Both, Pia and Faith, work in programming and artist development. Faith on a big scale in Singapore, since Esplanade is a huge theater. Pia in the independent scene and residency and research in a monastery between Portugal and Germany. Both worked for almost two years together in the development stage for the new dance house Tanssin Talo in Helsinki.

Inspired by the thinking of Adrienne Maree Brown (Pleasure Activism from the Emergent Strategies Series), they want to talk about how they experienced their working life as programmers and project developers for artist development. As a base serves the question: "When in your professional life did you feel that this is a good place to be?".

Pia and Faith will ask each other 5 questions: "What I always wanted to ask you...". Questions that have to do with the past, present and future of their professional work. Questions that emphasize how future working conditions could look like and which values should be installed to create a pleasurable work life.

Questions like: What is the difference between living in your head and living in your body? How to cultivate hope in times of hopelessness and what are we actually healing from? 

It is about placing the emphasis on ideas, values, knowledge exchange, wisdom and tools for change.

Pia Krämer worked as artistic director, programme director, programme team member, curator and lecturer in Germany, Portugal and Finland. From 2017-2019 she was president of the European Dancehouse Network EDN. Recently, she started to curate documentary films about Contemporary Dance with Accentus Music for ARTE TV and is developing a transition training programme for performing artists as a pilot project in Portugal.

Faith Tan has over 18 years of programming, producing, management and international networking experience in the performing arts. She was Head of Programme Development at Dance House Helsinki, Finland in 2020, where she co-initiated a commission programme for new dance productions by Finnish dancemakers. She is currently the Head of Dance and International Development, in Singapore’s national arts centre, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Under her direction, the Esplanade’s da:ns festival and series in Singapore co-produced productions by world renowned artists, commissioned and championed new work from significant Asian dancemakers, supported the practice of dramaturgs for dance, presented a large public participatory programme, as well as an artist lab and seminar workshops. She is a founding member of the Asian Network for Dance (AND+) and serves on panels for grants from the National Arts Council in Singapore. Tan holds a Masters degree in Arts and Cultural Management.