The Academy in Budapest is looking for 10 individuals who will develop artworks and create proposals for their development as pilot projects. Participants of the Academy will be inspired by the reuse and reinterpretation of the Urban Industrial Heritage of Budapest. Project ideas will be presented and linked to artworks that will be created by the participants during the Academy. Artworks will be visual elements such as photo, mock-up or even design – anything. The artworks will be developed with the help and facilitation of artistic supervisors, academic researchers, and production partners through the Academy. The artworks will be presented in an exhibition and in an online digital archive

The Academy will be held between September 4 – September 24 in a hybrid form, a part online and a part in person. It starts with a two-week online preparation phase, and after the participants will be in Budapest where they can soak up the culture, create their visual elements and finalise their pilot project ideas. The final project presentations will be archived in a digital format on the project webpage. At the end of Academy, there will be an Award Ceremony, where a judging committee will decide upon those three winners that will be working on their pilot projects afterwards at their home country in collaboration with Pro Progressione and a local micro-organisation based on the place of residency of each winner.

At first, all three winners will be given the amount of €1000 each so as to develop and implement their pilot projects on equal terms. After their completion, and based on specific set criteria, a judging committee will decide on the final ranking of the winners, and will award additional prizes. The three associated micro-organisations (selected by the winners) will also receive the amount of € 2000 each for the needs of the project implementation. The project implementation phase ends in 2024 Autumn with an Open Event in the place of residency of the winners.

Eligibility and supported projects

Who is eligible?

• Applicants that are legal residents in the countries within the Creative Europe framework and non-EU countries of the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). The selection of the ten (10) participating artists will consist of 5 artists from the EU and 5 artists from the Western Balkan.
• Applicants with skills in Photography and/or Architecture is required.
• Young and emerging creatives between 18 and 35.
• Good English language communication skills, as the working language is English.

What we support

• Project ideas with visual elements that reflect on reinterpretation and reimagination of urban industrial heritage.
• Project ideas and visual elements that can be enhanced digitally and will be available on a digital archive.

What we offer:Participant opportunities and support

What we will provide?

• Exposure through ECHO Academies’ dissemination and engagement activities, such as announcements, networking and events, social media, video and photo documentation, and general promotion of ECHO Academies’ work through its large partner network.
• A cross-border and cross-disciplinary opportunity for exchange and artistic enrichment with fellow artists across Europe, including activities with partners and collaborators.
• Professional development support and in-depth knowledge of ECHO Academies’ core topics, provided by experts and specialists and facilitation by academic researchers, and project partners.
• The accommodation and travel expenses, and the per diem costs of the selected creatives are supported by the Project during their stay in Budapest.
• Mentorship programme on project development from ideas to implementation, and consultations for marketability.
• Three winning projects will receive 3000 EUR for project implementation – 1000 EUR for the creative individual and 2000 EUR for each local micro-organisation whom the winner will work with.
• Additional award after the project implementation based on an expert jury evaluation.

What we expect

What we ask from participants:
Participation: We expect that selected creatives will participate in the ECHO Academies’ events, including the Academy in Budapest and the final event. Please note that attendance of Academy in Budapest lasting for 21 days in total, 7 days out of this requires physical presence in Budapest.
Attendance: The selected creatives are expected to attend and engage in online mentoring meetings, consultancy sessions, two online forum events, online progress reviews and contribute to the project’s reporting.
Engagement: Creatives must be committed to ECHO Academies’ objectives. As success depends on the activation and engagement of European audiences, creatives are encouraged to support ECHO Academies’ general communication by using their personal and professional communication channels and networks.
Commitment: A contract with the ECHO Academies Consortium, open to the creatives’ proposals, will define the terms and conditions for the intellectual property rights of digital artworks. In any case, any participants will be asked to grant all necessary rights for the dissemination of their work in any activities directly related to this Project.

Application timeline, key dates

Application Timeline:
April 25: Launch of Open Call
July 5: Application deadline
During July: Selected artists are notified

Selection process of the 10 creatives:
A Selection Committee will review applications based on the applicants’ body of work and quality, relevance, concept suitability & feasibility, and the strength of motivation and commitment to the topic and to the objectives of the Project.
Finalists may be invited for interviews with ECHO Academies staff.
Notification of program acceptance and entry will occur in July 2023.

The application form can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12Hl6bYLX_3WYGcxyDc6_gz5G_PvOQ6uChUB3Jy7VRbc/viewform?edit_requested=true

For more information, please consult the source page here: https://proprogressione.com/en/news/echo-academy-in-budapest-open-call-for-creatives/