EFFEA - European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists

The European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA) is a system that offers emerging artists a platform to develop their career on an international level through festivals. Sweden Festivals is Platform Partner. Members registered on FestivalFinder.eu (register anyway) can be among 50 festivals per year that will take an emerging artist under its wings during a residency programme.

What is EFFEA?
Emerging artists are the treasure of society, creative minds, explorers who have the power to shape the future through their art. EFFEA was built exactly on this idea: to explore/discover these talents and to support emerging artists by offering them a platform to develop their career under the Festivals wings; support them in their journey.

The activities include 50 residencies for emerging artists in the seat of 50 festivals - including the collaboration with at least two other festivals per project per year, based on an annual call to festivals. The Fund will foster and enable European visibility of emerging artists. It will address the needs of artists at different levels (research, capacity building, network, presentation platforms), the needs of festivals (programmers capacity building, alertness, internationalisation, collaboration), and audiences (access to diverse artists and arts works).

Who will benefit from this fund?

  • Festivals
    How? Network and collaboration between Festivals; New programmes and new artists for Festivals; Financial support to promote the artists on a European level.
  • Emerging Artists under the wings of Festivals
    How? Research, Residencies / workshops / masterclasses; Presentations in several co-producing Festivals; European visibility

>>> 40 grants 1st Category > EFFEA “Discovery” Artist in residence an early career artists, exceptional talent and ready to break through internationally. 
The Festival host, together with two other partners (Festivals) creates the bridges through residencies, mentorships for the artist to develop his artistic idea. 

>>> 10 grants 2nd Category > EFFEA “Treasure” Artist in residence mid-career artists, established in their own country, ready to develop their career internationally & who will present their work in three different stages, under the wings of the host/ leading Festival and two other partners.

Who is eligible to apply?

The EFFEA call will be open to all arts festivals (Architecture - Circus - Dance - Design, Applied arts - Digital arts - Film - Heritage - Literature - Music - Opera - Photography - Spoken word, Storytelling - Street Arts - Theatre - Visual arts) that are registered on FestivalFinder.eu.

If you are not present on FestivalFinder.eu yet, you can register your Festival here: FestivalFinder.eu
The EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden.
The Creative Europe countries: Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Tunisia, Georgia
Other included countries: United Kingdom, Switzerland - TBC

Interested to apply soon? 

  • the artist, that your Festival will present
    The artist can be an individual artist, a collective of artists, an artist(s) company, an artists ensemble. All involved individuals can be of any age, gender and nationality based in one of the eligible countries. 
  • the category, you are applying for: EFFEA “Discovery” or EFFEA “Treasure”
    A leading festival can apply for one project per category as a leading festival and apply for multiple grants as a partner for other projects.
  • two other partners , with whom you will develop the project.
    Didn’t decide yet? You can find your partners here FestivalFinder.eu

Keep in mind

  • The leading festival, as well as the partner festivals, exist for at least one edition;
  • An artist cannot be proposed in more than one project; 
  • A leading festival can apply for one project per category as a leading project and apply for multiple grants as a partner for other projects, and residencies.

Timeline

- Publication of the EFFEA call (call 1): 3 October 2022
- Start online application: 14 October 2022
- Application deadline: 15 November 2022
- Results announcement: January 2023 
- Publication of the 50 selected artists and festivals on the EFFEA platform: January / February 2023
- Implementation period: January 2023 – December 2023

For more information: Donika Rudi, EFFEA coordinator: donika[@]efa-aef.eu

Credits

EFFEA is an initiative of the European Festivals Association, co-funded by the European Union, implemented in partnership with 13 EFFE Hubs that will represent their country and region in which they are active: Croatian Composers Society (Croatia), PLMF Arts Management (Estonia), France Festivals (France), Festival Friends (Germany), Stichting Caucasus Foundation (Georgia), Summa Artium Kultúra Támogató Nonprofit Kft. (Hungary), Association of Irish Festival Events (Ireland), ItaliaFestival (Italy), ARC Research and Consultancy Ltd. (Malta), Asociația Centrul Cultural Clujean (Romania), ArtLink (Serbia), Sweden Festivals (Sweden), Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" (Ukraine).