Published: 06 Aug 2020
Three awards totalling €1.13 million have been announced by Creative Europe towards collaborative European projects involving creative and cultural organisations in Scotland.
Edinburgh Printmakers, Puppet Animation Scotland, Craft Scotland and National Youth Orchestras of Scotland are amongst the 20 awards to 22 UK organisations in projects that are receiving a total of €1.75 million.
Edinburgh Printmakers is thrilled to have been successful in a new Creative Europe funded project establishing Europe’s first ever Studios of Sanctuary network for refugee and migrant artists.
In from the Margins is a three-year programme working with artists with experience of displacement; exchanges of their work; and engagement with refugees, schools and wider communities.
This project will offer opportunities for 30 artists from refugee and migrant backgrounds to take up supported residencies in internationally recognised print studios: Edinburgh Printmakers, Scotland; Cork Printmakers, Ireland; AGA Lab, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Funen Printmaking Studio, Odense, Denmark; and the International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
These organisations all have a strong history of social engagement, based in multi-cultural cities on the margins of Europe, either on coastal fringes or in the far East of Europe.
This project will bring the work of refugee and migrant artists 'in from the margins' to mainstream programming and look for ways to explore and celebrate cultures and artistic traditions which are marginalised by the Western artistic canon and traditional programming.
In from the Margins emerged from a Scotland – Europe project supported by the British Council & Creative Scotland, for Edinburgh Printmakers to develop a network of European partners working with artists and refugee and migrant communities.
The Studio of Sanctuary model grew from Edinburgh Printmakers’ Chief Executive Shân Edwards’ work establishing the first UK ‘Studio of Sanctuary’ project at The Art House, Wakefield, where she worked as Artistic Director/Chief Executive with Mohammed Barrangi Fashtami, an artist originally from Iran who became resident artist in Wakefield.
Edinburgh Printmakers' Chief Executive Shân Edwards said: “We’re so excited to be able to work with this amazing partnership of studios across Europe. We’ve been working on the project for two years and it has never felt more important to ensure that artists from refugee and migrant backgrounds have a safe and supported space to share and make their work and share stories and cultures.”
Main partners: Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Slovenia
Contemporary Puppetry Critical Platform is a two year project between four European puppetry festivals led by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre in Slovenia, with other partners in Scotland (Puppet Animation Scotland / Manipulate Festival), Lithuania (Lele Theatre) and Croatia (the Academy of Arts & Culture). Together they will present a series of seminars, workshops, discussions, artists’ and critics’ residencies and exchanges, exploring and sharing knowledge about the aesthetics and current best practice of contemporary puppetry, to inform and strengthen the art form’s and practitioners’ future resilience and sustainability.
Simon Hart, Puppet Animation Scotland, said, “We will learn so much from our partners as we work with them to harness the best of the varied valued traditions and working methods of puppetry in their countries to inform and inspire current and future Scottish artists and audiences to engage meaningfully with this versatile and endlessly intriguing art form.”
Main partners: Slovenia, Croatia and Lithuania
Craft Hub is a 3-year, 9 partner project designed to showcase the wealth of European Craft practice within the context of cultural heritage and its continuing relevance in contemporary practice.
The project will investigate and document craft skills and processes through a comprehensive and exciting program supporting the creation of new work. Activities planned include transnational maker residencies and a programme of outreach work including a festival, exhibitions and conferences. These activities will build towards the creation of a Digital Repository, a unified ongoing Craft ‘archive’ in the form of a material library and multi-media content addressing sector concerns by exploring and documenting ‘at risk’ & lost/ recovered Craft skills & processes.
Irene Kernan, Director of Craft Scotland said, “Craft Scotland is excited to be partnering with other institutions and organisations on a project that will have a significant legacy for the sector.”
Main partners: Ireland, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Portugal and Wales
MusXchange, a long-standing partnership between the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO), and now is successful in securing funding for its next phase.
Nick Zekulin, Director of National Youth Orchestras of Scotland said, “NYOS is delighted that EFNYO was successful in achieving 2020 Cooperation Project funding. Our membership of this network is vital in enabling us to provide opportunities for talented young artists to meet their peers from around Europe, to engage in cultural sharings and to make music with new friends.”
---
These are the results of the final round of annual Cooperation Projects calls under the EU’s current Creative Europe programme (2014 – 2020). There will be some further small calls coming up later in 2020 under this programme, for which UK organisations and companies will be eligible.
41 countries currently take part in Creative Europe, from Iceland to Tunisia, Ireland to Georgia. From 2021, there will be a new 7 year Creative Europe programme, in which UK organisations and companies will be able to take part in projects to a limited degree as associate partners.
However, as the UK will not be seeking to be part of the future programme, UK organisations and companies will not be able to lead or be full partners in partnerships under this future programme.
For a summary of recent results and participation in the Creative Europe programme in Scotland, you can view Creative Europe Desk UK’s submission to the Scottish Parliament Arts Inquiry
If you have any questions around past, current or future Creative Europe opportunities, Kate Deans, based at Creative Scotland, is your contact point in Scotland. Don’t hesitate to drop her a line at kate.deans@creativescotland.com
