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ERIAC ARTS AND CULTURE INNOVATION PROGRAM

APPLICATION CLOSED on June 17, 2020

The Selection Committee results are published here

*Information about ERIAC Arts and Culture Innovation Program is available also in ALBANIAN, BULGARIAN, GERMAN, HUNGARIAN, ITALIAN, MACEDONIAN, ROMANES, ROMANIAN, SERBIAN and SPANISH

In response to the global outbreak of Covid-19 Pandemic, which has also impacted severely the Roma arts and culture field, ERIAC aims to strengthen resilience of Roma cultural producers by supporting creativity, the spirit of innovation and self-sustainability.

Through cultural initiatives, the Program will support the development of new arts and culture content, fostering knowledge-production and knowledge-transfer and promote creativity and self-sustainability of Roma artists, entrepreneurs and creators. The ERIAC Innovation Program:

encourages sustainable, long-term impact;
stimulates innovation, ingenuity, creativity and virtuosity of Roma creators;
seeks to activate and mobilize Roma cultural scene to create, to grow, to re-invent, to transform;
boosts collaboration across cultural domains, countries, identities, genders and generations, as well as among and across Roma art and culture and community agents;
searches for multiplier effect, benefiting directly or indirectly, Roma families, communities and majority society at large, including through contributions to other ongoing Roma-led initiatives in the field.

The program is structured in 3 CATEGORIES: GOING DIGITAL CULTURE, GOING ENTREPRENEURIAL and GOING SMART. Under each category, applicants can apply for a one-time contribution of between 2.500 – 5.000 euro, paid via bank transfer. The initiatives are expected to last between 3 – 6 months, starting in July 2020.

GOING DIGITAL CULTURE (Initiatives)

As the mainstream arts and culture scene is by necessity reinventing itself in the digital space, ERIAC and its project partners shall propose innovative artistic and cultural responses to this new reality. Focusing on long-term impact and in response to the global trend of transitioning to the digital, ERIAC aims to support the transformation of Roma arts and culture entities and individuals into the online space. In this category, ERIAC will support the creation of new arts and culture productions (all genres: including visual arts, animation, film, performative arts etc.). As a core of this transition, ERIAC encourages the production of counter-narratives to the increasing far-right and anti-Gypsyist propaganda. Creativity, critical thinking and Roma arts are primary strategies of ERIAC to challenge the wave of lies and de-humanisation, disinformation and misinformation about Roma, and Roma women in particular.

GOING ENTREPRENEURIAL (Fellowship Program with the Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative – REDI)

The lack of formal registration of Roma arts and culture creators makes these cultural producers ineligible for support scheme and emergency funds introduced by governments. This Fellowship Program developed in cooperation with REDI, aims to support, coach and mentor the transformation of informal arts and culture creators into cultural entrepreneurs. In this way, ERIAC addresses the challenge that the majority of Roma arts and culture producers operate as freelancers, and many work in informal economy.

GOING SMART (Initiatives)

ERIAC aims to generate inspiring and powerful educational resources for both the Roma and the majority by focusing on knowledge-production and knowledge-transfer. Under this category, ERIAC will support initiatives focusing on generating new knowledge through innovative research, especially focusing on aspects related to Roma identity, culture, history and heritage. GOING SMART will also support developing methodologies for creative and Roma-led knowledge transfer and on designing materials for Roma identity learning in the framework of formal and non-formal education. ERIAC encourages lectures, critical reviews, texts, essays that reflect on the current Roma arts and culture and identity-practice.

Who can apply?

Applications from all candidates belonging to the broadly understood Romani community are invited to apply, irrespective of nationality, country of residence, gender, disability, marital or parental status, age, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

All applicants are required to be active contributors to the Roma arts and culture scene, falling under one of 4 thematic sections of ERIAC’s work (arts and culture; media; knowledge-production; history and commemoration). Musicians, artists, performers, artisans, filmmakers, media professionals, curators, educators and researchers, designers, among others, are invited to apply. Roma arts and culture companies (theatre, bands etc.), informal artistic collectives, non-profit entities and cultural entrepreneurs are also encouraged to apply.

Both, ERIAC associate members as well as ERIAC non-members are eligible to apply. However, the Selection Committee will give priority to current ERIAC associate members who fulfilled the principle of contribution. The beneficiaries who are not ERIAC members will be invited to apply for ERIAC membership and comply with the principle of contribution.

How to apply?

Before filing out the application form, the applicants are encouraged to consult the CALL and the GUIDELINES documents.

English:

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS_ERIAC ARTS AND CULTURE INNOVATION PROGRAM

CALL_ERIAC ARTS AND CULTURE INNOVATION PROGRAM

Romanes:

ERIAC ARTE THAJ KULTURA NEVIMASKO PROGRAMO_AKHARIPE PAL APLIKACIJE

INSTRUKCIJE ANDAR E APLIKANTURJA_ERIAC ARTE THAJ KULTURA NEVIMASKO PROGRAMO

All candidates are required to fill out an online APPLICATION FORM, along with your updated professional CV (max. 3 pages).

What is the deadline?

The online application can be submitted online, between May 20 – June 10, 2020. Applications received later will not be considered.

In case of questions, please reach out to ERIAC via eriac@eriac.org writing in the Subject Line: ERIAC Innovation Program