Stronger Peripheries: A Southern Coalition
Pogon joined a new European cooperation network, focusing on collaborative strategies, capacity building and cultural policies.
The initiative, named "Southern Coalition", is led by Portuguese Artemrede network and gathers 14 partners from 10 countries that will work together from 2021 onwards. The funding of its first project - "Stronger Peripheries" - got the green light from the Creative Europe program in the beginning of June 2020, among 20 large scale projects approved on a European scale.
The Southern Coalition network intends to reinforce the connections between peers through cultural projects, cultivating a close dialogue between artists, operators and communities. As its first project, "Stronger Peripheries" wants to provoke real changes in the work of artists and cultural operators. To do so, it will promote new artistic productions (to be presented in 9 countries), workshops, conferences and documentation, focusing on alternative models that take the peripheries reality into account. The project is expected to impact on 2.000 professionals, reaching 10.000 in a broader approach.
With a total budget above three million euros, the Southern Coalition network assures the contribution of networks, universities and cultural organizations. The group has representatives from Portugal, Spain, Republic of Serbia, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, Italy and France. It gathers organizations, to some extent, identifying with a loosely defined ‘Southern Europe’, all committed to foster local community engagement in the arts and all devoted to overcoming the obstacles in their specific contexts by increasing mutual cooperation.
This initiative was designed to increase colaborative opportunities, to develop skills of art professionals and artists in the fields of art management, and to advocate for the social value of art and the importance of inclusive and participatory artistic practices. With the support od Creative Europe that will be possible in a larger scale.
The participation of Pogon in "Stronger Peripheries" will allow the presentation of performances from national artists on a european scale as well as the involvement of hundreds of profissionals in additional initiatives.
Project "Stronger Peripheries: A Southern Coalition" is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
More about the project on the website.
