Union des artistes
Who are we ?
Created in 1927 by an opera singer, the UAS is the oldest Belgian cultural federation. Since last September, UAS is a foundation member of UPAC-T (Union des Professionnels des Arts et de la Créations - Pôle Travailleurs), joining forces with 17 other federations.
UPAC-T has now become a central contact group for the ongoing discussions with the Belgian government.
UAS currently counts 850 members, but the number of members increases every year.
Who do we represent ?
It represents all stage-related artists : actors, singers, dancers, scenographers, stage directors, conductors, musicians, circus artists, technicians, etc
Contact
Sarah Defrise
Our vision
Initially created as a charity association, the UAS has dedicated itself to the defense of artists and cultural workers since the last twenty years. Since the UAS helped create UPAC-T, it has gained significant weight on the political scene and is consulted by the government on a regular basis. The UAS has raised an emergency fund of about 1.000.000 euro to help cultural workers in need.
Sarah Defrise was elected to the board in March 2021 and represents the classical musician members.
Our mission
The UAS works on two main fronts :
POLITICAL and PHILANTHROPICAL
The political working group at UAS is now focusing on lobbying the government for reopening CULTURE without delay.
Our second most important long-term political goal is to build a better « Statut de l'artiste », equivalent to the French « Intermittence ».
he Union des Artistes du Spectacle (UAS) is the oldest cultural association in Belgium. It was founded in 1927 by the Belgian bass Lucien Van Obbergh at the request of the Union des Artistes de Paris to defend the professional interests of numerous French and Belgian artists.
UAS represents all stage-related artists: actors and performers but also technicians, scenographers, set photographers, make-up artists, directors, circus, street arts professionals, choreographers, composers, musicians, theatre artists for children, opera singers, authors, etc. In short, all the so-called « intermittent du spectacle » professionals.
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Initially created as a charity association, the UAS has dedicated itself to the moral defence of artists and cultural workers for the last twenty years (chap. II, art. 3, paragraph 2 of our statutes).
In February 2007, it was approved by decree of the Government of the French Community as a recognized professional federation. This recognition allows Union des Artistes to officially represent its members and to speak on their behalf to the authorities of the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles.
Since 2007, UAS has gained significant weight on the political scene and is consulted by the government every week.
UAS is a founding member of UPAC-T (Union des Professionals des Arts et de la Création - Pôle Travellers) gathering 18 different cultural Federations working hand in hand since the beginning of the pandemic. The UAS has raised about 1.000.000-euro fund to help cultural workers in need. It currently counts 850 members, and the number of members increases every year. Sarah Defrise was elected to the board in March 2021 and represents the classical musician members.
UAS also provides its members with material and legal assistance under certain circumstances. It helps them financially, legally, and morally.
Our possibilities for action depend on our resources, made up partly of contributions paid by our affiliates, but also of donations and bequests as well as the proceeds of the collections of "Christmas clogs" in theatres from November to February, each year.
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TESTIMONY
“ Getting involved in the creation of Lyricoalition has been an invigorating experience; meeting talented opera artists from all over Europe who all want to fight to create a safer work environment. We know the task is huge but the positive energy is there.
The existence of such a network has already had a substantial positive impact. Having good connections in the country where you work can be a life-changer for freelance opera professionals ”.