FIVE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE AMATEO AWARD 2020
Exceptional amateur arts groups are having a profound impact on their communities across Europe. Some 64 projects from 16 countries across Europe applied for the Amateo Award 2020, a €1000 prize supported by Creative Europe to celebrate and strengthen participatory arts. The applications show a wide scope of themes, featuring initiatives focused on young people, projects with older people (including those with dementia) and those with different cultural or migrant backgrounds and projects to improve the community or environment.
Five finalists have been announced representing work from Belgium, Greece, Germany, Slovenia and The Netherlands. The jury loved the diversity and the impact of the initiatives in their communities.
The project “Heimatkarawane” from 1. Stage Divers(e) e.V. – Germany is examining and crossing many borders: between remote and urban areas, the past and present, traditional and new residents and between all art forms.
Fanfakids from Belgium is about 20 young people (aged 7-15) who transform their youthful energy in an explosive concoction of rhythms. The uniqueness of the project is the collaboration between a youth group that supports the young people on a social basis, and an artistic organisation which guarantees the artistic quality of the group.
The Hand-in-Hand Dance Program in the Netherlands connects older adults experiencing dementia with young children in non-verbal contact through dance and music. The model involves dance workshops with different work forms.
Social Circus from Greece is a voluntary initiative which uses circus techniques to share the beauty of skill, art, team work, and self-discipline with unaccompanied minors from the refugee camps of Greece. The initiative aims to create the first refugee-led circus academy in the long-term future.
In Slovenia “The flock of experienced birds” takes the viewer along a pre-drawn path overflowing with the visual colours of the city’s landscapes. It expands views into the memory of all participants using headphones and creates a unique story of the city.
The finalists will be represented at the announcement of the winner in an online event on Friday, June 19th at 18:00 CET.
The Amateo Award is in its third year now and was launched by Amateo, the European Network for Active Participation in Cultural Activities in Europe. The Network was founded in 2008 as the multi-disciplinary European organisation within the field of participatory arts and cultural activities. There are now 51 members from 14 EU member states and 2 programme countries, with contacts to a huge network of regional and local associations within the European field of amateur arts.
Amateo’s 4-year programme Arts Take Part is co-funded by Creative Europe and aims to grow and strengthen the network over the next four years. The winner of 2019 was Moving Ground from Belgium. Amateo sees active participation in the arts as a core value for a free and open society as enshrined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
ABOUT THE PROJECTS
Our 2020 Finalists
Press enquiries:
- Stage Divers(e) e.V. Germany
The project „Heimatkarawane- wie klingt das Land heute“ is examining and crossing many borders: Crossing those dividing remote and urban areas, the past and present, traditional and new residents, as well as those between music, poetry, acrobatics and theatre.
The participants and the team have very diverse backgrounds from around the world (Chile, Israel, Iran, Arabic countries and Germany). New impressions are made that are experienced by all residents, both new and local. The team works on creating an atmosphere that is built on trust and equality, using a variety of artistic realisations. Through the work they do together they artistically
create both the old and the new, the known and the strange, and present the overall result in a performance: an authentic picture of the village gets created, focussing on the definition of the word “Home”. Unexpectedly the corona crisis is further expanding the project and the network, by using digitally meetings, which gave others the opportunity to participate.
Website: http://www.heimatkarawane.de/
- Fanfakids Belgium
The Fanfakids are about 20 of youngsters (7-15 of age) who transform their youthful energy in an explosive concoction of rhythms. Their groove is the metropolitan music mix that they grew up with in their headquarters (Youth house Centrum West, Brussels). The uniqueness of the project is the collaboration between a youth house (Centrum West – D’Broej) who supports the youngsters on a social basis, and an artistic organisation (Met-X Moving Music) who guarantees the artistic quality of the group. Despite their age, they have already performed in numerous venues over the globe (Europe & Africa). Over the years, they have developed a strong relationship with different drum and dance groups in Ghana and Guinea. Fanfakids exists in 2020 for 20 years and is been supported by a
lot of voluntary work.
Website: http://www.fanfakids.be / http://www.metx.be/en/projecten/fanfakids-3/
- Hand-in-Hand
The Hand-in-Hand Dance Program in the Netherlands is stimulating to connect older adults with dementia with young children with non-verbal contact through dance and music. An accompanying teacher: “I see behavior of my children that I never thought possible.” And a health care worker: “Our elderly don’t only have to receive, they can give so much love and tenderness. That moves me to tears.” The dance form at the heart of Hand-in-Hand is Biodanza, which means “Dance of Life”. It is a dance style involving a wide range of forms of movement which doesn’t require learning complicated dance moves. The Hand-in-Hand model involves 9 dance workshops in total, with different work forms with dance, but also discussion and a drawing of their experiences. To date, 60 Dutch dance teachers and more than 20 schools and care institutions have been carrying out inter-generational dance projects or still are. This spring we expect the first group of refugee children to dance together with elderly people with dementia.
Website: http://www.vriendenvanbiodanza.nl
- Social Circus by Anasa Cultural Center
Social Circus is a voluntary initiative which uses circus techniques to share the beauty of skill, art, team work, and self-discipline to unaccompanied minors from the refugee camps of Greece. A total of four trainers in circus arts, such as juggling, monocycling, acrobatics, slackline, stilt technique, and rhythm games came together on a voluntary basis to share their knowledge with refugees aged 12-18 who have arrived in Greece on their own in the recent years. The social circus team officially started doing outreach programmes in 2018 in refugee shelters, asylum centers, and camps around Athens, Greece. This led to a weekly 3-hour training in 2019 open to all kids of migrant or Greek origin in Kerameikos area. The initiative aims in creating the first refugee-driven circus academy in the long-term future. Youth from Syria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, UK, Norway, and Greece come together under this non-verbal art form.
Website: http://www.anasa.org.gr
- The Flock of Experienced Birds
The flock of experienced birds takes the viewer along a pre-drawn path through the city with headphones that can be overflowed with the visual colours of the city’s landscapes. It expands views into the memory of all participants and creates a unique story of city. The first-person narrative, with its heavy subjectivity, expands on the many things of the perceptions of individual places in the city, and thus, with the sensitivity of spreading the conversation about change, passing, memories, many, interdependence and connectedness. Even though the views are intimate, are so unique that the common can indirectly recognise themselves in them as well as announce the beauty of the mutual differences in our own vulnerability. The project became a part of the program Kranj 2025 – application for the European Capital of Culture. The project has long term plans to create sustainable environment, programme and content for new generations of elderly.
Website: odprti.art
info [at] amateo.org | comms [at] amateo.org
Damien McGlynn
+44 [UK] 7818 028128
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