UK artists and companies can still tour in Europe and this is how!
We’ve created a simple, practical guide to support and empower UK-based individual artists and small companies working in theatre, dance and live art to continue to tour work across Europe.
From insurance and visas to copyright and cabotage, the guide offers a practical step-by-step overview guide, case studies and country-focused details to help navigate the post-Brexit touring landscape and will continue to be updated as the rules and regulations evolve.
Commissioned by Arts Council England through Artsadmin, LIFT and 1927, the guide was written by independent producers and consultants Nadine Patel and Ania Obolewicz and it is available to read and download in text, audio and Easy Read formats
Who is the guide for?
- UK-based individual artists, small companies and producers working in theatre, dance and live art.
- European arts organisations, festivals and venues looking to programme UK artists and companies.
It is focused primarily on performing arts tours less than 3 months long.
In-depth details in country-focused guides
Alongside an overview of touring in Europe, the guide also contains in-depth details of 19 countries, including funding, VAT, tax and moving people, props and sets. These countries were chosen because they have the clearest track record of presenting and collaborating with UK performance artists. We hope to be able to expand these country guides over time.
Case studies
Three case studies outline different scenarios with artists and companies:
- Forced Entertainment, a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) touring to France, which has a combined group of freelancers and PAYE employees and will be performing different shows with different freight considerations.
- Sonia Hughes, an independent artist touring to the Netherlands with two other freelancers.
- Tim Spooner, a small-scale, freelance artist touring to multiple countries including Slovenia, Poland and Germany.
“While international travel remains uncertain and challenging in light of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the climate emergency, it is important for artists to know that they can continue to connect with our European neighbours, artistic colleagues and audiences.
At Artsadmin, we hope to empower artists with the information that Nadine Patel and Ania Obolewicz have so skilfully collated to help us all navigate continued and flourishing relationships and partnerships in Europe despite the UK’s exit from the EU.
We are grateful to Arts Council England for supporting this research, to provide artists with clear and simple guidance on how to travel and work in Europe now.”Róise Goan, Artistic Director at Artsadmin
“We all knew the devil was going to be in the detail. Touring artists are now bearing the brunt of a poorly executed Brexit deal for culture which has impacted the mobility of cultural workers. Commissioning this country-by-country guide with Artsadmin, 1927 and ACE, we are providing a roadmap to guide artists and managers to navigate complex administrative challenges and maintain their essential presence in the EU.”
Kris Nelson, Artistic Director & CEO at LIFT
“Touring across Europe is so vital for UK artists and small companies – it underpins how we make new work, collaborate with others, reach audiences and support our practice and livelihoods. Navigating through the post-Brexit landscape can be overwhelming for small companies and individual artists. These guides will hopefully offer some practical guidance and sign posting for the grassroots, supporting small companies and individual artists and producers with limited or no infrastructure to be able to follow the steps needed to ensure they can continue to connect, collaborate, create and tour within Europe.”
Jo Crowley, Executive Producer at 1927
Read the guide in text format on Google Docs
Download the Easy Read of the overview of European touring guide