RESEO
RESEARCH
Space
Explore RESEO’s research work, meet key contributors and discover opportunities to get involved
Launched in 2023 at the initiative of Vania Cauzillo and Dr. Theresa Lafortune, the RESEO Research Space is an evolving forum where practitioners and artists collaborate with researchers to explore the evolution of cultural rights, focus on participatory processes, contribute to the wider evidence base on cultural democracy in opera, music and dance, and advocate for the value of arts education research across Europe.
IN FOCUS
From education to holistic engagement
FOCUS of the
RESEARCH SPACE
Practices and policies in arts education and participation across Europe and internationally
Practices and policies in artist training as well as continuous professional development for culture workers and education professionals
The evolution of cultural rights in the opera, music and dance sector
Intersections between the arts and society, and how artists, educators and institutions can enable creative solutions to societal issues faced in Europe today
Opera, music and dance productions aimed at young and specific audiences and taking place outside traditional arts venues
Co-creation processes and balance of creative authorship between professional and non-professional artists
Research Projects
Research projects led or supported by RESEO
RESEO: A historic and contemporary approach
From education to holistic engagement
Mind the Gap: Building Digital Bridges to Community
Opportunities
Opportunities to get involved in RESEO and partner research projects
[Call for applications] Rethinking Relevance: Breaking the Classical Frame
Classical music is at a crossroads. Around the world, artists and institutions are reimagining what relevance means in a time of social fragmentation, climate anxiety, and digital transformation. How can classical music still matter — and to whom? What does it mean to perform, teach, or listen in ways that connect rather than exclude? Organised by the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music (MCICM), this international symposium in Maastricht explores the future of classical music, with a focus on inclusion, community, and new ways of connecting with audiences.
Dates: 15–16 April 2026
[Event] Excellently Engaged conference
Higher music education is currently undergoing profound processes of transformation. The traditional conservatoire model, which—under the banner of musical excellence and an attitude of “art for art’s sake”—constructs an imaginatively apolitical space, is increasingly subject to critical reflection. Organised by mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, this conference explores how higher music education can place social engagement at the heart of its mission, through lectures, discussion, and a workshop on rethinking the classical canon.
Date: 2 June 2026
Research collective
The researchers currently involved in RESEO research projects
RESEO is currently building a community of researchers working both within and outside academic
institutions that focus on topics related to the role of arts within transformational processes and contexts.
Join the research collective: If you or your institution would like to know more about taking part, please
contact us.
Vania Cauzillo
Vania Cauzillo is a Ph.D. student at the University of Basilicata and a stage director and documentarist. She holds a master’s degree in co-producing participatory processes for public institutions from the University of Bologna. She co-founded L’Albero, a theatre and opera company in Southern Italy, known for its community opera projects focused on social impact and cultural welfare. Her research includes the Erasmus+ project Get Close to Opera, which trained educators and artists to engage refugees, particularly women. Vania has consulted for the San Carlo Opera House in Naples and collaborates with musicologist Dinko Fabris on music pedagogy workshops.
Theresa Schmitz – Lafortune
Theresa Schmitz is a musicologist who earned her doctorate from CRAL (EHESS/Paris) and published her PhD research on European lyrical creation for young audiences, L’Opéra Jeune Public, in 2023. She spent 12 years as production manager and administrator at Wiener Taschenoper and Opéra national de Lyon before transitioning to freelance work in South France in 2022. Theresa joined RESEO in October 2022 and continues her research on the history and evolution of outreach and education in the arts. Her work focuses on programming for diverse audiences and communities within the performing arts sector.
Christina Lindgren
Christina Lindgren is an Assistant Professor in Performing Arts, specialising in costume design, performance, and collaborative creative processes. She holds BA and MA degrees from Oslo National Academy of the Arts and Universität der Künste Berlin. From 2013 to 2025, she was Professor of Costume Design at Oslo National Academy of the Arts, teaching and supervising at all academic levels. She has designed costumes and sets for over 50 productions and is a co-founder of *Nattens Lys* and *Babyopera*, where she is also Artistic Director. Christina is a member of Critical Costume, an international platform for costume research and practice.
