OUTLANDS champions the creation of, and participation in, performance-led experimental music and interdisciplinary performance.
OUTLANDS is a shared platform that connects a vital scene constituted by a vibrant set of national and regional communities.
OUTLANDS unites a diverse range of organisations, producers, promoters, individuals, and venues who develop, present, or in any other way, work to support experimental music and interdisciplinary art and performance.
Develop new commissions that help strengthen existing collaboration and engender new partnerships.
Create engaging, progressive, and accessible experiences for a range of audiences in a range of geographical locations.
Provide valuable support, resources, and opportunities for our network members.
Produce an annual network event; a forum for critical and crucial conversations in and around the scene.
Performance-led experimental music and interdisciplinary arts should be valued highly as an essential part of the UK’s diverse cultural fabric.
There must be broader support—further provision and protection—for non-mainstream arts and music culture.
Audiences deserve a range of cultural experiences which include the experimental, the challenging, the radical, and the new.
Initiated by the De La Warr Pavilion in 2018 and developed out of a shared motivation to pool expertise and resources, OUTLANDS Network was created to help foster equality and accessibility to experimental music and experimental arts for audiences outside the capital.
In partnership with 8 national players in the experimental music and interdisciplinary arts, in 2018-19 we commissioned and toured six new, interdisciplinary productions with a connected engagement programme.
Since then, we have continued to focus on how we can dynamically support the national experimental music and arts scene in ways that remain relevant to ever-changing national circumstances.
Outlands is funded by Arts Council England and income from our membership subscriptions. As mentioned above, it was established by De La Warr Pavilion with foundational support from the Arts Council and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, in partnership with 7 national arts organisations (Cambridge Junction, Supersonic Festival, Fat Out, Karst, Fuse Art Space, MK Gallery and QuJunktions).
In 2020 the network became an independent entity and transformed into an open membership network. It is currently made up of over 30 members, and the number is growing year on year. Go to the network page to see the members and our become a member page to join.
The direction of the network is driven by its membership through regular meetings and an annual event (Joyous thing link here). The day to day running of the network is handled by a small team of remote working staff (previously including Sam Francis and Emma Thompson who were fundamental to the initial development of the network), The core team are supported by specialist freelancers and a voluntary oversight committee who contribute to the ongoing development and future vision of the network.