From its inauguration in 2011 through to 2022, New Settings was guided by the same ideals and aims: listening to the concerns and needs of artists at every step of their journey, from the studio to the stage; supporting original writing and unexpected forms, and the artistic daring of the creators of each project, be they critically acclaimed figures or emerging talents; encouraging them to encounter other disciplines, to explore new territories and collaborate with creators from different backgrounds; and, finally, ensuring the public presentation of these new and original works. These key considerations guided the actions of New Settings between 2011 and 2022, with the Foundation standing by the creators during the health crisis in 2020.
The productions supported by this programme were selected through a year-round international call for projects, as well as through discussions with the partners of New Settings. The Foundation’s support began at the onset of the production and rehearsal phase, and it accompanied projects through to their public presentations with cultural institutions, in particular in the Île-de-France region. The programme offered significant visibility to these original creations that combined artistic audacity with high professional standards.
Dedicated to broadening the audience of the performance works featured in New Settings, the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès also worked to accompany artists beyond theatre stages to bring their creations to audiences with limited access to culture. The ‘New Settings… Going Further’ initiative was devised in 2022 as a transition to a new programme. Launched the following year in 2023, Transforme has thus taken the reins from New Settings, pursuing further still this opening-up to new publics in the form of a festival designed with four partner institutions in Paris, Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon and Rennes. Alongside an interdisciplinary programme, every stage of the Transforme festival proposes ‘Going Further’ initiatives to find other ways of reaching new spectators and enabling them to experience the emotion of performing arts.
