festivals have illustrated that it is even nicer to do this together. From preaching to reaching out: it’s one small step for Boulevard, a giant leap for many others. The key is believing in the benefit of collectiveness.”
- From the book, Theaterfestival Boulevard 1985-2020, The unchangeable DNA
Mission statement
We will celebrate the 39th edition of Theaterfestival Boulevard in 2023. A renowned performing arts festival that is present at various locations throughout the city ‘s-Hertogenbosch every summer. The festival offers the opportunity to come together in tents, theatre halls, and bars, during one-on-one encounters, in conversations, at squares and in many locations throughout the city. Boulevard programmes visual and soulful productions and organises diverse meetings in the performing arts. We believe that the encounters at our festival broaden understanding, stimulate equality, and challenge the perception of the senses. We believe in the power of art to lift coexistence for everyone because you can understand each other better through imagination.
Vision
Theaterfestival Boulevard ‘s-Hertogenbosch unites art and society. Art must be at the heart of the democracy. It brings perspectives and new insights and makes you feel, think and decide differently. We choose voices you do not find in the daily newspapers and want to give a voice to matters that are heard, seen, and felt inadequately. We believe that meeting each other is the basis for coexistence.
We give special attention to the relations we build with our audiences, artists, partners, and social and ecological environment. We strive for the accessibility of our festival through an active policy. We like to work with artists who include the audience in their work. The core of the unique programming consists of Dutch and Flemish works and durable international collaborations. The festival celebrates coexistence and makes you aware that you are part of a multi-voiced society.
Values
A southern and soulful celebration
- The festival's lively heart in summer consists of theatre, music, encounters, bars and restaurants.
- Inspiration and the discovery of new stories. Food for thought and soul.
- A party until nightfall.
- Art offers new insights and shines a light on the unheard and unseen.
Specialists in encounters
- Boulevard stimulates artists to connect with audiences.
- Boulevard is pioneering in audience development and aims to fit the encounter into the lifestyle of many people, including those who do not visit the theatre often.
- We aim for a way of working in which relationships are reciprocal, durable and pursue equality.
Sustainability
- Boulevard strives for a minimal environmental impact by giving attention and adjusting for wastage, sorting waste, limiting or environment-friendly travel and transport, green energy, hard cups, vegetarian crew catering, and print.
- We take care of the environment in which we work. With attention to residents, local entrepreneurs, flora and fauna.
- We carefully build a culture with exchanges on human levels at its heart.
- We critically examine the market forces in the sector and society and the consequential power relations and roles.
- We are committed to long-term relations with artists as well as our audiences.
Inclusivity and accessibility
- Theaterfestival Boulevard wants to be accessible to a wide range of people. Everyone should be able to participate regardless of gender, disability, sexual orientation, cultural background, religion, social or economic status, education and age.
- We care for programming with free accessible performances and performances for a wide range of price categories.
- We strive for an inclusive working environment and are aware of blind spots. We want everyone to feel heard and seen at Theaterfestival Boulevard. Various qualities, talents, opinions and perspectives of employees, advisors and volunteers contribute to this environment.
