Stronger Peripheries

A Southern Coalition for Enhancing Participation in the Arts.

Collaboration Agreement for an H2020 European Project.

Partners: University of Barcelona

CEPEL grant amount: €30,000

Summary:

STRONGER PERIPHERIES – A Southern Coalition for Enhancing Participation in the Arts (hereinafter referred to as “Stronger Peripheries”) is a long-term initiative aimed at strengthening the foundation for arts and culture in Southern European countries, with a particular focus on participatory approaches and capacity-building. It relies on a series of collaborative partnerships for artistic productions, implementing an extensive artistic program that involves local communities within an innovative framework—the Nomad Communities. This creative process is closely intertwined with the project’s second pillar: a comprehensive capacity-building program designed to enhance the skills and competencies of professionals in each participating country. Importantly, it brings together 17 organizations from 10 countries: all of which identify to some extent with a loosely defined “Southern Europe,” all committed to fostering local engagement in the arts, and all dedicated to overcoming obstacles in their specific contexts by increasing mutual cooperation—coming together under the informal network “Southern Coalition.”
To achieve these goals, the project will commission 13 artists to work within their communities on the theme of “work and happiness,” a topic we believe will capture almost anyone’s attention, regardless of their cultural consumption habits or social background. It will foster significant connections between artists, audiences, local residents, and decision-makers through 32 residencies, 13 original performances, and 26 Laboratories for Social Transformation, as well as through Nomad Communities—a participatory mechanism that extends the benefits of mobility to local audiences and community leaders. It will achieve all this with a long-term focus: organizing a series of seminars, exchange programs, and deliberative workshops aimed at building the capacity of those who will remain after the project concludes, in order to facilitate future collaboration and amplify local impact. STRONGER PERIPHERIES connects locally rooted practices within a European framework, overcoming isolation and enhancing the relevance of participatory models of audience engagement.

Website:Stronger Peripheries