Amateo Amateo Members

Amateo is looking for new Board Members

Do you (voluntarily) work for a member organisation of Amateo, do you have a passion for amateur arts, time to attend 3 international Board Meetings in a year, an open view and a bright spirit? Then we are looking for you! **

Amateo supports and promotes the activities of the amateur arts sector cause we believe that all European citizens should have access and opportunities to enjoy, participate in and benefit from creative and cultural experiences of their choice.

Arts Takes Part, supported by Creative Europe and Amateo member organisations, helps to strengthen the organisations involved in this work, grow the network and offer training, knowledge exchange and events.

Do you want to follow our Arts Take Part project from closeby and at the same time give direction to our long-term evolution as a network? Then join the Board of Amateo!

What do you get? You get the chance to be part of an international and enthusiastic team of Board members, learn and exchange with colleagues from all over Europe and follow our events from the first row.

Are you interested? Then put forward your candidacy by sending your CV and a short motivation letter from your organisation to president@amateo.org.

Do you have questions? Need more info? Contact the secretariat (info@amateo.org) or our president Susan Fazakerly (president@amateo.org).

**We are also looking for a new treasurer, so having some experience with accountancy would be great (but is not at all a must!).

“My short time in the Amateo board has really opened my eyes for the diverse and valuable work in voluntary and amateur arts in Europe. This network has given our organisation new possibilities for European collaboration that otherwise never would have happened. Amateo connects us and truly is an organisation with a big and open heart.”

Jani Lastuniemi, Project leader FSU, Finland

 

“8 years has past by rather fast. I worked with great people all over the Europe and I am glad that I have learned so much new and great stuff. I started when Amateo was just young and unknown and I am leaving now with great experience of being a part of Arts Take Part project. Thank you all and wish you the best!”

Valentina Dačnik, prof., Hrvatski Sabor Kulture, Croatia

Amateo Amateo Award, Arts Take Part

Amateo Award 2019 finalists

Five finalists announced for the Amateo Award 2019

Exceptional amateur arts groups are having a profound impact on their communities across Europe.

Some 65 projects from across the continent applied for the Amateo Award 2019, a €1,000 prize supported by Creative Europe to celebrate and strengthen participatory arts.

Today five finalists have been announced representing work from Serbia, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Northern Ireland.

“The ability of the voluntary arts to make people’s lives better are writ large in the applications we’ve seen for this prize,” said Jim Tough, coordinator of the Arts Take Part project which runs the Award programme.

Continue reading “Amateo Award 2019 finalists” →

Amateo Stories

Democracy NOW

Democracy NOW – an example of Amateo co-operation

In the spring of 2018 The Joint Council of Amateur Arts Associations in Denmark (AKKS), interviewed all it’s 19 national music organisations. One of the themes mentioned throughout all the interviews was the difficulty the organisations were experiencing, attracting young members to take part in the management of the organisations. As this is both an organisational and democratic challenge for the survival of the voluntary based organisations, something needed to be done…

Continue reading “Democracy NOW” →

Amateo Arts Take Part, Courses & Conferences

Arts Take Part: Courses & Conferences

What is the overall mission of this team during the Arts Take Part project?

Gain visibility of Amateo network, involve new partners/members in Amateo activities, to provide the paid and voluntary staff in participatory arts associations in EU states and programme countries with new trans-national skills, competences and know-how. Promote and provide trans-national courses and conferences. Sharing good practice and experiences from different European countries.

What has the team been doing recently?

Helping to write the Year 3 programme for Arts Take Part, preparing our conference in Novi Sad and preparing an e-guide for Amateo Awards and making first action towards successfully organized CONNECT event in Estonia.

What are you working on for the future?

Trying to set up our first webinar, thinking about themes for future seminars, workshops and conferences and focusing on the target groups.

Pioneer project presentation at Glej Theatre, Ljubljana, May 2018
Pioneer project presentation at Glej Theatre, Ljubljana, May 2018
What are the highlights so far?

CONNECT in Deventer, Netherlands, Amateo conference in Vrsar, Croatia, meeting in Ljubljana and the first Amateo awards in Kranj, Slovenia.

How can other Amateo members or non-members get involved with this work?

Contribute the materials for e-guides/tutorials, participate or present their work at Amateo events (seminars, conferences), give ideas for events in future, be a host of the events in future, share good will, experience and knowledge in organizing events and projects.

Join CONNECT 2019 in Estonia, follow us on the Facebook page or contact info@amateo.org.

Arts Take Part is a four-year network project co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. Find out more about Arts Take Part on the project page.

ATP and EU emblem banner
Amateo Arts Take Part, Pioneer Projects

Pioneer Projects grants

One of the goals of Amateo’s Arts Take Part programme is to stimulate small scaled, international and interdisciplinary projects, share the experiences and outcomes of these projects, and build an international network of people and organisations who like to develop new methods, unexpected combinations and surprising projects.

Amateo’s CONNECT is a moment in time and place to meet other pioneers and organisations, and find one or more possible partners to work on a project plan. These project plans can be sent to Amateo. We will choose the three most exciting project ideas, and reward each of them with an Amateo grant of € 2.500,–. This money has to be spent on the project.

Continue reading “Pioneer Projects grants” →

Amateo Amateo Members

Making Music – UK

AMATEO MEMBER:
MAKING MUSIC (UK)

United Kingdom in Europe map

Member country: United Kingdom
Contact person: Barbara Eifler (Chief Executive)

Who?: Barbara Eifler is the Chief Executive of Making Music. Making Music is the UK organisation for leisure-time music groups, with over 3,500 member groups throughout the UK. Our members are choral societies, gospel choirs, community choirs, amateur orchestras, brass bands, jazz ensembles, folk groups, ukulele groups, drumming circles, handbell ringers, samba groups, hobby rock bands, etc.

Continue reading “Making Music – UK” →

Amateo Courses & Conferences

CONNECT2019 – Estonia

CONNECT2019 – Create New Perspectives
14 – 18 March 2019

Book your place!

FOR WHO

  • Young people wanting to work internationally and interdisciplinary, and have relevant experience with one or more artforms themselves
  • Arts students and students who want to become a teacher in one of the artforms as well as people who have recently finished one of these studies
  • Organisations focusing on art with children and/or young people
  • Network organisations and policymakers

Continue reading “CONNECT2019 – Estonia” →

Amateo Arts Take Part, Pioneer Projects

Arts Take Part: Pioneer Projects

What is the overall mission of this team during the Arts Take Part project?

The mission of the Pioneer Project Team is officially ‘To implement full support to innovative cross-border pilot work, identify and assess new innovative cross-border pilot work, exchange good practice and share innovative ideas, including topics of engaging marginalised social groups (ageing, disadvantaged, ethnic, migrants)’, and we do that by ‘providing contact fora, project fair meetings, and advice and helpdesk; and initiate one own pilot project and allocate micro-grants to new initiatives – which is of course a lot of work for a team of four people.

Continue reading “Arts Take Part: Pioneer Projects” →

Amateo Arts Take Part

Arts Take Part update | Jim Tough

My baby grandson is living with us for a few months. He’s culturally emancipated. He participates in his own small cultural and creative life without a policy, strategy or state subsidy in sight. Some picture books, building blocks, his grannie’s songs, his mum’s dancing rhythms and his father’s stories are all embraced with curiosity and energy.

From the day we are born our creative impulses are strong. Amateo, Europe’s network supporting active participation in arts and culture, recognises that those impulses can stay with us throughout our lives, from birth to old age. An active creative and cultural life can bring pleasure and it can have a very positive impact on so many other aspects of our lives as individuals and communities.

Continue reading “Arts Take Part update | Jim Tough” →