On June 17 and 18 2020, we ran our annual Incubator retreat for selected participants to reflect and consult with experts and peers.
This should have been a physical meeting to get away from daily work and focus on the emerging projects. This year, of course, it had to be a videoconference. Representatives from each of the 6 projects were joined online by experts Maïa Sert (France), Anta Tsaira (Greece) and Ivo Peeters (Belgium), as well as by a few ENCC staff members.
Read more about how our annual Incubator programme works.
How did it go? As one participant wrote later, ‚the lack of physical presence worked paradoxically as a motivational component to keep the discussion alive‚. Another noted that one of the drawbacks of the online meeting (not knowing when and who will speak next) created a more careful rhythm in the way participants listened and responded. In the end, though most present regretted not being able to continue the conversations in person, they were able to discuss issues such as distributing funds between partners and upscaling a local project to an international one with value for all involved, as well as broader ones related to intersectionality, interculturality, participative strategies, collective authorship and even how to decolonise cultural projects and imagine a postracial society.
The discussions were a good illustration of why the ENCC supports and mentors European cooperation projects by its members but also by outside organisations and collectives who relate to our values and mission. Our network firmly believes in investing in EU projects with the potential to bring positive societal change in terms of equality, interculturality and sustainability. Stay tuned for further development on these 6 emergent and promising projects.
YES:EYE:s:CAN, developed by APORON 21 – Association of the Arts, Cultures and Sciences (Austria – member of ENCC member IG Kultur Österreich) and represented by Igor F. Petkovic, proposes an international, artistic network campaign in European cities and territories with multimedia immersive installations in public spaces. It aims to contribute to peace-building and awareness of diversity by creating a bottom-up artistic platform for societal change.
