Rural Areas and Audience Renewal
 

Director of Contre-Courant MJC-MSAC since 2023, Arnaud Fièvre's professional career has led him to develop his skills in the field of improvised music, alongside his involvement in professional performing arts organisations.
Contre-Courant MJC SMAC:

Established in the Verdun metropolitan area since 1970, Contre-Courant MJC has an ambition in line with the values of popular education, offering local residents a range of activities that are outside the commercial sphere and administered by its users.

With expertise in the field of popular music, Contre-Courant MJC implements measures aimed at encouraging residents to participate in and contribute to the artistic life of their region, in accordance with cultural rights standards.

He began as General Buyer at Free Record Shop, where he oversaw purchasing operations and developed in-depth expertise in music markets and trends. He then joined EMI Edition Belgique, serving as Managing and Artistic Director for 17 years. In this strategic role, he led editorial development, supported songwriters and artists, and supervised the production and negotiation of music projects. He continued his career as an artist manager for five years before moving into cultural programming.

For the past 2.5 years, he has been Music Programmer at the Centre Culturel René Magritte (CCRM) in Lessines, where he curates a demanding and eclectic program aligned with current live music dynamics. The CCRM is a key cultural institution in the region, offering a multidisciplinary program (music, theatre, comedy, talks) and featuring a 450-seat main hall as well as a more intimate 200-seat venue. The centre is also associated with the Roots & Roses festival, a well-established event dedicated to roots, rock and Americana music.

Thanks to his cross-sector experience—industry, publishing, management and programming—Guy Van Handenhove brings a comprehensive vision of the artistic, economic and territorial challenges facing the music sector.

Andreas Becker does many things. Since his teens, he's played in bands, did DJsets, designed posters, organized concerts, and worked freelance as a painter/graphic artist.

Since 2015, he has been primarily responsible for the music program at the Schalander music club and the Kinett cultural center, which grew out of it, in Kusel, the second smallest district town in Germany, located in the North Palatinate Uplands. Both clubs have already received the APPLAUS award for their music programming, the latter being the only venue in Rhineland-Palatinate to do so in 2024. He's trying tirelessly to keep pop culture alive even in the least expected place. Over the years he got well connected to other like-minded people in Germany, Europe and all over the world.