With the growth and increasing professionalisation of arts ecosystems around the world in recent years, there has been a surge of attention paid to the role of the producer and the value of producing networks, with an accompanying rise in the number of performing arts markets, meetings, and network events, and producing platforms and organisations.

Whilst these network organisations play a vital role in advocacy, capability development, increasing artistic exchanges, opening touring opportunities, and bringing diverse practitioners together, there have also been questions raised about the role and power of the producer, and the extent to which such network organisations improve accessibility and distribution of opportunities for independent artists, or whether they reproduce the concentration of power and influence in the hands of a few.

In this ASEF Unplugged session, we look at different models of producer networks and producing organisations from the UK, Republic of Korea, and Singapore, and learn how they have responded to the conditions of art-making in their respective ecosystems.

How have models of producing and establishing networks for artists changed and evolved over the years, and how might they look in the future? What are the problems and pitfalls of having established networks and producing organisations, and what are the different ways they can work with artists sustainably and effectively?

This session of ASEF Unplugged was jointly presented by ASEF, Producers SG, and Centre 42.