Promoter of the project: Asociația Culturală Eastwards Prospectus
Project partner: i8 Gallery, Iceland
Total project value: 216,707.74 EUR (1,069,301.00 lei)
Value of non-refundable financing (85% EEA Grants and 15% national budget): 195,036.97 euro (962,370.90 lei)
Duration: 24 months
Implementation locations: Romania (Bucharest, Timișoara, Cluj, Iași) and Iceland

Accelerator enables the selection of 10 gifted emerging artists and matches them with Romanian and foreign art professionals for 18 months. During this time, the artists take part in thematic workshops which provide them with additional knowledge to their previous academic studies. They will also benefit from one-to-one mentoring sessions and will be supported to produce new artworks for an exhibition that will be presented in Bucharest. In the final stage of the project, the artists will create individual or collaborative public art projects, which will be shown in four Romanian cities.

Accelerator stands out because of several characteristics:

Complexity

Its complexity derives from the variety and the large number of activities the artists will be invited to participate in. The programme is shaped as an incubator that facilitates and promotes a strategic approach by the artists on their careers. For 18 months, they will have the time, context, and the resources required to gain knowledge, produce and show new artworks, including works for the public space, and engage with the wider public.

International partnership

Accelerator is implemented in partnership with i8 gallery from Iceland, renowned for collaborating on a long-term basis with internationally-recognized artists. This partnership will grant participants unparalleled access to art professionals with international experience.

Public art

The programme drives new thinking about art in public spaces as context-specific, rather than simply site-specific. Thus, the works produced by the emerging artists will integrate contextual frameworks reflecting the culture, values, concerns, interests, and the lifestyle of certain communities.

Networking and sharing

Accelerator fosters networking and sharing between the participating artists, Romanian and foreign art professionals, as well as contemporary art enthusiasts.

National reach

Given its large scale, the programme offers the emerging artists the opportunity to create and show public artworks in four cities in Romania.

Accelerator project is financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014-2021 within the RO CULTURA Programme and is implemented by Asociația Culturală Eastwards Prospectus.

The project partners are: i8 gallery (Reykjavik, Iceland) and Gaep (Bucharest, Romania). The budget of Accelerator is 216,707.74 EUR for its entire duration.

Accelerator project is financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014-2021 within the RO-CULTURE Programme and is implemented by Asociația Culturală Eastwards Prospectus.

The EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards the reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe and towards strengthening the bilateral relations between the donor countries and the 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion. More information is available on www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro.

RO-CULTURE Programme is implemented in Romania by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit. The Programme aims at strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The total budget amounts to almost 34 million EUR. For more details access: www.ro-cultura.ro.

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