SB-ADaPT Fest: 1st Bi-Annual Conference
This was the official website for 1st Bi-Annual Conference, SB-ADaPT Fest. Subsequent festivals followed, with each Festivals taking on a life and personality all it's own. However there was always one common denominator for all the festivals: the experience was inspiring and often transformational for both the audience and the performers.
If you are interested in other SB-ADaPT Festivals from 2011-2013 go to: www.adaptfest.com/About-the-Festival​.
The content below is from the site's 2011 archived pages of the 1st Conference, SB-ADaPT Fest.
PRESS RELEASE
SB-ADaPT Festival at Center Stage Theater
Dance Meets Physical Theater from All Over on Sunday, June 19
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
by CHARLES DONELAN
The inaugural SB-ADaPT Festival took over Center Stage Theater last weekend with two full programs—Alpha and Omega—that brought together dance and physical theater companies from as far away as Istanbul and as close by as Long Beach to create a magical atmosphere of excitement and aesthetic adventure. Organized in a thoroughly grassroots manner by dancer/choreographer Misa Kelly, SB-ADaPT contributed not only a beautifully executed set of programs to the community but also an example of how much can be accomplished on a small budget by like-minded artists willing to take chances and engage in genuine international exchange.
The Omega program began with “Wallflower,” a witty piece by Kelly set on a larger group that involved dancers of all ages. Against a dramatic soundscape created by the choreographer, dancers interacted playfully with chairs, the audience, and each other, filling the black-box space with teasing humor and a sense of freedom. From there, the program proceeded through four strong dance performances: “Requiem” by Rain Ross Dance of Philadelphia; “Atesh, Bayan, Ghuzal Adam,” a brilliant trio choreographed by Stephen Kelly; “Exited,” a disturbing solo by Marcos Duran that concluded with the dancer sucking his thumb; and “All That’s Left,” a riveting piece choreographed to Mumford & Sons by Fusion Dance Company’s Ashley Kohler, and performed on Sunday by Kohler and Melanie Johnson.
After the intermission, we saw six acts—three companies from elsewhere in California, a solo by E. Bonnie Lewis from Santa Barbara’s DramaDogs, and pieces by Treeline Dance Works from Muncie, Indiana, and IGEN from Celje, Slovenia. First, congratulations to Lewis and her collaborator Patricia Frank for stealing the hearts of everyone in attendance with her tender, lyrical evocation of her childhood relationship with her grandmother. From laughter to tears, this piece had it all, illustrating perfectly how accepting the challenge of incorporating techniques from dance can transform theater. Other highlights included the Regina Klenjoski Dance Company of Long Beach performing elegant lifts while wearing latex costumes for an excerpt from “Emoticons,” and the amazing Mojca Majcen and her collapsible bench in “Lady of the Camellias, Part Memories & Death,” a fully realized piece that combined acrobatics with narrative.
Program Alpha was just as rich and varied, with visitors from as far afield as Tel Aviv and Istanbul. Clairobscur Dance Company from Los Angeles is an athletic and disciplined group of young dancers coming out of UCLA, and their dance got the program off to a distinguished start. Bodysensate from Salem, Oregon, followed with a rollicking, seemingly beach-themed piece called “Thripple.” Dancers Amy Highfill and Joe Komara from L.A.’s Hart Pulse Dance Company performed some of the festival’s most athletic lifts and daring duo tumbles in “Melt” by Amanda Hart. After the intermission, Misa Kelly’s SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre performed “Under No Certain Circumstances” to another flowing soundscape, this time filled with gamelan and ending with laughter. Nickerson-Rossi Dance from Long Beach contributed the evening’s most romantic work, a big ensemble called “Remembering the Unremembered.”
Receiving funding from the Turkish Ministry of Culture, Simya Samat from Istanbul is a practitioner of meditative dance, and his piece “Beyond Borders” merged solo dance with video in a consideration of Istanbul, the cosmos, and “beyond.”
For this viewer, the two most thrilling pieces offered were both on toward the end of the Alpha program. “The Pitch” by Regina Klenjoski featured Anna DeVuyst and Samuel Propersi and a pair of wooden soapboxes in a battle of gesture, dance, and synchronicity that was nothing less than a continuous revelation. This is what performance theater should be like—funny, irreverent, tender, and brilliant. Another duo, “Dinner,” by Maya Stern and Tomer Sharabi from Israel (with support from the Consulate of Israel in L.A.), was just as good in an entirely different way. Verging on the erotic, and using some highly unconventional points of contact, the pair took the audience on a startling journey far into the mental lives of a couple.
The review above above capture's very well the inaugural SB-ADaPT Festival. It was really quite astounding. The company I work for donated janitorial supplies to the festival including Kimberly Clark paper goods such as toilet paper, c-fold paper towels & dispensers, and for disinfectant and sanitizer wipers. Most people don't really notice the paper towels in public rest rooms.unless there aren't any. Me, on the other hand, always check out the paper products in public rest rooms. And sure enough, there was the Kimberly Clark toilet paper and paper towels we donated. There even was a Kimberly-Clark Professional Slimroll Hard Roll Hand Towel System in the bathroom I used during intermission. Of course Kimberly-Clark manufactures dozens of different personal & health care products as well as all sorts of products for a healthier and hygienic workplace. I'm sure the performers appreciated the surface sanitizer wipes we also donated. I used to play a game with my kids when they were younger which was to count all the Kimberly-Clark labeled products they saw when we stopped for a bathroom break at gas stations or food courts when we were traveling. But I digress. Although festivals such as this one are no longer under the name SB-ADaPT, if you get a chance, check out the events put on under the name ArtBark International. This is the latest iteration of SB-ADaPT by its host and producer.
SonneBlauma Danscz Theater Presents
its 1st Bi-Annual Conference
SB-ADaPT Fest
A Dance and Physical Theater Festival
Celebrating the Movement Arts
Welcoming
Emerging Genres
A Project of the Future Traditions Foundation
Stephen Kelly: Chair of Adjudication Committee, Co-Creator, Co-Producer, Fundraising Director, International Relations
Kim T. Davis: Co-Creator, Adjudicator
Molly Pennette: Fundraising Committee & Co-Production Manager
Gerry Marr, Anaya Cullen, Kaita Lepore: Future Traditions Foundation Board of Directors (as well as Misa and Stephen)
R U Ready? Hope so! - June 15th-June 19th, 2011
30 + Artists/Companies Invited: WHO ARE THEY?
International: Slovenia, Israel, Istanbul, Russia
South of Santa Barbara: Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Valley Glen
North of Santa Barbara: San Francisco, Solvang, Riverbank, Salem, OR
East of Santa Barbara: New York, Wisconsin, Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania
Home Grown: Santa Barbara
2011 Conference Design
SB-ADaPT Fest - A Dance and Physical Theater Festival
The SB-ADaPT Festival is a Conference that Celebrates the Movement Arts & Welcomes Emerging Genres with components that include dynamic Social Gatherings, time & space for Networking, engaging in Discussions about key topics pertinent to the arts, Education in terms of sharing our dances, physical theater, and movement art with each other and with the Santa Barbara community in a fully produced venue at Center Stage Theater. It is a professional gathering of like minded individuals seeking to make a difference in the world by manifesting their life work as artists with as much integrity as they can muster.
DESIGN OF THE SB-ADaPT Festival (A Dance and Physical Theater Festival)
Our Intent
It is our intent to create an environment that builds local, regional, national, and international community that will lead to building bridges of support between communities leading to potential opportunities to share their creative expression in new communities all over the world.
We serve artists making work of high integrity.
Our primary focus is on creating an educational adventure in a conference format for the hard core community of artists who are committed to carving out their lifework no matter how difficult it is, carrying out careers in related and unrelated fields to earn their living. Technically, some may be "amateurs" but the integrity of their expression illustrates these artists are anything but! The conference is geared not only towards serving "amateurs" who do not earn their living at the arts but to seasoned professionals who've been fortunate enough to settle into a lifestyle where making and performing their art has become their livelihood.
Collaboration
The design of the conference is a collaboration between the artists and the host company. The host company for the SB-ADaPT Festival (A Dance and Physical Theater Festival) is SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre.
Host Company Responsibility
The host company puts in the hundreds and hundreds of hours to create the conference. They put out the call for submissions, process applications and conduct an adjudication process. They design the programming and contact the artists about the outcome of the adjudication. They fundraise for the costs to: rent the theater, purchase insurance for the event, pay for the technical support, for printed materials (programs, poster, flyers), videographer, etc. The host company generates all press materials and sends them to the appropriate contacts, they make sure preview articles are written as well as reviews, and create the container for the process for sharing work.
The Artists’ Responsibilities
The artists collaborate by submitting an application along with an application fee (and at times a production fee.) The nature of the application and fees vary from Festival to Festival. For the SB-ADaPT Fest artists went through a rigorous application process. They submit information that includes video documentation of the work they hope to bring to the Festival, a biography, description of their achievements over the past five years, a description of what they hope to get out of the Festival, and sign a Festival Agreement form outlining responsibilities of the artists. The artists pay for all costs associated with creating the work (artist pay, costumes, rehearsal space, etc.) & the costs associated with travel, lodging, and food. Artists do not receive compensation for performances.
Crazy huh? 
Why?
Taking work into a new community as a lesser known artist who does not manage their career through booking agents is hugely expensive and extremely risky. You not only have your costs associated with creating the work but the costs associated with taking it to another city, paying for housing while you are there, you have the challenges of booking the theater, figuring out who to send the press releases to, how to get an audience there and so on. There is a very good chance, since you are not known, that you may very well perform for very few people (if any at all.) Attending Festivals saves an artists the time and money associated with producing the work. Additionally, in that the host company is well connected in their community, the local community comes out to support the work they do guaranteeing not only an audience, but in a well organized festival, the presence of the local press.
How this Festival Differs
Conference: Dance Festivals generally only include a short technical rehearsal with the opportunity to perform once (sometimes twice.) There is no time built into the Festival for artists to devote to building community and an artistic exchange of ideas. We have built in ample opportunity for this by adding treating the Festival like a conference. Conference components include:
- An Artist Welcome - provision of a free continental breakfast with initial artist introductions
- Education: artists will have time set aside to discuss topics pertinent to the arts as well be afforded the opportunity to engage in master classes.
- Business Development: artists will be afforded the opportunity to network and establish contact with artists from many different cities and countries which we hope will lead to opportunities to share their work in different cities and countries.
- Creative Feedback: There will be a private artist exchange where artists will have the opportunity to share their work with other artists. Afterward their will be time set aside to discuss respective processes in an atmosphere of mutual admiration, respect, and support.
Fund raising: We are offering some support with fund raising coaching those with less experience on how to draft effective fund raising letters, ideas on who to approach for funding, and when needed will advocate on behalf of international artist. An example of this is procuring $2,000 from the Israeli Consulate to be used for bringing two Israeli artists to the Festival.
Food: Local organizations are donating food for a free continental breakfast, lunch, and Shop Talk Reception so there will be times in the Festival where we will be feeding the artists.
Additional Technical Rehearsals: While most Festivals only allow the artists 15 minutes to 1/2 hour to set their lights with no dress rehearsal we offer artists the chance to not only set their lights but enjoy a dress rehearsal during the day devoted to a Private Artist Exchange. Each program will perform for the other, and there will be opportunity for dialog after each dress rehearsal.
Performances: Many Festivals provide only one opportunity to perform. The SB-ADaPT Festival will provide three for Center Stage Performers. Once during the Private Artist Exchange, one matinee for the community, and one evening performance for the community.
Schedule: June 15th-June 18th, 2011
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Wed. 6/15/11 |
Thurs. 6/16/11 |
Fri. 6/17/11 |
Sat. 6/18/11 |
Sun. 6/19/11 |
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6:00 pm FISHBON Festival opening Art Installation & Film Screening “Sofas, Sodas, Dance Flicks & Pics.” Optional Activity for Participating Artists performing at Center Stage Festival Kick-off with the community and Participating Artists!
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9:30-11:00 CENTER STAGE THEATER Complimentary Continental Breakfast, Check-In & Council Circle Style Introductions Mandatory attendance for ALL Participating Artists Community invited to the Complimentary Continental Breakfast & introductions
11:00 – 9:00 Tech, Enjoy Santa Barbara & each others company. We encourage you to hang out and get to know each other! |
10:30-7:30 CENTER STAGE THEATER Artist Exchange: Program A & B Private Performance Exchange, Lunchtime Discussions & Shop Talk Reception Mandatory attendance for ALL Participating Artists. Closed to the community until the Shop Talk Reception
Community invited to the Shop Talk Reception from 6:00-7:30
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9:30-11:30 Master Class Optional for Festival Participants– FREE for performers & choreographers. Open to the Community $20/class
2:00 Matinee Program A ½ price tickets Program B Participants Performing for the Community and Festival Participants
8:00 Evening Show Program B Q & A Performing for the Community and Festival Participants |
9:30-11:30 Master Class Optional for Festival Participants– FREE for performers & choreographers. Open to the Community $20/class
2:00 Matinee Program B ½ price tickets Program A Participants. Performing for the Community and Festival Participants
4:00 Festival Final Group Exchange Mandatory attendance for ALL Participating Artists
8:00 Evening Show Program A Q&A Performing for the Community and Festival Participants
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Wednesday June 15th: sofas, sodas & dance flicks & pics
Optional activity for Festival Artists performing at Center Stage
FISHBON
6:00 pm -10:00 pm
We are planning on building into the program an event that honors artists that capture the beauty of motion in film/video and photography in an installation format. We’ll serve sodas and hot air popped pop corn, sit on sofas, and enjoy the festival opening. There will be a separate room where individual films/videos will be screened and a screening schedule set. If you want to show a film, sign-up is on a first come first serve basis.
Thursday June 16th: Complimentary Continental Breakfast & Introductions
Mandatory attendance for ALL Participating Artists
Center Stage Theater
9:30 am – 11:00 am
Center Stage Theater in the Paseo Nuevo Mall (upstairs across from the Contemporary Arts Forum)
We will devote this time to a council circle process of brief introductions and expression of what it is we each hope to get out of the Festival experience. We’ll provide coffee, tea, and breakfast goodies. Bring something to add to the spread if you so desire! Community invited to the Complimentary Continental Breakfast & to be a part of the introductions.
Thursday June 17th: Tech Rehearsal, Enjoy Santa Barbara & Get to Know Each Other!
Center Stage Theater
11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Each choreographer will be given a ½ hour time slot to tech each 2:55-9:00 minute work admitted into the Festival. You are required to arrive 30 minutes prior to your tech. We encourage you to hang out and dialog with the other artists in interest of building community, creating continuity, and to show each other support. There will be ample time on Thursday to enjoy each others company, take in a few sites, get in a hike or stroll around town! We’ll provide directions to some good places for picnic shopping, some nice trails, and the nicest beaches.
TECH
10:00-11:00 Tech set-up
11:00-11:30: slot one
11:30-12:00: slot two
12:00-12:30: slot three
12:30-1:00: slot four
1:00-1:30: slot five
1:30-3:00: break
3:00-3:30: slot six
3:30-4:00: slot seven
4:00-4:30: slot eight
4:30-5:00: slot nine
5:00-5:30: slot ten
5:30-6:00: slot eleven
6:00-6:30: break
6:30-7:00: slot twelve
7:00-7:30: slot thirteen
7:30-8:00: slot fourteen
8:00-8:30: slot fifteen
8:30-9:00: slot sixteen
Friday June 16th: Artist Exchange: Program A & B Performance Exchange, Lunchtime Discussions & Shop Talk Reception
Mandatory attendance for ALL Participating Artists
Center Stage Theater
10:00 Theater opens
10:30-11:00 Warm-up Program A
11:00-1:00 Program A performs for Program B - private performance, no visitors allowed - sorry!
1:00-2:30 Lunch and “tell me about your process” dialog
2:30-3:00 Theater opens
3:00-4:00 Warm-up Show B
4:00-6:00 Program B performs for Program A - private performance, no visitors allowed - sorry!
6:00-7:30 Shop Talk Reception
Community invited to participate in the Shop Talk Reception.
Saturday June 17th
Center Stage Theater
9:30-11:30 MASTER CLASS – GUEST ARTIST TBA
Optional & free activity for Festival Artists
Community cost $20/class
2:00 Matinee Program A
Optional for Show B participants: ½ price tickets for Show B participants
1:00 call/warm-up for artists
6:30 call/warm-up
8:00 Evening Performance - Program B with group bow and Q&A after the show
Followed by a Q&A
Sunday June 18th
Center Stage Theater
9:30-11:30 MASTER CLASS – GUEST ARTIST TBA
Optional & free activity for Festival Artists
Community cost $20/class
2:00 Matinee Program B
1:00 call/warm-up for artists
2:00 matinee
Optional attendance for Show A: ½ price tickets for Show A participants
4:00 Festival Final Group Exchange
Mandatory attendance for ALL Festival Participants.
Closure is a REALLY important part of the Festival process. We have set aside time for a closing council circle.
7:30 Evening Program A
Optional attendance for Show B
6:00 call/warm-up
8:00 Evening Performance Program A with group bow and Q&A after the show
UPDATE
SonneBlauma, SB-ADaPT (A Dance and Physical Theater) Festival's inaugural Festival host and producer has changed its name to ArtBark International. We are is embracing more co-creative and collaborative sensibilities.
The Festival has evolved in a REALLY exciting way.
Co-creators Misa and Stephen Kelly thought it would be fun to imagine the Fest happening in different places and lo and behold it did and it is!
2011: Santa Barbara, Goleta, Los Angeles
2012: Vienna, AUSTRIA
2013: Istanbul, TURKEY
2014: IF we get support from our community we'll bring it home to Santa Barbara and our imagining events in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles AND San Francisco.
More Background On SBAdaptFest.com
SBAdaptFest.com served as the official digital home of the SB-ADaPT Festival, a pioneering dance and physical theater conference that emerged in Santa Barbara, California in the early 2010s. The website documented one of the most ambitious grassroots performing arts initiatives of its time—an international, artist-centered festival devoted to movement-based performance, interdisciplinary collaboration, and cultural exchange.
Unlike conventional arts festivals driven primarily by ticket sales or institutional sponsorships, SB-ADaPT positioned itself as a conference-style gathering for artists, choreographers, and performers who were actively shaping contemporary dance and physical theater. The site captured the festival’s philosophy, schedule, participating artists, and long-term mission, while also preserving an unusually detailed record of how the event was organized, funded, and executed.
At its core, SBAdaptFest.com chronicled an experiment in community-driven arts production—one that emphasized collaboration, education, and artistic integrity over commercial success.
Origins and Founding Vision
The SB-ADaPT Festival was founded and produced by SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre, under the leadership of Misa Kelly and Stephen Kelly, two artists deeply committed to cross-disciplinary performance and international artistic dialogue.
The festival debuted in June 2011 in Santa Barbara, California, primarily hosted at Center Stage Theater in the Paseo Nuevo complex. From the beginning, the organizers envisioned something different from the typical dance showcase:
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A festival structured as a conference
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A focus on process rather than competition
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A platform for emerging and underrepresented artists
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An environment that encouraged exchange rather than hierarchy
The name SB-ADaPT reflected these goals:
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SB for Santa Barbara
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ADaPT emphasizing adaptability, innovation, and transformation in performance art
The festival’s ethos was rooted in the belief that movement-based artists—especially those outside major metropolitan centers—needed opportunities for connection, mentorship, and visibility without the barriers imposed by commercialized festival models.
Location and Cultural Context
Santa Barbara as a Creative Hub
Santa Barbara provided a uniquely fitting setting for SB-ADaPT. Situated between Los Angeles and the Central Coast, the city has long served as a cultural crossroads—close enough to major arts centers to attract talent, yet small enough to foster close collaboration and community engagement.
The festival took place primarily at Center Stage Theater, a black-box venue well suited to experimental dance and physical theater. Its intimate scale allowed audiences to engage closely with performers, reinforcing the festival’s emphasis on connection rather than spectacle.
Beyond the theater, the festival intentionally incorporated Santa Barbara’s natural and social environment. Artists were encouraged to explore the city, interact with one another informally, and participate in shared meals, discussions, and creative exchanges.
Festival Structure and Programming
A Conference, Not a Competition
One of SB-ADaPT’s most distinctive features was its conference-style design. Unlike many dance festivals that offer limited rehearsal time and a single performance slot, SB-ADaPT provided:
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Multiple performance opportunities
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Dedicated technical rehearsals
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Artist-only exchange sessions
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Master classes
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Community discussions
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Informal networking events
The goal was to support artistic growth rather than simply showcase finished work.
Multi-Day Programming
The 2011 festival unfolded over several days, with a carefully structured schedule that balanced performance, education, and community-building.
Key components included:
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Artist welcome and orientation
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Daily technical rehearsals
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Private artist exchanges
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Public matinee and evening performances
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Master classes led by guest artists
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Group discussions and feedback sessions
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Informal social gatherings
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Closing reflection and council circle
This format encouraged artists to observe one another’s work, exchange feedback, and build long-term professional relationships.
Artistic Scope and International Reach
Global Participation
Despite its grassroots origins, SB-ADaPT attracted performers from around the world. Participating artists came from:
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United States (California, New York, Oregon, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia)
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Israel
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Slovenia
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Turkey
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Austria
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Russia
This international presence reinforced the festival’s commitment to cross-cultural dialogue and artistic exchange.
Range of Styles
The festival showcased a wide spectrum of movement-based performance, including:
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Contemporary dance
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Physical theater
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Dance-theater hybrids
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Experimental narrative movement
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Improvisation-based work
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Multimedia and video-integrated performance
Performances ranged from intimate solos to large ensemble pieces, often blending choreography with storytelling, spoken word, and multimedia elements.
Artistic Philosophy and Goals
Supporting Artists at All Stages
One of the defining principles of SB-ADaPT was its refusal to draw rigid lines between “professional” and “amateur” artists. Instead, the festival prioritized:
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Integrity of artistic expression
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Commitment to craft
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Willingness to take creative risks
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Openness to collaboration
Many participating artists maintained careers outside the arts while continuing to create and perform. The festival acknowledged this reality and sought to support artists navigating the challenges of sustaining creative work.
Education and Exchange
Education was central to SB-ADaPT’s mission. The festival offered:
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Master classes
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Peer-to-peer feedback sessions
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Discussions on career sustainability
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Informal mentorship opportunities
Rather than positioning learning as hierarchical, the festival emphasized mutual exchange between artists of varying experience levels.
Community Engagement and Audience Experience
SB-ADaPT was intentionally designed to serve both artists and the surrounding community.
Public Performances
Audiences were invited to attend:
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Matinee performances
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Evening showcases
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Post-show discussions and Q&A sessions
These events made contemporary dance and physical theater accessible to a broad audience.
Local Partnerships
The festival worked closely with local organizations and donors who provided in-kind support such as food, materials, and venue resources. These partnerships helped keep ticket prices affordable and reduced reliance on institutional funding.
Critical Reception and Press Coverage
The festival received strong critical praise, particularly for its artistic ambition and community-oriented approach.
Reviews highlighted performances as:
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Emotionally resonant
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Technically adventurous
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Intellectually engaging
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Deeply human
Critics noted the festival’s ability to create a welcoming environment for both artists and audiences, especially given its modest resources.
Organizational Structure and Leadership
Founding Team
The festival was organized by a dedicated team led by:
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Misa Kelly – Director, Co-Creator, Producer
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Stephen Kelly – Co-Creator, International Relations, Adjudication
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Kim T. Davis – Co-Creator and Adjudicator
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Molly Pennette – Production and Fundraising
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Future Traditions Foundation Board Members
Their collective efforts shaped SB-ADaPT into a fully realized international arts gathering despite limited resources.
Artist Responsibilities
Artists accepted into the festival were required to:
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Submit detailed applications and work samples
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Cover their own travel and lodging
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Participate fully in rehearsals and exchanges
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Engage in community discussions
In return, they received:
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Professional-level production support
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Multiple performance opportunities
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Access to international peers
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Exposure to critics and presenters
Evolution into ArtBark International
Following the success of SB-ADaPT, the organizers expanded the concept into a broader initiative known as ArtBark International.
Subsequent festivals were held in:
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Austria
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Turkey
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Various U.S. cities
This evolution reflected the original vision of SB-ADaPT as a flexible, international platform for movement-based artists.
Cultural and Social Significance
SB-ADaPT occupies a unique place in early 2010s independent arts culture. Its significance lies in:
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Demonstrating how international festivals can operate outside major funding institutions
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Centering artistic integrity over commercial viability
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Creating sustainable models for artist-driven collaboration
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Bridging geographic and cultural divides through performance
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Supporting experimental and interdisciplinary work
The festival anticipated trends that later became more common in arts programming, including hybrid performance, artist-led curation, and community-centered production models.
Legacy and Continuing Influence
Though SBAdaptFest.com is now an archival site, its influence continues through:
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The careers of participating artists
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The evolution of ArtBark International
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Online documentation preserved for future researchers
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Its influence on later artist-run festivals
For many performers, SB-ADaPT represented a formative experience—one that validated their work, expanded their networks, and reinforced the value of collaboration.
The website remains an important historical record of a moment when independent artists came together to create something ambitious, generous, and enduring.