Monthly Archives: February 2021

i-Portunus 2021 – Music and Cultural Heritage

17/02/2021



Who can apply?


•    composers, musicians and singers, preferably in classical music, jazz, and traditional music genres


•    artists, creators and cultural professionals active in cultural heritage



What can you apply for?

Short-term mobility in the context of:


•    international collaboration


•    a production-oriented residency


•    professional development activities

When: mobility between 16 July and 30 November 2021, conditions permitting.


Duration: between 7 and 60 days.
Maximum grant per person: 3.000,00 EUR.


Deadline for submission of applications: 15 April 2021.
 


To apply:

Create an account at my.i-portunus.eu and fill in the online application form.



IMPORTANT INFORMATION:


i-Portunus first call for music and literary translation is still open until 28 February 2021,
while i-Portunus call for architecture is open until 14 March 2021.
 


Further information: www.i-portunus.eu/


MUSE.AR

10/02/2021

Project leader: Pro Progresione, Hungary

Novena d.o.o., Croatia

Management of the tourist space Lepenski Vir ltd, Serbia

Association of managers in the sector of culture, Hungary

NaFILM, Czech Republic

Ajvar studios AB, Sweden

Maximum grant awarded: 650.305 €

The main aim of the project is to enable a wider use of digital collections of museums and cultural heritage sites by developing an inter-sector pilot programme of digital story-telling with participation and collaboration within creative industries and the IT sector. This need stems from the fact that in sites of historical importance existing digital archives and collections are not sufficiently used. They are available to some extent and can be browsed on the web. Also, the project recognises the lack of good practices in utilising digital tools which could be used for educational purposes as an influence on the quality of visitors’ experience. The project also assumes intensifying cooperation between different sectors such as cultural and creative industries and their sub-sectors (audio-visual equipment and media, performing arts, visual art, cultural heritage, archives and libraries) and the IT sector.

Specific aims of the project are:

  1. STRENGTHENING INTER-SECTOR COOPERATION: empowering different actors on the market to operate between sectors, through direct testing of models of inter-sector cooperation between different sectors (culture and IT) and between different sub-sectors within culture (visual arts, performing arts, audio-visual equipment and media, cultural heritage, archives and libraries), as well as wiser synchronisation of efforts between them with a shared goal to utilise the strength of digital tools for our shared European cultural heritage.
  • We invite nine artists from different disciplines (digital, audio-visual, performing) to create our three digital narrative pilot projects in three sites of cultural heritage or museums using the newly developed digital tool
  • We are creating a mobile application MUSE.ar, which will achieve inter-sector cooperation
  • We are organising six museum hackathlons in six different countries, including at least 30 additional digital artists
  1. ENCOURAGING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND TOOLS: promoting the inter-sector approach to problem solving for challenges faced by culture in the context of quick digitalisation and creating innovative tools in order to offer sustainable solutions for identified challenges, and also innovating the existing practice by offering new methods.
  • We are creating a mobile application MUSE.ar as a new, innovative tool for artists and cultural heritage institutions
  • We are designing a new certified programme of training for digital translators, in collaboration with Interpret Europe, encouraging the utilisation of digital tools in story-telling and interpreting cultural heritage, while at the same time contributing to digital capacities of museum experts and guides
  • We are enabling the total of eight (three directly involved museums + five connected museums) for digital interpretation, while offering an opportunity for additional 20 cultural heritage experts in our training programme to directly use our activities and learn about new tools
  1. UTILISATION OF TECHNOLOGY: with the intention to solve challenges for culture and help in improving their capacities to use digital surrounding to the greatest extent.
  • We are creating MUSE.ar as a digital tool offering a framework for interpretation of cultural heritage, where artists, story-tellers and guides should create content
  • We are organizing two residential programmes, where artists create content for the MUSE.ar application, using technology as a tool
  • We are creating a new certified programme of training in order to enable story-tellers and experts for cultural heritage to use technology (including the MUSE.ar applications and more) as a means to include their own content in their environment.
  • During six museum hackathlons in six different museum institutions throughout Europe we will present MUSE.ar as a technological tool for artists to present and distribute their artistic ideas in a new form
  1. EASIER ACCESS, DISTRIBUTION AND PROMOTION OF CULTURE AND CREATIVITY: support to innovations in terms of access, distribution and promotion of creative content and focussing on three major factors in a holistic manner: raising awareness, improving the quality of data and improving user experience.
  • We are distributing our methodologies (in training and technology) in 10 different international networks, reaching over 1000 interested parties throughout Europe.
  • We are organizing three big public events, initiating digital narratives in our partner sites of cultural heritage, reaching over 1000 visitors directly on the spot and 10000 in the long term, since digital narratives remain available after the completion of the project.
  • We are organizing six museum hackathlons, where we are reaching over 300 visitors who will understand cultural heritage and creativity from a different perspective.

Our aim is to reach several thousands of people through the digital tool MUSE.ar because it enables reaching potential users throughout the world and in this way, it contributes to easier access and distribution of culture on the international level.


Perform Europe starts with you

09/02/2021

Perform Europe is currently in a Research and Development phase. The first open call for touring and distribution grants will be released in June 2021. Meanwhile, there are several ways for you to get involved

Do you want to contribute towards designing a new international touring and digital distribution scheme for the performing arts in Creative Europe countries? Take part in our extensive and very important survey. Your inputs and experiences will help us to collect information on the current situation and shape future recommendations.

Everyone working in the performing arts as a creator, producer, artist manager, presenter or programmer in one of the 41 Creative Europe countries should get their voice heard!

Take the survey.


Uglješa Šajtinac: Quite Modest Gifts

09/02/2021

*European Union Literature Award 2014

Uglješa Šajtinac’s book „Quite Modest Gifts“ received the European award for literature in 2014. Publishing house Arhipelag stated about the book: “An exceptional contemporary epistolary novel in which two brothers exchange emails in which they witness their American and Serbian, New York and Banat everyday life. A novel about Banat and New York. A family novel where destiny’s temptations of its members speak of the most challenging social questions of our time in an exciting and striking manner. Šajtinac wrote a moving and provocative chronicle of our days, a book in whose emails the last decade of our lives is given voice with an authentic strength. Intense and passionate, incorruptible and engaged.”

One of the most prominent contemporary writers from Serbia, Uglješa Šajtinac, received this significant European award in November 2014, together with 12 other European authors: Ben BLUSHI (Albania), Milen RUSKOV (Bulgaria), Jan NĚMEC (The Czech Republic ), Makis TSITAS (Greece), Oddný EIR (Island), Janis JONEVS (Latvia), Armin ÖHRI (Lichtenstein), Pierre J. MEJLAK (Malta), Ognjen SPAHIĆ (Montenegro), Marente DE MOOR (the Netherlands), Birgül OĞUZ (Turkey) and Evie WYLD (the United Kingdom).


European awards

Conservation Study of the Village Gostuša in Pirot district

08/02/2021

*Europa Nostra Grand Prix 2016

The researchers carried out an architectural survey on each building and produced detailed and comprehensive documentation regarding the architecture and construction techniques used in each individual structure. The study had a compelling educational element with a strong engagement from students in the relevant fields. The project coordinators were committed to clarifying the importance of the restoration works to the local community and were intent on involving and educating the village’s inhabitants in each aspect of the project. The completion of the study and building renovations has resulted in an enthusiasm for heritage among local people and an improvement in their rural lifestyle.

The project is of international significance and is already acting as an influential example of good practice thanks to the researchers’ contribution to international conferences and their perseverance in gaining recognition for the village of Gostusa and its surrounding landscape.

The jury found “the methodology and the approach to raising awareness of this village to be extraordinarily well done”. While the protection of the vernacular architecture is apparent, the study went beyond these material factors in boosting the cultural identity of the area and providing new potential for social and economic growth in this special region. The project should be regarded as an admirable example of the influence of good research and conservation.


European awards

Uglješa Šajtinac: Quite Modest Gifts

08/02/2021

*European Union Literature Award 2014

Uglješa Šajtinac’s book „Quite Modest Gifts“ received the European award for literature in 2014. Publishing house Arhipelag stated about the book: “An exceptional contemporary epistolary novel in which two brothers exchange emails in which they witness their American and Serbian, New York and Banat everyday life. A novel about Banat and New York. A family novel where destiny’s temptations of its members speak of the most challenging social questions of our time in an exciting and striking manner. Šajtinac wrote a moving and provocative chronicle of our days, a book in whose emails the last decade of our lives is given voice with an authentic strength. Intense and passionate, incorruptible and engaged.”

One of the most prominent contemporary writers from Serbia, Uglješa Šajtinac, received this significant European award in November 2014, together with 12 other European authors: Ben BLUSHI (Albania), Milen RUSKOV (Bulgaria), Jan NĚMEC (The Czech Republic ), Makis TSITAS (Greece), Oddný EIR (Island), Janis JONEVS (Latvia), Armin ÖHRI (Lichtenstein), Pierre J. MEJLAK (Malta), Ognjen SPAHIĆ (Montenegro), Marente DE MOOR (the Netherlands), Birgül OĞUZ (Turkey) and Evie WYLD (the United Kingdom).


European awards

Darko Tuševljaković: Jaz

08/02/2021

*European Union Literature Award 2017

Among 12 European countries, Darko Tuševljaković won the European Union Prize for Literature for 2017. European Union Prize for Literature, awarded every year to writers from 12 different countries, was also awarded, based on the decision made by national jury panels, to Rudi Erebara from Albania, Ina Vultchanova from Bulgaria, Bianca Bellová from the Czech Republic, Kallia Papadaki from Greece, Halldóra K. Thoroddsen from Iceland, Osvalds Zebris from Latvia, Walid Nabhan from Malta, Jamal Ouariachi from the Netherlands, Sine Ergun from Turkey and Sunjeev Sahota from the United Kingdom.

As it was said in the statement, through the awarding of this Prize, exquisite new literary talents are being recognised throughout Europe, and also the wealth of contemporary European literature is emphasised and attention is directed towards the unique cultural and linguistic heritage of the entire continent.

Serbian writer Darko Tuševljaković was awarded for his novel “Jaz” about the 90s, published by the publishing house Arhipelag, who said that it was great honour to receive such an important prize and be among the chosen authors from other European countries, and also among the previous winners of the award from Serbia (Jelena Lengold and Uglješa Šajtinac).

Tuševljaković’s “Jaz” is a novel about Serbia during the 90s and the beginning of a new century, but also about a young generation stretched between leaving and staying in their own country, but also about the older ones, overwhelmed by nostalgia and the struggle against time which was surpassing them. Displaying the life of young people in turbulent times and combining the elements of a social novel and phantasmagoria, Tuševljaković in “Jaz” shapes the stage where, in the middle of political and historical breakdowns, impressionable characters with their human and intimate dramas are being displayed.

“Jaz” is, as described by Arhipelag, an exciting story about how to survive history and preserve the right to one’s own specificity. The novel takes the reader to an extraordinary adventure from Belgrade to Kragujevac during the 90s, to the image of a family vacation in Greece, while in the parallel and intersecting stories personal and family dramas are being resolved, but also other historical forces and struggles with the self and the others.

Laureates receive a prize amounting to 5,000 Euros, but also numerous other benefits stemming from international visibility and cross-border promotion of their works, starting with the ceremony of prize awarding in Brussels all the way to presentations on the largest book fairs.


European awards

The Bač fortress reconstruction

08/02/2021

*The European Union Award for Cultural Heritage

The Bač Fortress began construction in the 14th-century with additions made in the 15th- and 16th-centuries and is a listed national monument. The project Centuries of Bač was initiated in 2006 to research and increase knowledge about the area of Bač; to implement key conservation principles in its preservation; to find a sustainable use for the site; and to raise awareness of its value among the wider community.

The conservation and rehabilitation of the Bač Fortress has been a central part of this project. The project was carried out by the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments – Petrovaradin, and supported by its partners: the Fund for Preserving Cultural and Historical Heritage Centuries of Bač, the University of Novi Sad Faculty of Technology and the Museum of Vojvodina. The project received financial support from regional, national and international sources including EU funding. The project has successfully integrated the Bač Fortress into the life of the local community and has found a sustainable use to ensure its future. It has been restored, its archaeological remains preserved and its interior transformed into a vis- itor centre and exhibition space which helps visitors to interpret the wider cultural landscape of Bač. It has also become a centre where professional knowledge about heritage conservation and management is gained, enhanced and shared. For the past 15 years the Fortress has also been the regional central point for the European Heritage Days, an initiative of the Council of Europe. Due to the success of this project the Bač Fortress was listed on UNESCO’s Tentative List in 2010, as a part of the Historical place of Bač and its surroundings.

This project is an exceptional example of heritage preservation based on interdisciplinary collaboration. To achieve this, the project leaders have made use of European resources to research and carry out necessary preliminary investigations, which in turn has led to the implementation of a correct management strategy. A sustained effort has been made to maintain the aspect of the ruin through careful conservation. In addition there is a strong educational component relevant to the entire region, the jury said.

The town of Bač shows influences of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Byzantine, Islamic and Baroque styles, along with examples of vernacular architecture. The built heritage pays testimony to the cultural diversity of the area, linking the Balkans with Central and Western Europe. Some of its most iconic structures are now listed as national monuments: namely the Bač Fortress, the Bodjani Orthodox Monastery and the Franciscan Monastery of Bač. The Fortress is located in close proximity to the Danube, a river which has provided a link between many European countries, the jury noted.


European awards

Research and cataloguing of the State Art Collection

08/02/2021

 

*The European Union Award for Cultural Heritage

Despite its fascinating contents, the State Art Collection of Serbia was never fully researched or catalogued until 2006. In that year, a project to research the collection was initiated and funded by the Ministry of Culture of Serbia. Led by Professor Jelena Todorović with Biljana Crvenković, the project was carried out under the supervision of the National Museum in Belgrade.

The State Art Collection has a rich and curious history. It was symbolically founded in 1929 with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The last additions were made in the late 1970s. The collection was intended to reflect Yugoslav and European ideals with some of Europe’s and Yugoslavia’s most notable artists featuring prominently, such as Nicolas Poussin, Gaspard Dughet, Palma il Vecchio, Ivan Mestrovic and Vlaho Bukovac and reflects the desire to merge local and European cultural values with the new national identity of Yugoslavia. The research team had to begin with very basic tasks. The collection was first correctly inventoried, full archival research undertaken on all of the present works and, finally, a proper database made (both digital and analogue) with a separate dossier for each work of art completed. The Jury commended what it deemed “the excellent quality of research on a remarkable collection of art”.

After this long and laborious task the fine arts catalogue was produced. Contributions to the artwork and provenance research were also made from a number of European mu- seums, among which were the Louvre (France), the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Austria), the Dubrovnik Museums and the Modern Gallery (Croatia), the Bergamo Museum and the Trieste Museums (Italy), the RKD Institute (The Netherlands), and the Museum of Modern Art (Slovenia).

The Jury much appreciated the printed catalogue, stating that the bilingual publication is of high quality and makes a significant contribution to the history of art and the history of art collecting. The appreciation of this forgotten, invisible part of European heritage has finally made these works available for the wider public to enjoy, most notably with the number of loans having been requested since its publication from other European museums. The Jury praised this aspect of the project, stating that the original intention of this collection was to embody the European spirit. This research study is an important rediscovery and reinstatement of this intention to be part of the wider dimension of European culture and art, bringing it to the attention of the wider public.

In addition, the collaboration with European partners has widened the researchers’ and museum’s network and created new opportunities for dialogue. The state-owned collection, previously accessible only to state officials and visiting dignitaries, has been made better known to a European public with some parts of the collection being publicly exhibited for the first time ever.


European awards , Uncategorized

The Pavilion of Prince Miloš at the Bukovička Spa

08/02/2021

*The European Union Award for Cultural Heritage

Despite its fascinating contents, the State Art Collection of Serbia was never fully researched or catalogued until 2006. In that year, a project to research the collection was initiated and funded by the Ministry of Culture of Serbia. Led by Professor Jelena Todorović with Biljana Crvenković, the project was carried out under the supervision of the National Museum in Belgrade.

The State Art Collection has a rich and curious history. It was symbolically founded in 1929 with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The last additions were made in the late 1970s. The collection was intended to reflect Yugoslav and European ideals with some of Europe’s and Yugoslavia’s most notable artists featuring prominently, such as Nicolas Poussin, Gaspard Dughet, Palma il Vecchio, Ivan Mestrovic and Vlaho Bukovac and reflects the desire to merge local and European cultural values with the new national identity of Yugoslavia. The research team had to begin with very basic tasks. The collection was first correctly inventoried, full archival research undertaken on all of the present works and, finally, a proper database made (both digital and analogue) with a separate dossier for each work of art completed. The Jury commended what it deemed “the excellent quality of research on a remarkable collection of art”.

After this long and laborious task the fine arts catalogue was produced. Contributions to the artwork and provenance research were also made from a number of European mu- seums, among which were the Louvre (France), the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Austria), the Dubrovnik Museums and the Modern Gallery (Croatia), the Bergamo Museum and the Trieste Museums (Italy), the RKD Institute (The Netherlands), and the Museum of Modern Art (Slovenia).

The Jury much appreciated the printed catalogue, stating that the bilingual publication is of high quality and makes a significant contribution to the history of art and the history of art collecting. The appreciation of this forgotten, invisible part of European heritage has finally made these works available for the wider public to enjoy, most notably with the number of loans having been requested since its publication from other European museums. The Jury praised this aspect of the project, stating that the original intention of this collection was to embody the European spirit. This research study is an important rediscovery and reinstatement of this intention to be part of the wider dimension of European culture and art, bringing it to the attention of the wider public.

In addition, the collaboration with European partners has widened the researchers’ and museum’s network and created new opportunities for dialogue. The state-owned collection, previously accessible only to state officials and visiting dignitaries, has been made better known to a European public with some parts of the collection being publicly exhibited for the first time ever.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

Some Call Us Balkans

05/02/2021

Project Leader: ICSE & CO, Italy

Biennale of Western Balkans, Greece

Kunstrepublik e.v., Germany

Tačka komunikacije – DOTKOM, Serbia

Platform for Civic Engagement through Artistic and Cultural Practices Sociopatch, North Macedonia

RRITU, Kosovo*

TULLA, Albania

Udruženje nezavisnih stvaralaca i aktivista Geto, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Maximum grant awarded: 312,467.00 €

The cultural cooperation project Some Call Us Balkans (SCUB) is a transdisciplinary inquiry. Since 2017 it has explored and mobilized moments of collective imagination, research and multivocal representations of the Western Balkans (WB) beyond borders and nationalisms. Under the umbrella of socially engaged art practice, SCUB implements innovative artistic research practices and an open-ended, dramaturgical and participatory approach to deconstruct prejudices and misleading stereotypes about the region. The goal is to build a common ground for intercultural understanding, cooperation and social cohesion in the WB. Cross- border cooperation and mobility can be ensured when creative and cultural organizations have the support of institutions and necessary resources to run their cultural projects. At the start SCUB provides all partner-organizations with the opportunity to enhance their managerial and leadership capacity.

Initially, all partners will be asked to compile research on common myths and legends of the WB including topics such as: ecology, migration, urban-rural dichotomy, issues of identity and belongingness and intercultural co-existence. After this first phase of research, SCUB organizes a one-month peer-learning capacity building program in Berlin. This program combines immersion into local cultural realities in the city, empowerment and innovation workshops with collaborative work sessions. It is tailored to empower each organization as cultural leaders of positive societal change at a local and international level, as well as to create a solid common ground to work together in both the short and long run. After the month in Berlin, SCUB project partners will launch an open-call to identify one emerging artist or cultural operator for each country involved in the consortium. The group of eight selected emerging artists will take part in an artists residency in Banja Luka (BiH). During this time the artists will be accompanied by curators, internal and external experts to conceptualize and co-create the culminating Ground Tour Journey. This journey is imagined as a travelling theatre piece and a participatory, research-based, multivocal narrative intervention in the cities where the partners are based. The artists will co-create the Open-Script of the Ground Tour Journey and the participatory format of The Mobile Forum accompanying it.

The Mobile Forum is imagined as a platform for questioning, discussing and imagining different narratives of the region, defying the constraints of national borders and ethnic separation. Conceived as a performative public art installation, it functions as a catalyst – a permeable open exhibition space for cultural democracy and a platform for civic participation to foster intercultural dialogue. The multivocal and multilingual narrations of the Balkans collected during The Ground Tour Journey are documented using interactive audio systems, video, individual artistic responses and critical reflections that will be disseminated through paper and digital publishings. In this way, SCUB will promote intercultural dialogue and cross-border cooperation.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

Manifesta 14 Prishtina_Co- Producing Common Space and Shaping Formations of Solidarity in the Western Balkans and Beyond

05/02/2021

Project Leader: Manifesta foundation, Netherlands

APSS Institut, Montenegro

European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture, Germany

Institute of Contemporary Art, Bulgaria

Kosovo Architecture Foundation, Kosovo*

Meydan d.o.o., Serbia

Municipality of Prishtina, Kosovo*

NGO AKTIV, Kosovo*

Qendra Harabel, Albania

Muzej na sovremenata umetnost skopje, North Macedonia

RRITU, Kosovo*

Udruženje za postkonfliktna istraživanja, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Maximum grant awarded: 429,884.00 €

The International Foundation Manifesta (IFM), initiator of Europe’s only nomadic art biennial, is collaborating with the City of Prishtina to develop Manifesta 14 Prishtina, scheduled to take place in 2022. In an effort to demarginalize culture in Kosovo’s public policies, the City of Prishtina has reached out to Manifesta with an invitation to develop a qualitative and sustainable cultural action in close collaboration with regional partners. Organised at the occasion of Manifesta 14, the project M14WB aims at developing a cross-regional collaboration model which will result in the creation of a new cultural institution that researches, stimulates, and promotes processes of reconciliation. The envisioned institution will address cross-community relations and increase access to arts and education with specific attention to minority groups. The project bolsters international alliances and stimulates intercultural solidarity and regional reconciliation. Promoting critical and sustainable strategies of cultural memory and material preservation, the project is aimed at facilitating artistic co-creation among the partners in the Western Balkans. Building on the belief that democratic and pluralistic societies require independent cultural policies that encourage freedom of expression and are free from corruption, this project aims to advance regional co-production processes. Linking architecture, urban planning, human rights, arts and culture, the project animates the development of an interdisciplinary institution, while furthering social, cultural and technological innovation, cocreation, mobility, and cultural solutions. The partners, all with substantial experience in the domains of arts, urbanism, community and peace building, will jointly investigate and determine the role of the new cultural institution in the advancement of regional reconciliation, as well as stimulating innovative, inclusive, and reflective community-building throughout the Western Balkans.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

(NON)ALIGNED MOVEMENTS Strengthening contemporary dance in Western Balkans

05/02/2021

Project leader: Station Service for contemporary dance, Serbia

Lokomotiva – Centre for New Initiatives in Arts and Culture, North Macedonia

Nomad Dance Academy, Bulgaria

Tanzfabrik, Germany

Nomad Dance Academy, Slovenia

Maximum grant awarded: 499,657.00 €

(Non)Aligned Movements is boosting the creative and collaborative potential of contemporary dance practices in the WB. It reinforces the social impact of Balkan contemporary dance by raising its capacities for action and collaboration, promoting its heritage and inscribing it in future discourses and practices and supporting stronger connections on regional and European levels.

The objectives are (1) to create a positive environment and favorable conditions for Balkan contemporary dance to thrive in the European context; (2) to develop a collective curatorial practice where co-working, co-creation and co-learning drive new organizational models and set an example for collaborative micro-politics; (3) to reinforce the social impact of Balkan contemporary art and culture through dance, peer-to-peer learning, preservation of endangered and unsystematized dance heritage and systematization of knowledge

Three main pillars of the project are (1) Present the past: preservation of dance heritage through research, conceptualization and presentation (exhibitions and digitalisation) enhancing the digitalisation know-how; (2) Reflect the presence: critical discourse and reflection social, cultural and market value of contemporary dance in the Balkan society; (3) Create the future: an eco-responsible way to provide good working conditions for artists and connect them to another context. NAM pays particular attention to the underprivileged communities within the Balkan contemporary dance scene: women, LGBTQI and body diverse artists, practices and experiences are given priority.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

CAN for BALKANS – Comics Alliance Networking for Balkans

05/02/2021

Project leader: Muzeul Judetean de Istorie Brasov, Romania

Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinee, Belgium

National Historical Museum, Albania

Strip centar na Makedonija, North Macedonia

Association of comic book and written words lovers “Nikola Mitrović Kokan”, Serbia

Maximum grant awarded: 254,705.00 €

Historically, comic books in the Balkans have a past marked by nationalist discourses and Communist propaganda or simply, they do not have a past (the case of Albania). Unfortunately, in many cases sins of the past characterize the present-day comic books in the Balkans, which is why the regional artistic market of historical comic books is scarce, divided and autarchic.

Consortium of partners from Albania, Belgium, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia want to change the perspective and say “YES” to the creation of cross-border cultural network which should make cooperation between artists and experts from the world of historical comic books in the Western Balkans and the European Union easier, in the spirit of the values of the European Union.

In order to reach this aim, the consortium aims to:

Moreover, this project is not only directed to the professional target group (artists, experts, organisations) or comic book lovers, but it also encompasses the wider public and local communities of project partners with the aim of increasing the comic book audience through free access to the most attractive cultural events (travelling exhibition of project in partner countries), and on the Internet (digital platform).


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

Translation in Motion

05/02/2021

Project leader: Réseau Européen des Centres Internationaux de Traducteurs Littéraires (RECIT), France

Association pour la Promotion de la Traduction Litteraire, France

Drustvo za izdavanje, promet i uslugi GOTEN GRUP, North Macedonia

Fondacia “Sledvashta Stranica”, Bulgaria

OKF d.o.o., Montenegro

Östersjöns Författar – Och Översättarcentrum (Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators), Sweden

Sabiedriba ar Ierobezotu Atbildibu Starptautiska Rakstnieku un Tulkotaju Maja, Lithuania

Shoqata Poeteka, Albania

Association KROKODIL, Serbia

Maximum grant awarded: 347.468 €

The project “Translation In Motion” represents a contribution to the pool of high quality contemporary translation material in the field of European literature. With the focus on translation to and from the languages of the Western Balkans, within the “Translation in motion” project, in the period of three years, in nine different countries, 32 translation residences will be organized, in order to secure favorable conditions for work, research and interaction within the language are of the target language for literary translators. With the possibility of establishing professional contact, familiarization with the audience, publishers and agents from the host country, one-month translation residences also imply 60 events which will be open for the wider public. Apart from this, numerous workshops with leading experts from this field will be organized. Translators will apply to work on still unpublished translation.

Within the project various genres will be involved, with a special focus on works of children’s literature and youth literature. The final result of the project assumes the minimum of 25 translated books. The aim of the project “Translation in motion” is improving conditions and creating sustainable resources for continuous translation of literary works, and also support to centres for translation residences – leading institutions for internationalization of literary works.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkans

05/02/2021

Project leader: Association Fenomena, Serbia

Association for Development of Culture and Ecology Sensus, North Macedonia

BeoArt Contemporary, Serbia

SPES, Montenegro

Association for Encouraging the Development of Human Potential and Creativity – Prizma, Croatia

Zavod Lokarjeva galerija, Slovenia

Maximum grant awarded: 307.171 €

Imagine what energy a woman carries in herself and what she can do in synergy with more women in a single place. We offer one part of the answer to this question through the project “Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkans”. In order to reach the share goal, emphasizing the role of women in creating reality through art, culture and other social spheres, we, women, artists, extra-institutional curators, experts in the field of digital marketing, research, cultural diplomacy, copyrights and feminist movement have gathered around different activities.

Contemporary age is the age of diversity to which art responds with diversity in expression and the media. Understanding and acceptance are key. Art connects, which will be presented in the visual sense through two exhibitions “A woman about a woman”, in the real and virtual space alike and in a documentary series. Through joint activity of curators and artists we are striving to encourage cooperation and raise awareness about the female point of view and reacting to reality.

Since the project is envisaged as a process, as the essence of creativity is in the process out of which a visible image of reality is born, so is the focus in activities included in the project to research, educate, communicate, collaborate, spend time together, and also adapt to modern digital technologies through VR technologies. Being aware of the necessity of youthful energy and with the desire to encourage it, we created the Residential programme which will gather 30 young artists from the territories of the Western Balkans and Europe, as well as encourage them to further cooperation and exchange. By connecting curators equally from the non-institutional and the institutional sectors, we open the field to connect and encourage future project with a similar topic. Wider visibility of the content we are dealing with, the identity of the woman in contemporary art, culture and society is offered on our website and through recording and broadcasting the documentary series and the final publication.

Great feminist contribution to the entirety of the project is given by the leader of the project Association Fenomena, which has been active in the field of improving human rights, i.e. gender equality, improving the position of women in Serbia, for the past fourteen years. As the project is based on activity and cooperation of NGOs in culture, apart from Fenomena, there are also associations BeoArt Contemporary, Spes, Sensus, Udruga Prizma and Lokrajeva galerija who support the artistic side of the project, and some of them are focused on younger generations.

Therefore, the project is based on 95% participation of women in culture, their gathering and connecting, with the aim of raising awareness of the role of women in culture in the Western Balkans. Project activities, in addition to a series of lectures, educational workshops and a panel with a focus on creativity and the role of the extra-institutional sector in culture, two exhibitions in real and virtual space, research, documentary series, establishing a network of curators and a publication which will encompass all activities in one place. We have chosen the notion of LOVE for our identity, including and linking all mentioned aspects.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

RE:PLAY – Redesigning playscapes with children in Western Balkans

05/02/2021

Project leader: Pazi!Park!, Slovenia

Kreativni krajobrazi, Croatia

Škogled, Serbia

Qendra Marrëdhënie (Relationship Center), Albania

Gradionica, Montenegro

Maximum grant awarded: 424,947.00 €

For centuries, educators and theorists of childhood have stressed that children do not need to be disciplined to learn so much, but rather to be provided with the right environment and tools to pursue their learning themselves. Unstructured play in nature enables children to take risks, explore their curiosity, and cultivate their imagination, independence, and empathy for others – traits that shape their ability to learn throughout life. Yet increasingly, urban childhood is hyper-supervised, tightly scheduled, socially divided and disconnected from the natural world. The last decades of auto-centric planning have drastically reduced children’s ability to move and play independently in the city. Cultural norms surrounding early childhood have become preoccupied with minimizing risk, and this is reflected in the often boring, risk-free brand of play design that treats childhood as a liability that must be managed.

But play is too vital to neglect – it should be recognized as a form of public expression as important as music or art, and should be prioritized by urban design as much as walking or resting. We have a responsibility as cultural practitioners and urbanists to make this so. While design cannot dictate how play takes place, it can create spatial and material conditions for more enriching kinds of play to unfold.

The RE:PLAY project presents a dialogical and collaborative approach to rethinking play as a distinctly human capacity. It highlights the significance of designing spaces for (and with) children to feel free of bounds, particularly in the Western Balkan (WB) context, where urban design is marked by social, political and cultural boundaries that translate to segregated and often privatized playscapes. The RE:PLAY partners will pioneer a co-creative design process involving children as primary collaborators, with the aim of transforming the status quo of play design in the WB and creating more inclusive and exciting infrastructures of play in our cities. The project will enable the exchange of expertise on working with children of different age and from different socio/economic/cultural registers and will result in a regional network leaving behind five collectively designed and build public playgrounds.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

Immersive Storytelling Driven Cooperation for Cultural Heritage Dissemination in Western Balkans

05/02/2021

Project Leader: Association centre for Socialinnovations Blink 42-21, North Macedonia

Arheološki institut, Serbia

Aristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis, Greece

Balkan Heritage Foundation (Fondatsiya “Balkansko nasledstvo”), Bulgaria

Muzej in galerije mesta Ljubljane, Slovenia

Navipro d.o.o., Slovenia

Nacionalna ustanova za upravuvanje so arheološkiot lokalitet Stobi, North Macedonia

Maximum grant awarded: 338.055 €

Cultural heritage represents an incredible meeting point for collaboration of the cultural and creative sectors. Its value lays in the storytelling potential it offers. Visitors often lack engagement, learning opportunity, as well as shearing the relevant information in a creative and concise manner. General information sharing is problematic on cultural heritage sites in the Western Balkans, since they lack good visual presentation and audience engagement. The needs, as well as the attention span of the audiences are drastically changing so the aforementioned institutions must adapt to the new environment and the contemporary digital shift. The specific needs of these sites, due to their more conservative, historically preconditioned concept of presentation, provide a bigger challenge for innovation and joint collaboration with creative industries. The highly competitive market for attracting audience demands from them to develop new strategies and foster progressive collaboration that allows them to stand out and succeed. This requires creation of an innovative dissemination cooperation, based on the use of advanced technologies and the enhancement of user experience. These challenges are not unique to cultural heritage institutions of a particular country but rather distinctive to the whole Western Balkans. Therefore, a new Storytelling Driven Cooperation designed with the intention to build up capacities of the aforementioned institutions with a final goal to develop more immersive storytelling experiences for the visitors of cultural heritage sites is essential. This project will further extend the cooperation between the project partners and provide a base for development of the capacities of cultural institutions to explore the capabilities of immersive storytelling in creating narratives and experiences that will attract new audiences and disseminate the values of cultural heritage further.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

The Ways of the Heroes

05/02/2021

Project Leader: Macedonian national theatre, North Macedonia

Association for Promotion and Development of Cultural Activities Studio Teatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Associazione “La Dramaturgie”, Italy

Eho Animato, Serbia

Loop Amke, Greece

Publishing House Gavrosh Dooel, North Macedonia

Studio za raziskavo umetnosti igre, Slovenia

Maximum grant awarded: 395,183.00 €

Social apathy and absence of agency, especially in WB countries, is a shared problem that all partners have recognized. The project will artistically examine this problem and offer ways to deal with it, while focusing on the most concerning issue that needs our immediate action: the environment. Do we need to see the color of the air that we breathe in order to act? Why don’t we react even when our basic survival is at stake?

WB partner countries involved, MK, RS and B&H, are dealing with a burning question of air pollution, but partners from countries with more developed environmental policies: SLO IT, GR are also affected by climate crisis. This will be an impulse to question the responsibility in times of crisis. We will gather the facts: but the question is what do we DO with these facts? How do we ACT as individuals and communities? How do we react politically, socially and emotionally to the crisis?

Good news is that there are heroes among us, and they can show us the ways! There are many individuals acting for the good cause, but they are not visible enough. Inspired by Ibsen’s play “An Enemy of the People” which questions the impact of the individual on the community and vice versa, we will focus on making visible their stories to the audiences through theatre, public space performances, exhibition, illustrated book for children and online campaigns.

We will also analyze how do we, as artists, affect the environment through our work processes. An international team working on the co-production will gather the documentary materials through all project activities and reinterpret the play. By engaging on a multidisciplinary level, we aim to bring dynamics to the public theatre sector and create contemporary theatre that is rooted in the needs of its community. Sense of belonging is important for individual identity. We will share good practice stories to inspire our communities to follow the ways of the heroes.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

Regional Lab: New Culture Spaces and Networks as drivers of an Innovative and Sustainable Bottom-up Development of Regional Collaboration

05/02/2021

Project Leader: Kooperativa – Regionalna platforma za kulturu, Croatia

Alliance Operation City, Croatia

Anibar, Kosovo*

Association independent cultural scene of Serbia, Serbia

Društvo asociacija, Slovenia

JADRO – Association of the Independent Culture Scene Skopje, North Macedonia

Omladinski kulturni centar Abrašević, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Maximum grant awarded: 424.010 €

In the past decade intensive bottom-up developments emerged in the region of West Balkan and South East Europe mostly among the civil sector in culture. The necessity of new models of organizing, working and governing outside traditional institutional framework encouraged regional peer-to-peer exchange of knowledge and experience. This project builds on the existing experiences and collaborations and further develops regional and European exchange, creating dynamic scheme of artistic exchange between cultural centers, creating evidence based knowledge on new participatory models of operation, building capacities and skills of artists and cultural operators to act regionally and internationally and raising visibility of regional collaboration both on local and European level. The project represents an opportunity for actors in the region to create sustainable and stable frame for future development of regional collaboration taking more active role in the processes of transition, reconciliation and mutual support. It will provides up-to-date map and analysis on existing innovative participative arrangements related to program collaboration, management and governance within the civil sector in culture and will articulate this topic on the larger transnational scale maintaining an ownership of bottom-up collaborative processes. The project also provides reliable tools as a common know-how available for further use on European level. Combining peer-to-peer logic of exchange of experiences and skills with expertise approach, within mentorship and twining formats, the project will provide trainings on practical skills needed for successful implementation of transnational cultural programs. Finally, it enables recognition and greater participation of Western Balkan artistic and cultural scene in European cultural ‘ecosystem’, continuing and enhancing efforts of other actors, such as European cultural networks.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

#synergy: Sharpening the capacities of the classical music industry in the Western Balkans

05/02/2021

Project Leader: Don Branko Sbutega Foundation, Montenegro

Centar beogradskih festivala – CEBEF, Serbia

Festival Ljubljana, Slovenia

Dubravacke ljetne igre, Croatia

Kosovo Chopin Association, Kosovo*

Vox Baroque, Albania

Maximum grant awarded: 410,930.00 €

The project #Synergy aims to overcome the obstacles which at present threaten the art music sector in the WB, which are the consequences of small and fragmented art markets, of unequal economic development, and of recent conflicts in the region. The project underlines the need for cooperation between the WB and EU countries in the field of classical contemporary music, which will result in a greater recognition of this important peripheral CCI sector on a European scale.

The title of the project reflects its primary goals: to sharpen the skills of the participants (in classical music, the sign ‘#’ is called ‘sharp’) and to synergize the activities of the project partners. The project connects six relevant art music festivals from the WB and EU (Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo*, Slovenia and Croatia). The festivals will co-commission new pieces by selected mid-career composers (2 composers per festival, 12 in total). Each composer will take part in a residence program in another project country and he/she will write a piece which provides an artistic response to a chosen socially relevant topic. These pieces will be performed by selected emerging classical music performers from all project countries (ca. 40 in total) who will present this new music to audiences throughout WB and in EU project countries. Thus, composers and performers will receive a strong international boost, while the festivals will benefit from the transnational exchange of know-how and resources which is, at the moment, virtually non-existent.

In parallel, the project partners will undertake activities to further develop their own capacities in cultural management. Six workshops will be organized (one per partner) dealing with different relevant issues of the industry, involving participants in peer-learning and experience sharing. The independent expert Research group will work on the policy analysis which will result in a guidebook for classical music industry in the WB and further.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

Balkan Translation Collider

05/02/2021

Project Leader: Fondacia “Sledvashta Stranica”, Bulgaria

Drustvo za izdavanje, promet i uslugi GOTEN GRUP, North Macedonia

Glavni grad Podgorica, Montenegro

Shoqata poeteka, Albania

Srsen Ivan, Croatia

Udruženje ARGH, Serbia

Maximum grant awarded: 324.234 €

The Balkan Translation Collider project is born out of partners’ common commitment – as literary NGOs, associations, small publishing businesses, literary agents, book fairs/ festivals organisers and city authorities – to overcome the barriers to literary cooperation within the Western Balkans and between the region and the EU member states. The project is focused on collaborative capacity building for literary managers and hands-on learning in international setting. It will equip the literary mediators of the future with new professional contacts, new knowledge of the international book markets, motivation and confidence to operate transnationally. The project will also create a platform for dialogue between the independent sector, the cultural industry of publishing and the policy-makers in the Western Balkan countries. On a long run, the project will lead to an increased visibility of Balkan writers and literatures of today across language barriers.


Cooperation in the Western Balkans

ReCulture: Re- branding of Cultural Institutions in Western Balkans

05/02/2021

Project Leader: Kulturni centar Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Udruženje “INK Fest”, Serbia

Fakultet dramskih umetnosti, Serbia

Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, France

Fiels OG, Austria

Muzej savremene umjetnosti Republike Srpske, Bosnia and Herzegovina

“Umjetnicka kolonija”Danilovgrad, Montenegro

Maximum grant awarded: 466,852 €

The overall aim of the ReCulture project is establishing a basis for improved visibility and modernized appearance of Western Balkan cultural institutions by supporting the inter-sectoral linking and cooperation between cultural and creative industries within the Western Balkans and EU Member States. Specific project objectives are: 1) Capacity building of cultural institutions from Western Balkans through reconstructing their visual identities and developing new skills in strategic approach towards audience development and communication practices; 2) Gaining new professional experiences and expertise of young WB designers through fostering cooperation within WB and acquiring and practising new designing skills shared by EU and WB design professionals and 3) Promoting new marketing and audience development approaches and testing new models of revenue of WB cultural institutions through education on new business skills, production of limited series of souvenirs and development of on-line souvenir shops. Four WB cultural institutions (BIH, MN, RS) will familiarize with best EU practices in modern communication and audience development, get new visual identity and skills to strategically develop and maintain new communication and audience development approaches. Group of young WB designers will acquire wide range of experiences and skills and use them to, under mentoring of recognized EU and WB professionals, work on re-branding of four WB cultural institutions and thus improve their professional portfolios and employability. The process will be based on strategic participatory analyses of the work of WB cultural institutions followed with production and dissemination of set of documents with recommendations both for designers and institutions. Artistic and cultural events in BIH, MN and RS including Novi Sad EcoC 2022, will ensure learning between EU and WB institutions and professionals, and promotion of project outputs and outcomes.


News

Perform Europe is launched!

01/02/2021

Perform Europe is a highly-anticipated project which will support experiments to make international touring of the performing arts more sustainable, inclusive and balanced. The aim? To collectively test and design a future European support scheme for cross-border touring and digital distribution of the performing arts.

Over 18 months, Perform Europe will explore and test sustainable touring practices – on artistic, human, social, economic and ecological levels. It will also promote the digital world as an exciting domain for experimentation in the performing arts.

We will seek to reach out to diverse groups of performing arts professionals and audiences, who usually do not take part in or benefit from international touring of the performing arts. And we will strive to achieve a balanced representation of various players.

What is happening between the start of 2021 and summer 2022? In a nutshell:


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