About Via Zuid

The creators
Via Zuid invests in distinctive, new creators within the performing arts. Creators who dare to explore what performing arts can be and do today. Creators who surprise and enrich the world, provoke and wonder. Each year, we work with a collection of up to fourteen remarkable creators.

A collection full of (artistic) diversity and a richness of forms and stories. Our creators have their roots in various disciplines, but most of them pay little attention to the boundaries between those disciplines. We are looking for distinctive creators who add their own voice to the Limburg performing arts landscape.

Here we throw stones into the water, the ripples of which can be felt throughout the country and beyond. Our creators have graduated from an arts education or are self-taught. They share a commonality of being at the beginning of their professional careers. We support them in their journeys for up to four years.

Society and the landscape of performing arts are constantly evolving. Performing artists respond with urgent new stories, questions, forms, target groups, and collaborations. Whether they take place within traditional institutions and festivals, in neighborhoods or schools, on a farmyard, or in a hospital elevator: Via Zuid wants to provide the upcoming generation of creators with space for research and development that allows for diversity.

Via Zuid finds creators by actively scouting and making contact with partners, but the biggest role is reserved for our annual Open Call for new creators.

Applications
We support several creators in one of our labs, but the focus is on development processes for a longer period (maximum four years). We believe it is important for our creators to learn to navigate their own artistic course and we support them in their search for a sustainable performing arts practice. In addition to researching and deepening their artistic signature, strengthening audience awareness and entrepreneurship are important development points. They must also be able to justify why they want to work in and from Limburg, and we question the (potential) added value of support from Via Zuid.

Labs
In addition to the aforementioned programs, we organize Labs in collaboration with various cultural partners. These labs focus on development and the creative freedom that is essential for creativity.

Encouraging and supporting young talent is crucial for the future of the performing arts. The genre boundaries in the performing arts are blurring, and creators increasingly feel the need to explore and experiment beyond conventional frameworks. It is inspiring for creators to engage with each other's methods and learn to apply them within their own discipline. The artistic fusion of different disciplines on stage results in surprising and thrilling experiences for both artists and audiences.

View our labs.

Favorable creation and play climate
Via Zuid aims to strengthen the foundation for new creators in Limburg. We do this not only through our guidance programs but also by creating play areas for our creators, for instance through collaborations with various festivals and theaters both within and outside Limburg. 

During our Sneak Peek in various Limburg theaters and the festival Winternights, new creators have the opportunity to 'test' their work with an audience. With projects like We live here (in collaboration with social and cultural partners), Artists in School, and ZuidZone (in collaboration with Het Laagland), we also provide space for creators who seek to connect with the social domain in their artistry. We strongly believe in the power and importance of collaboration, both within and beyond provincial borders, within and outside the cultural domain.

Contributing to a healthy cultural climate also means investing in fair compensation, fair practice, and ensuring a pleasant, safe working environment where everyone feels welcome and diversity is celebrated. 

View all our projects

The organization
Via Zuid was established in 2013 and mainly operates nomadically. We currently have a small office at Batterijstraat which we share with SoAP Maastricht, but we invest as much time and resources as possible in our creators.

Via Zuid receives structural support from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Province of Limburg, and the municipalities of Heerlen, Maastricht, and Sittard-Geleen.