STREET ARTISTS IN EUROPE - Fondazione Fitzcarraldo

Street Artists in Europe
culture and community education centres, for instance, in Zagreb, within the Culture Centre
Maksimir. Occasionally, workshops, training course, etc., are also organized within festivals
that are wholly or partly devoted to street arts. However, for the time being, institutionalized
street arts training programmes do not exist. The only possibilities are attending workshop,
seminars, etc., organized as part of a festival or by an association.’
In England, a small number of ‘international fellowships’ is offered to artists to work with
others from a different country. This has existed for a long time for the conventional (indoor)
performing arts; but the last three years has seen this extended to cover street artists. It is hoped
that this may continue (although it has been of some concern that artists themselves were not
able to propose their collaborations. The exchanges were ‘decided’ and artists found to fill
them).
“Some initiatives sound hopeful at the start and then you discover that the funders make all the
decisions. For two years we tried for an international fellowship to work with Lucie Lom – and
the money was given to partnerships not set up by the artists themselves and of limited value to
those who participated.” [H/C]
5.2. Recommendations
- Training opportunities across Europe need to be much more deeply investigated, to include
their content, how they are funded, what qualifications are available (this research produced
almost no knowledge or conflicting evidence from the questionnaires about what was
available).
- Information to be kept and updated at agreed national resource bases and by Circostrada.
- Politicians from culture from across the EC should visit creation centres in France to see the
quality of such places as creation spaces, alongside the links with festivals in the same place
and local communities around the centre. Advocacy to be done as a result of this initiative, to
encourage greater investment across Europe in ‘places to make shows’.
- Information available to artists about what is required to devise, make, rehearse and tour a
street show.
- Opportunities for experienced artists to cross to different countries to work alongside artists
from abroad, and for young companies to ‘shadow’ a more experienced one, so as to learn
fast about the requirements of such work.
- Greater links made in each nation with training providers at colleges in the host country and
complimentary courses abroad. A scheme equivalent to Erasmus to be investigated, in an
attempt to lessen the very wide gap between street arts production companies in parts of
Europe (especially France) and other countries.
6. The use and value of marketing
Marketing is a weak link that unites every questionnaire I have examined or telephone interview
I have made. Festivals claim not to know about companies, companies do not know how to
reach festivals so that they start to communicate with them.
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PE 375.307