About US
Based on in-depth International Practical Research
and Multidisciplinary and multiple times awarded Groundbreaking work, we develop:
(1) Sustainable and Profitable Productions
(2) Comprehensive Services for Organizations and Individuals
(3) Advanced Products and Courses
(4) State-of-the-Art Resources in Easy digestible formats
All to serve and improve the Performing Arts Field (Opera, Orchestra, and Ballet).
Working in a multidisciplinary approach (in alliance with Economy, Business, Arts, Anthropology, Social Sciences, Arts Administration, Political Economy, Macro and Micro Economy, Entrepreneurship, and other sciences), we help Organizations, Artists, and Societies (at local, regional, national, and international levels) to understand and use in their favor the clues to achieve the sustainability of their Performing Arts.
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Every stakeholder is crucial in the Performing Arts Field. From Artists and Arts Administrators with stronger and healthier careers; to Organizations with broader and more sustainable artistic practices, business structures, and services; and communities collaborating at local, regional, national, and/or international levels.
We develop solutions for a better and more sustainable Performing Arts Field benefiting all communities.
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Our
Mission
To enhance the Performing Arts field through pioneering research and multidisciplinary collaboration, delivering sustainable and profitable productions, innovative products, comprehensive services, and state-of-the-art resources. We empower artists, organizations, and communities globally by providing the tools and knowledge to achieve artistic, financial, social, and ecological sustainability in their opera, orchestra, and ballet enterprises.
Recognizing our Contributors
All of our Productions, Products, Courses, and Services have been developed based on an in-depth research in the REAL FIELD! And that is why we thank all the organizations and people that supported and helped us during this long international practical multidisciplinary path. Thanks to all of them we developed multiple times awarded groundbreaking work. Results that now are at the service of all Opera, Orchestra, and Ballet Stakeholders.
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Following you can find a humble and thank you list of all the people that, in one or many ways during the last years, have supported and contributed to the understanding of a healthier and more sustainable Performing Arts field for ALL stakeholders.
Team/Advisors/Mentors/Allies:
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Opera, Music & Artistic Field
Peter Volpe, Professor of Music (Voice) / JSoM, IU / USA
Megan Starnes, Director of Student Leadership Programs / O’Neil, IU
Walter Huff, Professor of Music (Opera Choral Conducting) / JSoM, IU
Arthur Fagen, Chair of Department of Orchestral Conducting / JSoM, IU / USA
Michael Shell, Resident Stage Director, IU Opera and Ballet Theater / JSoM, IU
Marzio Conti, Opera, Orchestra Conductor, Music Professor / Istituto Superiore di Musica "L. Boccherini" / Lucca, Italy
Karen Gahl-Mills, Director of Arts Administration Programs; Senior Advisor, Center for Cultural Affairs / O’Neil, IU
Bloomington Community Allies/Partners
Nancy Hutches, Trinity Episcopal Church, Bloomington, IN
Tabitha Cassani, Director of Programs, Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington
Tamara Loewenthal, Executive Director, Lotus Education and Arts Foundation
Silvia Panigada, Music and Culture Coordinator, FAR Center for Contemporary Arts
Alex Crowley, Director, Economic & Sustainable Development at City of Bloomington, IN
Holly Warren, Assistant Director for the Arts, Economic & Sustainable Development at City of Bloomington, IN
IU Students for Documentary Project
Robert S Mack, Documentary Co-Producer
Duke Wayne, Director of Photography of Documentary
Alex D'Angelo, Sound Recordist
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Founder and General Director
Dr. Diego Barbosa-Vásquez / Colombia / JSoM, IU (USA)
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Practical Research and Applications
at the
REAL FIELD!
Recognizing our
History
Did you know that the Performing Arts Laboratory used to be called the
"Ostrom Opera Camp Laboratory"?
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The selection of this first name was an homage by Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez (our Founder and General Director) to Elinor Ostrom (Nobel Prize in Economics) and to the remarkable, internationally distinguished scholars of the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University. These exceptional scholars have been strong supporters of our work since its inception, providing seed funding to our Founder (as an Ostrom Workshop Research Awardee from 2021 to 2023). They have also enabled us to deeply understand concepts such as "Multidimensional Sustainability," "Polycentricity," and "Commons Governance," which we have successfully applied to the Performing Arts.
However, since the name was often associated solely with one of our services (Opera Camp) and primarily with one art form—Opera—we realized the need for a broader scope. Our goal has always been not only to conduct research but also to actively serve and influence the fields of Opera, Orchestra, and Ballet at local, regional, national, and international levels. As a result, we decided to adopt a new name: Performing Arts Laboratory, and to establish it as a separate institution.
This new organization carries forward the knowledge, freedom, and resources needed to profoundly impact the Performing Arts field while retaining our strong academic, artistic, and scholarly roots. These values continue to underpin every production, product, service, program, and course we offer.
Here, you can watch the trailer for a documentary we are creating to present the remarkable multidisciplinary research behind our Opera Camp™ in a more accessible format.
