SoAP (Social & Artistic Platform) Maastricht is a non-profit arts organization based in the Netherlands that produces new and original experience based art. Their vision is to bring together young arts makers from across the globe who are actively choosing to work outside of the constraints of a traditional theater venue. They hope that these artists, who are early on in their career, will create the next generation of arts makers who combine social engagement with innovative ways to tell stories. These innovative approaches also include how they view the audience as an involved player in the making and overall experience. The audience is not a passive element in these performances. The aim of each artist residencies is not only the final presentation, but also the personal and professional development of the individual artist by providing coaching resources. This specialized mission and their value proposition to artists have made them a leader within the sector of performance art in public spaces. 

SoAP was created by Benoît Vanraes after working at Huishuis van Bourgondie production house. Vanraes sought to open an organization that was able to not only produce quality work, but provide the resources for coaching and networking that so many artists early on in their career need. He continues to be a key player in the organization and maintains the title of Artistic Director. The organization is supported by five other staff members including a Business Director (Cees van Gemert), a House Dramaturg (Jasper  Delbecke), and three production managers (Hadassa Smit, Ilona van den Brekel, Edwige Leblay). The production managers work with only assigned artists, giving the artists more personalized attention. While none of the staff is full-time, this additional support is proving crucial at this time as Vanraes has taken a leave of absence for personal reasons. Jasper Delbecke, the House Manager, has stepped up to fill elements of the artistic support during this time.

SoAP has an annual expense of approximately 260,000 euros, with each project they produce costing around 20,000 euros. With this budget they are currently able to support the residencies of five artists: Nick Steur, Johannes Bellinkx, Rita Hoofwijk, TAAT and Benjamin Vandewalle. A small portion of SoAp’s revenue is generated through ticket sales to performances and they also receive 10% royalties when one of these works is booked for performance at other venues like festivals. Festivals are key to their business model as they are one of the few venues with the capacity to support outdoor, alternative performance art. This limits the platforms SoAP is able to present with, and is also dependent on seasonality limiting their performance calendar to late Spring, Summer and early Fall. 

SoAP’s biggest funder is currently Fonds Podiumkunsten (Performing Arts Fund), which has committed to providing program support from 2017-2020. With their current multi-year programming subsidies, SoAP is striving to deepen their artist relationships and create better organizational continuity over the next four years. This large subsidy is also helping to support the organization while their founder is on leave. 

While SoAP is addressing some key gaps in the market, including their focus on networking, coaching and artistic development as part of the residency, it is clear the organization is under threat from their lack of managerial staff support, the lack of diversity in revenue and the weaknesses in when it comes to the limitations of the dissemination of their work. 

The first threat is the limits of their current staffing structure. SoAP aims to provide comprehensive support to five artists, allowing them to solely focus on the cultivation and production of their work. This  directive not only requires considerable funding, but also considerable human resources. With no full-time staff members, it is not surprising that the Artistic Director is taking time due to “burn-out” (according to Jasper Delbecke during an in person meeting in March 2018). To retain talented staff it is crucial that SoAP consider either expanding its staffing to include full-time positions and to consider bringing on an interim Artistic Director so that the organization can remain consistent during Vanraes’ absence.

The other threats and weaknesses observed are linked together as SoAP’s product and model prevent them from generating consistent and strong self-generated income. While the true key offering from SoAP is the resources to artists, including funding and time, the product offering to the public is limited. Audiences are invited to participate in the final presentation of a work, however, the audience may be either very limited in size or too large/fluid in a public space to charge a fee. As a result the current model has SoAP booking the presentation through agreements similar to that of a disposal agreement. The product is booked as a whole, and SoAP splits the revenue with the artist taking only 10% for themselves. As these are all performed outdoors, they are also dependent on weather, which limits the months out of the year they can be performed. To expand their revenue sources SoAP may consider alternative forms of revenue like a membership program that would allow early access to tickets or reserved seating at free events. The value proposition of a membership could also include perks like a newsletter updating the patron on the work of the artists, allowing them insight into the process. 

While SoAP has guaranteed funding through 2020, it’s immediate future is secure. If they can leverage this current security into evaluating and developing future business models their odds of sustainability look bright.

To learn more, check out their website: http://soap-it.eu/

(Photo Credit: SoAP Maastricht)