Definition of New Heroes
- New Heroes is an artistic philosophy, a vision on the world and the role of art in it and a specific approach to making that art.
- New Heroes is an international movement of creators that share these ideas and a structure that organizes them.
philosophy
philosophy
In a world where there is no longer one truth, one shared ideology and everyone must decide for themselves what he stands for and where he goes, there is more than ever before a need to truly meet and encounter each other. That is why New Heroes creates moments in which you can encounter yourself, the other and the world. So that it may touch you in your quest of discovering the why of life, or provide a moment in which you can just be.
We create the common ground where these encounters can take place, where the not-knowing, the searching and being together can be shared. In all our projects and actions, local and global, we strive to let our urban public and common spaces be more than just anonymous consumption market places, but rather places of connection, wonder, amazement, surprise, confusion and in the end: encounters.
approach
New Heroes is recognized for a highly professional, yet unconventional ‘rock and roll’, inclusive and collaborative approach to any project. Our strength is our conceptual thinking in combination with the incredible diversity of the professional artists in our network organization. We are storytellers and we choose any possible genre or discipline as a medium for our narratives:
We make theatre shows, performances, visual art installations, light installations and tv shows. We create photo exhibitions, record podcasts, publish magazines or pamphlets and film documentaries. We make music and develop apps. We are city artists, we are artists-in-residence. We write essays, host conferences, teach, give inspirational speeches and advise (corporate) companies or governmental institutions. We break world records, give parties, develop innovative crowdsource platforms. We travel, we research and we always collaborate.
Three rules direct how we do what we do:
Create from necessity.
Connect through and with the project.
Search for the right audience for every project.
Connection and collaboration are the key principles in achieving the desired social engagement in our work. New Heroes routinely works with cultural, social, educational, scientific, commercial and corporate partners, but also with local and regional and European government such as cities, provinces and EU projects. Examples include:
festivals (e.g. JHERONIMUS BOSCH 500, BOULEVARD, HOLLAND FESTIVAL, TEDx, STRIJP S, OEROL, AMSTERDAM LIGHT FESTIVAL), theatre companies (e.g. HET ZUIDELIJK TONEEL, TONEELGROEP AMSTERDAM), museums (e.g. VAN ABBE MUSEUM), galleries, independent cultural centers and organizations throughout Europe (e.g. PAKHUIS DE ZWIJGER, EUROPEAN CULTURAL FOUNDATION ), universities, colleges, knowledge and research institutes, corporate companies (e.g CANON, SAP, WURTH, RABOBANK, LEICA), the city ‘s HERTOGENBOSCH (NL), the city MECHELEN (BE), the PROVINCES of Noord-Brabant (NL) and West-Vlaanderen (BE), EU projects on social technology and innovation (SEISMIC and SPECIFY), EUROPE BY PEOPLE (2016 cultural program of Dutch presidency of the EU) and Dutch embassies around the world.
This collaborative approach allows us to create comprehensive, multilayered trans medial projects.
movement
New Heroes works with a small fixed core and a strong international network of creative professionals from the (performing) arts and other disciplines. We call these makers and thinkers creators. There are over 200 creators in the New Heroes network worldwide and this grows with every new project and collaboration. Our Heroes are theatre and film directors, scenographers, visual artists, designers, actors, dancers, musicians, writers, photographers, animators, dramaturges, technical producers, sound and stage technicians, video artists, app developers, website builders, editors, camera(wo)men, journalists, researchers and community managers.
New Heroes is a fluid, international movement of creative peers who join forces in different formations for each new project.
structure
Our office is based in Amsterdam. New Heroes is not a fixed ensemble nor a collective, but an innovative, flexible network organization that works on a project-based model. Artistic director Lucas De Man and business manager Wouter Goedheer run the foundation together with a few core members, each specialized in different areas.
Typically we run 10-15 projects of different sizes and in different stages of development simultaneously. Completed projects remain on repertoire and go on tour.
New Heroes was founded in 2008 and since then we and our creators have made over 45 projects and over 30 urban actions in over 20 countries.
Our projects have been supported by various public and private funds. We currently receive structural funding from the Performing Arts Fund NL, the most important cultural fund in the Netherlands, which provides support on behalf of the government, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and BankGiroLoterij Fund.