News roundup: Europe and the cultural & creative sector
Cultural advocates have lobbied hard for change in the run up to the European Parliament (EP) elections that took place over the weekend. Away from the rampant news coverage, the European Commission carries on with its plans to shape the future of cultural policy. All in all, it seems like a good time to take a quick look at EU news related to the cultural and creative sector.
A lot of exciting projects are about to be launched, helping European cultural and audiovisual works reach an ever wider audience. TrueMotion is collaborating with the VOD platform OUTtv, content company ODMedia and innovative culture platform CultuurTicket; initiatives aiming to develop and expand the reach of European films and series globally. And now the partners wait for the European experts to decide if these projects will continue to reap the benefit of EU support. We certainly hope so! We’re already happy to announce that our partner VRDays Europe has once again been successful in securing EU funding for their efforts in shaping the European XR landscape.
There’s also an new EACEA call for projects with a similar aim: the projects that make the cut will deploy digital technologies to strengthen the impact of the cultural and creative sector. I know what some of you may be thinking - isn’t this all a bit broad and vague? In fact, it is, but purposefully so: the EC is looking for experimental and innovative initiatives, the kind that will eventually contribute to a new EC action called the Creative Innovation Lab (indicative budget: over 50 million Euros), which is in the works for 2021 onwards. So if you think you have solid “out of the box” ideas for the creative and cultural sector, and can secure three partners across three European countries, as well as a 40% co-financing budget, you should absolutely look into this call! I’m already curious and excited to see which projects will be selected.
“The EC is looking for experimental and innovative initiatives, the kind that will eventually contribute to a new EC action called the Creative Innovation Lab—indicative budget: over 50 million Euros—, which is in the works for 2021 onwards.”
Meanwhile, for the European music sector, things are also looking up. The Commission has already had its first structured dialogue with a view to build a solid policy for the European music sector. Pilot projects have been launched under the Music Moves Europe initiative and a second round is coming up this quarter. Doubled funding compared to last year (i.e. 3 million Euro in 2019) is certainly a move in the right direction, but remains a drop in the ocean if the EU is serious about growing its support for the music industry. That said, Music Moves Europe offers exciting funding opportunities for applicants in music training, small music venues and residencies or projects incorporating music and health.
There are also interesting calls for short-term projects, for example, i-Portunus, which is currently looking to fund international mobilities of artists active in performing or visual arts over the summer of 2019.
All this makes last weekend’s European elections all the more impactful. The current European Parliament strongly supports plans for the proposed Creative Europe Programme 2021-2027, and would even like to see an increase in the budget of up to 2.806 million Euro.
With EU spending increasingly debated and scrutinised, it remains to be seen if the plans will come to pass and—following the elections—whether the EP’s support for cultural initiatives will remain the same. The cultural and creative sector will just have to wait and see, while future funding, as ever, hangs in the balance.
Arne van Vliet is the Creative Director of TrueMotion. He’s passionate about the creative arts and specialises in finding funding for innovative creative projects that are reshaping the arts landscape in Europe.