Course The Chain

The Chain is inspired by the American organization SPHINX:
“We transform lives through the power of diversity in the arts.” – Sphinx Music Detroit

Artistic director of Oorkaan Caecilia Thunnissen joined this organization through the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) in 2019. In February 2020, Oorkaan went to a Sphinx conference in Detroit. With the knowledge and inspiration gained, the first ideas for The Chain stood: the idea of mobilizing "the whole chain" for more diversity and inclusiveness in the classical music sector, both behind and in front of the scenes. In August 2020, the project The Chain also took shape on paper and the initiative phase launched. There have been many conversations in the field about The Chain. In April 2021, Oorkaan began raising finances (preparation phase), so that work could begin in September on the implementation phase: the pilot of The Chain. In June 2022, the evaluation phase of the pilot will take place and the future of The Chain will be determined.

The pilot will run during season 2021-2022. During this phase, meetings and activities will be organized in different working groups to concretize the chain together. At the end of this pilot we hope to have created a group of involved partners, who give commitment and show dedication to continue The Chain.

This pilot should yield: support, cooperation, alignment of program components, (better) communication between institutions, better insight into target group(s) and more opportunities for talent development for all children and youth in the Amsterdam region, and insight into routes and access to the network for the target groups.

Principles for The Chain: it is not about a new project, but about a cooperation process between existing institutions and (infra)structures as well as connecting the links in The Chain.