Open The Door: EFA launches initiative at the occasion of 2010 European Year

At the occasion of the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion the European Festivals Association (EFA) launches its 2010 flagship project “Open The Door” (www.Open-The-Door.eu). As in previous European Years, EFA has been awarded official partner of the European Union. “Open The Door” invites festivals to invest into and reflect upon the transforming power of arts and culture in our societies today. The initiative was launched on 12 February 2010 in Stockholm in collaboration with 13 national festivals associations and 4 cultural networks. They bring together more than 1000 festivals from all over Europe.

www.Open-The-Door.eu is yet another important contribution of the European Festivals Association to engage festivals in a joint commitment of raising awareness for societal issues at stake in Europe and beyond. Under the motto “Festivals: Open Doors. Open Minds. Build Societies!” EFA showcases examples that demonstrate the privileged position of festivals to provide the means for everyone to experience culture.

“Festivals open doors to new artistic forms, new performers, new audiences, unusual venues, unknown cultures, new points of view, new approaches to arts and the world, new social orders, new political discussions. This year, we would like to show how festivals open minds and help building societies,” underlines EFA Secretary General Kathrin Deventer during the launch of the initiative in Stockholm.

Throughout the year, different activities are planned: The 2010 EFA General Assembly and Conference in Merano/Italy (8-11 April 2010) is to open doors for new artists and new audiences; a reception celebrating the election of Croatian President and Director of Music Biennale Zagreb (member of EFA) in Zagreb in June is to open the door to joined cultural activities between the EU accession country and EU countries; a first joint meeting between EFA and AAPAF, the Asian Association of Performing Arts Festivals, envisioned in September is to open doors to collaboration between European and Asian festivals, amongst others. Furthermore, commitment can be expressed on the project website – www.Open-The-Door.eu – at any time.

Following the Arts Festivals’ Declaration on Intercultural Dialogue, the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation as well as the launch of the European House for Culture, EFA and its members continue to play a key role as powerful messengers for a cultural Europe!

Call for case study contributions to NEW TIMES NEW MODELS conference

January 28th-30th 2010 at the independent cultural centre Pekarna in Maribor, Slovenia

The core issue of New Times New Models (NTNM) is how relations can be improved between public authorities, the private sector and independent cultural centres. The NTNM conference will investigate this topic by presenting case studies, speeches by experts and experienced practitioners and working sessions in smaller breakout groups to reach informed conclusions.

Trans Europe Halles and Pekarna kindly invite you to participate and contribute with case studies of good and difficult practice cases of independent cultural centres using public cultural infrastructure from the EU and the Western Balkans. Selected authors will be invited and reimbursed to participate in the conference.

Read more here...

FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 6 / 2009: Festivals world-wide engage in innovative collaborations

Again, the featured projects in the sixth edition of the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation prove that festivals are excellent platforms to foster intercultural dialogue. But what’s more, they are excellent vehicles to exploit the exchange between cultures and stimulate the establishment of innovative collaboration activities.

Before looking into creative practices and news of festivals from Occident to Orient, from Asia to South-America, some news at a glance:

What is the role of cultural diversity as a basis for creativity and innovation? The 6th Brussels Debate came to the conclusion: “Cultural diversity broadens our vision and makes us appreciate the different ways of seeing and doing things in other cultures. This openness allows us to select and absorb elements of other cultures, helping to produce new ways of thinking, seeing, imagining and creating.”

Food for thought for a new innovation policy in the policy-making process is also given through e.g. a manifesto by the Ambassadors of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation; a position paper by the working group “Creativity/Creation” of the Access to Culture Platform; a joint statement by the European sectoral social partners ‘live performance’; as well as the EFA statement guiding the mission of the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation.

In the most recent Brussels Debate (19 November 2009) Ruta Prusiviciene, Director Vilnius Festival, stressed that “too often arts and culture are not priority in policies.” In this regard a real dialogue between the different sectors – arts, culture, business, science, research – is more than needed!

Innovative and creative projects are initiated by festivals all over the world. The two major Mexican festivals - Festival Internacional Cervantino and Festival de México – are two excellent examples of development of new and challenging programmes. They are aware that collaborating with festivals from different countries and continents can only be enriching – both for artist and audience!

Find out which festivals all over the world collaborate with whom!

The FestLab for Creativity and Innovation is an initiative of the European Festivals Association launched at the occasion of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. It is established to spotlight the excellence of festivals in the creative and societal process and to give incentives to successfully fulfill the festivals’ core mission which still is the artistic one.

Download the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 6/2009 here. Keep an eye on the FestFlash that is distributed widely – it is also featured on the EFA FestLab website!

To receive the FestFlash by e-mail, write to Juliane@efa-aef.eu .

How Not to go Mad Working in an Independent Cultural Centre?

PRESS RELEASE: Upcoming TEH Meeting 68 in Cracow

First Trans Europe Halles (TEH) meeting in Poland will discuss revitalization and creative thinking.

Trans Europe Halles (TEH) is a network of independent cultural centers established in former industrial buildings. Currently it has 49 members and 7 friend organizations in 26 countries. The 15th – 18th of October members from all over Europe gather at the cultural centre Laznia Nowa in Cracow, Poland, for 4 intensive days.

As one of Europe’s most active cultural networks we are happy to see a constant growing interest for our activities and actions. TEH Meeting 68 has been fully booked for weeks – and new potential members from The Czech Republic, Russia and Slovakia will participate and present their centres during the meeting.

The culture centre Laznia Nowa is based in a former industrial area of Cracow called Nowa Huta. It opened in 2005 and it is continuously fighting against prejudices about the area, trying to show that it is a district with many opportunities. In the Saturday panel debate, the topic of revitalization will be used as a starting-point for more fundamental discussions about the need of culture and the relation between culture, cultural centres and their local communities.

The aim of TEH Meeting 68 is to exchange experiences, make new contacts, planning collaboration and exchanges. The meeting will include a CHANGING ROOM training day with workshops that will help participants develop both their mental capacity, the skills of their staff, their centre’s governance/structure and the way they apply for funds and implement European projects.

CHANGING ROOM is a project by Trans Europe Halles, looking for new ways of increasing and enhancing the cross-border mobility of cultural operators in Europe. For more information, please visit www.teh.net/changingroom.


Information about the meeting will be updated on www.teh.net

For more information please contact

Anna Weitz
TEH Marketing and Communication Manager
anna@teh.net, Mobile: +46-(0)-766347611

Magdalena Podziewska
Laznia Nowa
mpodziewska@laznianowa.pl

European House for Culture launched in Brussels

On 27 September 2009, at the Flagey in Brussels, the European House for Culture, an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA) was publically presented. More than 100 invited guests attended the official launch of the House that ambitions to be a meeting place for cultural actors and all who support the arts and confirm their commitment to living culture in Europe.

In her opening speech Commission Director General Odile Quintin applauds “that this House is a space of synergy between the different sectors of European Culture and also between the European institutions and the world of Culture. Bravo for having created this House.” The statement underlines the willingness to seize the opportunities the House will create. Hugo De Greef, founding member of the House and former Secretary General of EFA, stresses: "The cultural lobby sometimes seems abstract or virtual. Our own efforts to develop a recognisable physical place like the House here at the Flagey can change that."

Following the artistic opening with Thespian Play by Falk Hübner, the President of the European House for Culture, Frans de Ruiter, reiterated the mission of the House: to serve as a landing dock and a place of welcome for cultural operators and to build bridges between the sector, policy-makers and civil society.

Members and partners of the House engaged into a lively exchange of thoughts and expectations: Jacques De Decker, Rose Fenton and Bernard Faivre d’Arcier (members), Ilona Kish and Jean-Pierre Deru (partners), Katelijn Verstraete (Acting Director Cultural Exchange Department of the Europe-Asia Foundation) and Helena Drnovsek-Zorko (Head Division for International Cultural Relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia) share the firm belief that the House can be the stage from where the cultural sector can project its voice, a space for communication, dialogue and shared values.

The evening was closed with a reading of a speech of Victor Hugo by Michael Lonsdale underlining once again the spirit of the House: “I do not merely say it is capable of being put into practice, but I add that it is inevitable.”

For more information about the launch, the programme, the contributions, the concept of the House, visit the EFA website at www.efa-aef.eu/en/activities/european-house-for-culture.

Download the press release here.

Contact:

European House for Culture
Place Flagey 18
1050 B-Brussels
T + 32 9 241 80 81
E houseforculture@efa-aef.eu

FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation

Innovative alliances and strong commitments are the key aspects in order to further develop a cultural Europe based on creativity and participation. The fifth edition of the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation highlights:

• the International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, one of the first partners of the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation is looking for innovative alliances;
• the latest meeting in the framework of the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation in Linz provided the grounds for new alliances by bringing together the directors of Europe’s major festivals;
• the European House for Culture, officially presented to the public on 27 September 2009, offers a platform for cultural networks to develop innovative partnerships.
  

All this in the strong belief that Europe is first and foremost a cultural project and that culture must play a vital role in shaping the overall development of Europe: The European Festivals Association remains committed!

Further highlights of creative and innovative projects of festivals in this FestFlash edition: Gaudeamus Prize 2009, Brucknerfest Linz, international literature festival Berlin, Emilia Romagna Festival, and the European Week of Festivals of Italiafestival. Find out more!

The FestLab for Creativity and Innovation is an initiative of the European Festivals Association launched at the occasion of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. It is established to spotlight the excellence of festivals in the creative and societal process and to give incentives to successfully fulfill the festivals’ core mission which still is the artistic one.

EFA invites all arts festivals to sign up to the initiative “FestLab for Creativity and Innovation” and commit to its objective. Read the Open Call here.

Download the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 5/2009 here. Keep an eye on the FestFlash that is distributed widely – it is also featured on the EFA FestLab website!

To receive the FestFlash by e-mail, write to Juliane@efa-aef.eu .

Lady Macbeth is a baboon?

The premiere of The Okavango Macbeth was hosted in Botswana on Saturday night, a new opera written by Alexander McCall Smith, to an audience of just 70 people.

McCall Smith, who is the author of the popular No1 Ladies Detective Agency series, rewrote the famous Scottish tragedy and transfers the plot onto a cast of 20 baboons.

The Okavango Macbeth - which was inspired by a real encounter McCall Smith had with two primatologists in the Okavango Delta - features a cast of mainly amateurs who had only sang in choirs before the performance.

The plot focuses on a group of primatologists who observe a troupe of baboons, and cannot intervene as Lady Macbeth persuades a rival male to kill her mate and lead the troupe himself.

The opera premiered at the No1 Ladies Opera House situated on the outskirts of Gaborone, a former garage that only has room for 70 audience members and was opened by McCall Smith last year.

The opera is the first of its kind to premiere in Africa, with choral singing being an integral part of African culture and opera being a Western form.

Speaking to The Guardian, Gape Motswaledi who plays the role of the lead primatologist explained, "In Botswana, we don’t really know about opera or solo singing. But there is a lot of talent here.

"The existence of this opera house offers a fantastic opportunity for this country."

Read more on The Guardian website: http://bit.ly/ENpVu
BBC website: http://bit.ly/9FQFP

WRITERS WANTED for the CHANGING ROOM Toolkit

Do you like to write? Do you like to travel? Have you ever worked or studied in another country? If your answers are yes to any of these questions the CHANGING ROOM Toolkit would like to hear from you.

The CHANGING ROOM Toolkit is a web-based resource for European cultural operators* that will go on-line in January 2010. It will include the Matchmaker, an exchange and hosting tool for individuals and organisations, a direct link to a new European cultural jobs service and a Wikipedia style information resource – called the Knowledge Base.

The aim of the Knowledge Base is to provide practical information on the areas and issues related to working, volunteering, exploring, travelling and studying in Europe. Once launched, people will be able to add and edit content, as is the case with Wikipedia.

Now, we are all inviting members, friends and contacts of TEH to contribute content and copy for the Knowledge Base. This could include a very short piece of short practical information from your own country, a narrative on your experiences of working in another country or your views on an issue related to working in your country or across Europe.

If you are interested in being part of the Toolkit or want to find out more, please send an e mail to Paul Bogen, the Changing Room Project manager at: paul.bogen@btinternet.com

If you know anyone else who might be interested, please pass this information on to him or her.

CHANGING ROOM is initiated by Trans Europe Halles - a European Network of Independent Cultural Centres.

CHANGING ROOM is one of four projects that were awarded support by the new European Commission funding line for networks supporting mobility. The project is co-organised by The Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland, the largest music university in Scandinavia and Melkweg, an internationally renown multidisciplinary arts venue in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Europe's tallest skyscraper to go-ahead in St Petersburg

Plans to build Europe’s largest skyscraper in St Petersburg are to go ahead, despite complaints that the building will jeopardize the cities status as a world heritage site.

The governor of St Petersburg, Valentina Matviyenko, gave the green light for the Okhta tower to be created despite meeting resistance from residents and Unesco.

The skyscraper has been designed by Scottish architects RMJM, and is expected to reach a height of 396m (1,229ft). The tower will include a music hall, an art museum and sports facilities, costing an estimated $3 billion, (£1.8 billion) in total to construct.

Previously the maximum height for buildings in St Petersburg was restricted to 100m, intending to preserve the architectural plan of Peter the Great in the Tsarist-era of the capital.

Speaking to the BBC, director of RMJM Peter Kettle said: "This is about doing something truly world class on the world stage and it is very positive for the city of St Petersburg.

"I was trying to capture the sense of the movement of the city, the river Neva and its buildings."

A representative for Unesco claims that the tower could place St Petersburg on the "World Heritage in danger" list for next year.

The project has been steeped in controversy since it first began in 2006, due to it’s associations with Russian power giant Gazprom Neft, which will host its headquarters in the tower. It is highly unlikely the plans to build the skyscraper will go unheeded, with the companies close ties to President Medvedev (former chair) and Vladimir Putin.

The building has already been nicknamed the "Corn on the cob" for the way it spirals in its design.

Watch a video of the skyscraper- http://bit.ly/YN8EF

Candidates announced for UK’s first “City” of Culture

It has been revealed that so far, 29 cities and local areas have nominated themselves as potential candidates for the UK’s first ‘City of Culture’, a title to be bestowed and held throughout 2013.

With London and its boroughs being excluded from nominating, the opportunity has been designed to allow an area to showcase its ability to host high profile events, as well as interpreting their vision of ‘culture’ throughout 2013. It also creates the opportunity for economic regeneration for the area, with the hopes that the title will provide an influx of money via an increase in tourism.

The title of ‘City of Culture’ is a flexible one, with towns such as Chorley and Barnsley, as well as, curiously enough, “The Countryside” featuring on the list. Although I feel it is important to highlight the cultural offerings available in the UK outside of London, I wonder at the capabilities some of the nominated areas have to play host to these important occasions.

With “The Countryside” participating to make some form of political statement, and one city (or possibly local area) resistant to be revealed even at this initial stage, there seems to be a sense that the whole thing isn’t being taken very seriously.

With the Brits and the Turner Prize expressing a willingness to relocate their high-profile events to the chosen locale, the responsibility to put on a good show will be high for the winning city (or, again, local area). I hope that the competition really does have the capability to seek out a hidden cultural gem on this fair island.

The shortlist will be revealed in January next year, with the winner to be announced at Easter.

The World Beach Project

Open to anyone, everywhere The World Beach Project invites members of the public to upload photographs online of artwork they have created themselves on beaches across the world.

An idea created by Sue Lawty in collaberation with the Victoria and Albert Museum, over 500 pictures have already been submitted on an international scale - ranging from Iceland to South Africa.

The criteria for submitting pictures are that they must be created from organic material found on the beach, such as pebbles or seaweed. Three photographs have to be taken; one of the art work in process, a photograph of the location and finally a photo of the finished product.

Lawty describes her inspiration for the project as being intially linked to her fascination with stones.

She said on the V&A website, "World beach was conceived as a global drawing project; a stone drawing project that would speak about time, place, geology and the base instinct of touch."

Currently Lawty is aiming to fill in the blanker patches on The World Beach Project map, appealing to Chinese Radio stations to try and inspire more coastal art work to be created in this area.

The beauty of The World Beach Project lies in its simplicity, and the individuality of each picture. In contrast to Antony Gormley's One and Other Project that also relies on the public to create the art form, The World Beach project is somewhat less vulgar and yet more personal, without relying on members of the public to make exhibitionists of themselves.

Read Sue Lawty's blog: http://doiop.com/suelawty
Upload a picture to The World Beach Project map: http://doiop.com/mapbeach

Art museums in New York and Connecticut join to beat economic downturn

Six art museums in New York and Connecticut have joined forces, creating the first allegiance of its kind in the area.

The alliance includes four museums in the Westchester County area of New York (the Hudson River Museum, the Hudson Valley for Contemporary Art, the Katonah Museum of Art and Purchase College’s Neuberger Museum of Art) and two museums in Connecticut (the Bruce Museum and Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum).

Since May 1st, members of any of the single institutions have been allowed admission to any of the six, which also includes visitors who have purchased a same-day pass.

The collaboration aims to pull in more museumgoers and combat recent economic problems, brought on by the ongoing recession.

However, the initiative has been recorded as slow to catch on with only a handful of visitors taking advantage of the offer in a single week. Yet arts groups remain positive, claiming this is a sign of further partnerships to come.

Speaking to The New York Times, Peter C. Sutton, executive director of the Bruce, claims that endowments and corporate support towards his museum was down by 20 percent this year.

"Almost all nonprofits have suffered some loss in their endowments and had to institute economizing efforts" he told The New York Times, "and this is a good way for people to make the most of their local museums."

Further plans include extending the initiative to collaborate with museums abroad and adopting the strategy in other arts sectors, such as performance art.