2025 International Presenting Commons Convening

Boston, Massachusetts 19-21 May 2025

The 2025 International Presenting Commons (IPC) convening at Emerson College in Boston brought together key stakeholders in the field of international cultural exchange. The first two days were an in-depth examination of the state of the field, and the third day was an IPC Steering Committee meeting focused on determining actionable next steps for the IPC. Read a full report of the convening written by then-HowlRound Fellow Munroe Shearer.

• Participant bios
• Days one and two agenda

This convening served as an extended opportunity for IPC steering committee members to survey key stakeholders in the field of international presenting, connect and ideate on shared goals, and strategize against Trump administration policy changes. The convening was co-championed by Ronee Penoi and Elizabeth Doud, and co-facilitated by Roya Amirsoleymani and Abigail Vega.

The first two days of convening consisted of identifying and filling needs in the field through small group discussion, inner circle/outer circle sessions, and a full-group resource mapping activity. Participants discussed possibilities for new funding streams, shared strategies for maintaining artist safety, and connected with each other for smaller-group action in the future.

The third day of convening served as a meeting for the IPC steering committee to discuss personal organizational commitments and to identify key action steps coming out of this time together. The members divided themselves into smaller groups to tackle many of the problems identified in the first two days of convening.

Cumulatively, providing we are able to see them through, the projects to which we committed ourselves should yield a grassroots cultural movement defined by a relationship-centric approach to international cultural exchange, equipped with both a documented history and a course charted towards the future.
—Steering committee member Ruth Wikler